The Art of Writing

Head-hopping is the number one way to confuse your readers. When writers jump from perspective to perspective in a single scene, it's disorienting and creates a disconnect that is difficult to gain back.

We all begin somewhere, writers are not naturally gifted. You can't pick up a pencil and pour out the next greatest American novel. Writing takes practice and a lot of devotion. It is a learned skill, and with time you can draft a literary masterpiece. These are four mistakes even experienced authors make; correcting them can drastically improve your prose and level up your work. The Ever Descriptive Mirror "My reflection stared back at me; eyes worn and gray, my hair once a

A practical guide to choosing between rich description and straightforward feeling. You've probably received a lot of writing advice on how to create emotional depth in your book. The most common one that fills my feeds is to "show, don't tell." Meaning the reader interprets what the character is feeling based on the actions and tension of the scene, rather than explicitly stating what they're feeling. While it’s valuable to learn how to use descriptive language to express fe

Most stories find their footing in one of two territories: character-driven or plot-driven. Understanding how each operates and intersects will reshape the way you write and how readers experience your narrative. This piece explores both approaches and offers structures you can use in your own narrative. Character-Driven Plotting A character-driven plot is a narrative in which a character's internal desires, flaws, and choices determine the course of the story rather than ext

How often do you read a book where the first chapter hits the ground running, draws you in as something strange or compelling is happening, then slams on the brakes to explain everything about the character, from their childhood nickname to their last doctor's appointment? Most of us have written that chapter. We're so determined to make sure readers fully grasp the character before moving on to the next scene that we end up stalling the story and wrecking the pacing. The iss