Theme is difficult to define in that unlike other elements of writing—plot, characterization, and conflict, for example—it is abstract in...

Let’s start with some definitions. An adjective is a word that describes, modifies, or clarifies a noun by giving some descriptive...

Transitions are the words and phrases that make for a logical connection between sentences, paragraphs, and chapters in your book. Good...

Scenes carry the novel. Whether you write romance or mysteries, fantasies or literary fiction, the key to keeping readers’ attention is...

When done well, dialogue advances the story and fleshes out the characters while providing a break from exposition. But writing...

Research shows that people convey thoughts, emotions, and feelings in three different ways: 7 percent verbal—what is said 38 percent...

Establishing the setting, tone, and mood for your book is an essential element—without these things, the story will feel incomplete to...

Descriptive writing is the craft of portraying people, places, events, situations, thoughts, and feelings in such a manner that readers...

Moving the story forward is arguably the most important and most difficult aspect of good novel-writing. If someone says, “I couldn’t put...

Let’s start with some definitions. NARRATIVE—the story in itself. The entire novel is a narrative. EXPOSITION—background information...