2025 Gift Guide for Authors (to suit any budget) Looking for the perfect gift to show your loved one how much their writing means to you? Oh boy. I was born ready for this challenge. I’m an author and writing mentor, which means I’m both the target audience for these gifts and I spend most of my […]
Gifts for the author in your life (to suit every budget) Read More »
Archetypes are not cliché! Learn how authors can use archetypes strategically in their fiction to create unforgettable characters that resonate with readers.
Understanding Archetypes in Fiction (And Why They’re Your Secret Writing Weapon) Read More »
A personal journey through creative burnout and a guide to keeping your writing moving forward when stressful life events threaten to throw you off track.
Struggling with narrative perspective? Learn how to choose between first person and third person (or even second person!) when writing your novel or short story.
How to Choose the Right Narrative POV for Your Story Read More »
Can a novel have more than one protagonist? Can a novel have more than one protagonist? Looks like a simple enough question, doesn’t it? But the answer very much depends on who you ask. And that in turn opens up a fascinating debate about narrative focus, character development, and storytelling structure. Traditionally, novels are understood
Can a novel have more than one protagonist? Read More »
Learn how to build an author website to showcase your novels (even if you’re not tech-savvy), with advice on buying a domain name, web hosting, which pages to include, and more
How to build an author website: a step-by-step guide Read More »
Emerging authors: discover when you should start creating an online presence for your novels (and why it’s sooner than you think).
When’s the best time to create your author website? Read More »
Why your story needs visible and invisible narratives Stories are rarely just about what happens on the surface. The best narratives work on more than one level—they have an external plot that keeps us turning pages or glued to the screen, but underneath that is a deeper, often invisible emotional journey. This is what I
Why your story needs visible and invisible narratives Read More »
Discover how subplots enhance your novel and learn how to create secondary storylines that support the main plot without overshadowing it
The role of subplots in your novel Read More »
The unnecessary prologue: How to avoid the info-dump trap I keep hearing that the publishing industry is fed up with prologues. I keep seeing new novels with prologues get published. Clearly, the publishing industry is not so fed up with prologues that it won’t publish novels with prologues. So what gives? Well, I’m not a
The unnecessary prologue: How to avoid the info-dump trap Read More »
