How not to start a story

We’ve written before about making sure your protagonist is interesting enough – that they have goals, a personality, and compelling flaws. They’re all essential steps to putting your reader in the company of someone they want to spend time with. Unfortunately, writing a great protagonist is one of the hardest tightrope walks of writing, and

A plot idea is just the beginning when you want to write a book and these simple questions help you turn that idea into a complete story.

In part two of our One Year novel series, we tackle the beginning blocks of your story: the premise! Here's how you can construct a strong yet concise premise for your novel using JotterPad.

How do you write a good first chapter to captivate agents and readers? Use this checklist to master your book's start.

Have you ever had the vibes of your story figured out but no plot? This post gives you an easy process to find out what actually happens in yor novel

A prologue serves as an introduction to the story, setting the stage for what's to come, and can be an excellent way to engage readers from the outset. Your prologue can: Provides background info/context Sets the tone for the story And/or gives a glimpse into the story's world. For example, prologues may include historical or cultural context, or an opening scene that establishes the theme and mood of the work, or a vignette of an event that happened long before the story started.

If you're a writer, you know that creating well-rounded characters is essential for any successful story. But where do you start? Check out my article on how to create a detailed character outline spreadsheet to learn how. This article is full of tips on how to organize your character details into categories like identifying details, basic personal info, physical traits, personality traits, and even relationships and inventory. Let me know what character details you think I missed!