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Focus on the main story’s forward momentum, and use backstory as the seasoning that makes the stew.

Your audience won’t remember the chapter where your hero took a breather. What’s memorable are the forces of antagonism, and how your hero reacted.

Here are four ways to help create the mindset that we can realistically accomplish something we’ve never tried before.

It might not be essential to impose a standard arc structure on a character who’s non-traditional or isn’t affected by the story’s actions.

Central to most of Michael Lewis’ works are larger-than-life characters who find themselves at the center of major industry or societal shifts.

When completing a readable draft left one author exhausted and overwhelmed, these three steps helped him start writing again.

A prologue can open the door to your story and entice the reader in, or throw up a barrier that delays or prevents their engagement.

A great villain character should have complex motivations and be able to evoke sympathy from readers.

You can mine the first paragraphs of well-written novels for four critical components that keep readers hooked.

What makes a good writer? Relentless internal drive, a thick skin for editorial feedback, and reading voraciously across many genres.

From appealing to short attention spans to offering no-fuss ways to play in another sandbox, short story writing has many benefits.

Writing a book with multiple authors requires trust, vulnerability and patience. But done right, group writing has some surprising benefits.

When we’re dealt life-altering circumstances, how do we stay true to creative ambitions while finding a whole new way of existing?

Some writers struggle with ever getting one word of their Great Idea down on the page, for fear of crafting an imperfect beginning.

Some writers can finish a book all by themselves, but even more of them have support systems, deadlines, teachers, exercises, instructions and help.

To write something that connects on a universal level, concentrate on specifics. Small truths are easier for readers to identify with.

An elaborately structured plot, without clearly-defined character goals and motivations, is like mapping a trip and calling it a vacation.