Fiction

Writing fiction for teens and tweens is more than just a creative outlet for keeping a youthful mindset and revisiting your own high-school ghosts; it's a way to connect with the younger...

The classic whodunit or puzzle mystery continues to delight its readers as it has since the golden age of the mystery in the thirties and forties. Whether you prefer a gentile British style cozy...

Crime fiction is perhaps the most popular of the mystery genres, combining intrigue and heroics with a fascinating problem-solving process. In order to get started with writing a crime fiction...

The Western novel has undergone many changes since its pulp fiction days. In the 1980s, a new breed of Western novel came about that combined traditional Western elements with more adult themes,...

Almost everyone likes to be frightened once in a while. Kids, for instance, love scary books: Consider the success of the "Goosebumps" series by R.L. Stine. But a "scary" book written for children...

Creating a universe where superheroes roam, super-villains concoct diabolical schemes and ordinary people need rescuing can be a fun endeavor. But when you begin writing, you may become...

Many people dream of writing a novel one day, but few of them actually finish it. Being a writer takes dedication, focus and passion. If you love mystery novels, you may have thought about writing...

Psychological novels deal with some disturbed aspect of the human mind, whether insanity or an altered perception of reality or simply some inner struggle with an element of control over the human...

Fantasy books take us to other worlds and introduce us to people and places that exist, in most cases, only in the minds of the writers who create them. For this reason, the fantasy genre offers a...

Thrillers come in a number of different varieties. There are psychological thrillers, supernatural thrillers, action/adventure thrillers and thrillers built around medical mysteries. Regardless of...

One of the most important elements of good fiction is the characters in the story. No matter how good the story is, if we don't like the characters, none of what happens to them matters. This...

Romance novels are comfort food. With optimistic endings where good people triumph and true love prevails, they provide satisfying escapism from life's uncertainties -- and they're beloved by the...

Today we're going to talk about your main character. He (or she, but for the sake of consistency and readability, from here on out will be referred to as “he”) is the centerpiece of your novel,...

Every writer struggles to come up with a first line to a novel that will resonate with readers. Famous first lines like Charles Dickens' "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" and...

In fiction, the "bad guy," or antagonist, doesn't really need to be a guy, or even a human being. The bad guy can be a woman, an alien, a child or even a paranormal creature. The...

Antagonists are characters who prevent your protagonist from getting what she wants. An antagonist can be a villain or he can be a relative or neighbor, as long as he creates believable obstacles...

Nothing can be duller than a scene that's supposed to be tense but isn't. Creating tension in scenes requires understanding what your protagonist wants, how he attempts to achieve it, then putting...

The beauty of a well-crafted realistic hero is that his struggles are like the reader's struggles. He is an everyday kind of guy with everyday problems, worries, and friendships. The reader need...

Planning your novel should take whatever form works best for you. Some authors swear by outlines, and those writers won't begin writing without one. Start by using tried and true methods when...

Short stories, like novels, are about people facing obstacles. But characters in a short story typically only face one main obstacle because of the length. Space in a short story is much more...

Short stories, like novels, are about people facing obstacles. But characters in a short story typically only face one main obstacle because of the length. Space in a short story is much more...

Novels are about people facing obstacles. Your main character is your protagonist. When you write a novel, you have to introduce your main character early. When your main character is a male, you...

Novels are about people facing obstacles, and when your main character is female, you face different challenges than writing about a male character. When your protagonist in your novel is a...

A good story will make you believe as though you're part of it throughout the entire book. Then when you're just about to get to the end and you think you know what's going to happen, suddenly...

“If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler” (“Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore”) is a metafictional novel by Italian novelist Italo Calvino. It was first published in 1979. For readers who are not...

Structure is nothing more than a way of looking at your story material so that it’s organized in a way that’s both logical and dramatic. Structure isn’t a prefabricated box you cram your story...

The plots of detective novels work because they successfully engage the reader with an exciting yet plausible storyline. Writing detective fiction can allow writers with an eye for detail a chance...