As writers, one of our core missions is to craft stories in which our readers can invest. Stories so captivating that readers fly through the pages.

The most opportune time for readers to set a book aside comes when they finish a chapter. In that space between one page and the next, readers ask themselves just how much they care about the fate of the characters. Do they need to know what happens next? If their gut says no, they’ll likely set the book aside—and there’s a decent chance they might not pick it up again.

To pen a deliciously addictive book, it’s therefore vital to consider the page-turning power of your chapter endings. Where a dull closing page will deter readers, a few intriguing lines can hook them in for yet another scene. But how, exactly, do you go about instilling readers with the need to know what happens next?

If you consider yourself a pantser, you likely don’t spend much (or any) time pre-writing your stories prior to drafting. Instead, you “write by the seat of your pants,” using your first draft to explore and develop your story. But just because you don’t find pre-writing helpful to your writing process doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of the power of story structure.

The opening chapters of your story are doubtless some of the most important you’ll write.

When crafted with care, a strong opening sequence effectively hooks readers into your story, encouraging them to keep turning pages to learn more about your characters, plot, and story world. A poor opening sequence, on the other hand, can lead readers to toss your book aside in boredom or frustration before your story ever gets off the ground. 

Knowing the vital importance of a strong opening sequence, I jumped at the opportunity to work with freelance editor Isobelle Lans when she offered me her ‘First Three Chapters’ service in exchange for an honest testimonial and review. 

From tentative first kisses to explicit sex scenes, intimacy in fiction can exist in many forms.

Included in that range is the popular fade-to-black, in which an intimate scene ends before anything too explicit happens on the page, nevertheless implying the characters share certain intimacies “off-screen.” A vulnerable conversation between friends or lovers can prove quite intimate as well, though today we’re going to stick to physical intimacies and how we can write them. 

Those awkward, cringe-worthy love scenes? Those are exactly what I’m going to show you how to avoid today, using techniques I’ve gleaned from Diana Gabaldon’s I Give You My Body.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

This quote, often attributed to Anton Chekhov, is frequently used as an example of the “Show, Don’t Tell” technique that can help writers craft descriptive sensory language. 

The use of such language has grown popular in recent decades thanks to the rise of film and television, which has led readers to favor fiction they can visualize as clearly as a movie in their minds’ eye. I discussed this shift toward film-making principles (and away from fiction’s previously popular all-knowing narrator) in my first article on the “Show, Don’t Tell” technique.

But today, I want to explore “Show, Don’t Tell” in a new light…

As both a reader and a writer, I am a big fan of romance.

I love the unique tension and allure that exists within a love story, the will-they-or-won’t-they mystery that leads to such great page-turning material. But that material can’t exist without strong romantic chemistry between the characters in question (as evidenced by many a lackluster rom-com, am I right?) And unfortunately, chemistry isn’t exactly easy to define or to craft.

Though I don’t write within the romance genre myself, romantic subplots are a staple in my personal brand of storytelling. So today, I’m going to share with you everything I’ve learned about crafting romantic chemistry readers can believe in.

Finding your personal writing process is essential to building a writing life you love.

Without knowing which techniques help you create your best work, you’ll struggle to get your stories down on the page. But every writer’s process is unique. The methods that work well for one writer won’t necessarily work for you. That’s why it’s vital you discover your unique writing process, including the method that helps you craft your best first drafts.

Traditionally, writers outline their stories, then use that outline to guide them as they draft their idea in full. But what if this method doesn’t work well for you? Good news! Today, I’m sharing three alternative drafting techniques that might just revolutionize your writing process. Let’s break them down together.

Part of crafting characters involves exploring their history. 

Just as your lived experiences have shaped the person you are today, a character’s backstory has the power to provide depth and understanding to their characterization. It can even lend context to the conflicts taking place in your present story. Without that history, your character’s attitudes and actions have little foundation on which to stand.

But crafting a rich and compelling character backstory is far from simple. What elements should you consider when weaving your character’s history? Better yet, how do you translate that history onto the page without bogging down your story? Let’s answer both of these questions and more in today’s article…

Flashbacks are some of the most difficult scenes to write.

When effective, flashback scenes relay vital backstory that cuts straight to the emotional core of a narrative. They exist because they must, because there is no better way to reveal the information on which the story hinges. But like the infamous prologue, flashback scenes are all too easy to get wrong. 

An ineffective flashback will jar readers out of a story as quickly as a successful one will grip them by the heartstrings. How can you ensure your own flashbacks serve a powerful purpose within your stories? Let’s discuss…

Every phenomenal story unfolds in a series of scenes. 

If each scene in a book is a link in a chain, one weak link can threaten the overall power of a story. By learning how to craft better, more compelling scenes — scenes that are irresistible in their interest and emotional pull — we learn how to craft better, more compelling stories. But what exactly makes for a spellbinding, well-structured scene?

To answer that question, we must first ask another...

Are you easily distracted by new story ideas?

There’s a reason it took me over two years to finish a draft of my first novel, and that reason is Shiny New Idea Syndrome. Every several thousand words into my book, I’d conjure up a new way to tell the same story and scrap everything I’d written to start fresh, convinced that my new idea was better than the last. Sound familiar, writer?

If you frequently find yourself tempted by new story ideas (and have often failed to finish a draft because of this), today is the day to break the vicious cycle. Let’s talk about how we can filter pesky plot bunnies to better find focus in our writing lives today.

“Show, Don’t Tell” is far and away one of the most common pieces of writing advice. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most misunderstood.

This popular writing mantra claims to be the key to rich and immersive storytelling, but what does “Show, Don’t Tell” actually mean? Is it a technique you should truly pay mind as you work to improve your skills? And if so, how can you employ this popular piece of advice in a way that doesn’t feel contrived? Let’s discuss everything you need to know in today’s article, writers.