rule

Oct 2, 20202 min read

Traditional Publishing Contracts: A True Story

As we discussed Tuesday, there’s really three types of traditional publishing contracts you could potentially land. There’s big-time Big 5 t

166 views

Your Chances of Being an Authorial Success Story

Jeannette DiLouie

Sep 25, 20203 min read

Your Chances of Being an Authorial Success Story

How many people play the lottery? According to a Gallup poll a few years ago, “Roughly half of Americans say they have bought a state lotter

81 views

Jeannette DiLouie

Aug 23, 20193 min read

A Clarification on Authorial Tone

Perhaps I should have led the literary tone series with this one. But it’s too late now, so let’s clear up what needs to be cleared up… The

585 views

Famous Authors, Critique Groups and Your Writing Style

Jeannette DiLouie

Aug 16, 20193 min read

Famous Authors, Critique Groups and Your Writing Style

Have you ever heard of the Inklings? As a writer and no doubt reader, it might ring a bell. Or it might not. But back in the 20th century,

102 views

Litterbugs and Other Blatant Examples of Author Bias

Jeannette DiLouie

Aug 9, 20193 min read

Litterbugs and Other Blatant Examples of Author Bias

Years and years ago, while browsing through the fantasy section of Barnes & Noble… or was it Borders? Yikes! Location aside, I came acr

5,361 views

If You’re Wondering If You Have Too Much Exposition

Jeannette DiLouie

Aug 2, 20193 min read

If You’re Wondering If You Have Too Much Exposition

I’m going to try really, really hard to write this blog post without calling anyone out. But there are a whole lot of writers who put too mu

643 views

The Possibly Ugly, Definitely Fixable Truth About Editing a Second Draft

Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 26, 20192 min read

The Possibly Ugly, Definitely Fixable Truth About Editing a Second Draft

Once you’ve edited your first draft, it’s understandable if you expect your editorial journey to be automatically smoother thereafter. That

9 views

Don’t Sweat the Small-Stuff “Plot Holes”

Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 19, 20193 min read

Don’t Sweat the Small-Stuff “Plot Holes”

Have you ever heard the argument that an omnipotent God can’t exist? It’s the one that starts and ends with the question: “Can God create a

22 views

The 8-Second Advice for Writing a Narrative Hook

Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 12, 20193 min read

The 8-Second Advice for Writing a Narrative Hook

Do you know what the average human attention span is? According to a Microsoft study, it’s eight seconds. Eight teeny, tiny seconds. That’

26 views

Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 5, 20193 min read

Something Worth Crying About

Complete courtesy of yesterday’s 4th of July-inspired awesome post on editing a first draft… you now know that it’s not the most difficult t

20 views

Jeannette DiLouie

Jun 21, 20193 min read

(Creative) Writing a Killer Ending

As the big bad writer, you’re the ultimate authority on what you want to do with your story. Do you want to kill off everyone in the end? I

25 views

A Great Way to Ruin Your Novel’s Falling Action

Jeannette DiLouie

Jun 14, 20193 min read

A Great Way to Ruin Your Novel’s Falling Action

Alrighty then. We’re officially there. Officially ready to close our discussion on using falling action to deal with those pesky remaining

24 views

Do You Know the Definition of a Deus Ex Machina?

Jeannette DiLouie

Jun 7, 20193 min read

Do You Know the Definition of a Deus Ex Machina?

Today, we’re finishing off our series about writing literary climax. But to do so, we’re going to take a brief trek back to dialogue, a topi

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What You Don’t Want to Write in Your Rising Action

Jeannette DiLouie

May 31, 20193 min read

What You Don’t Want to Write in Your Rising Action

If you’re writing rising action for an action-oriented novel, you might not have appreciated yesterday’s Writing Challenge. All that lovey-d

14 views

Your Story Probably Doesn’t Need That Prologue

Jeannette DiLouie

May 24, 20192 min read

Your Story Probably Doesn’t Need That Prologue

Every writer knows (or should know) the importance of a story’s first few lines. They’re what make up the narrative hook, that element desig

865 views

One Single Story. Multiple Points of View.

Jeannette DiLouie

May 17, 20193 min read

One Single Story. Multiple Points of View.

Here’s a really important question that every writer should consider: How many points of view should your story hold? In asking this questi

16 views

When It Comes to Dialogue Tags, Don’t Just Say “Said”

Jeannette DiLouie

May 10, 20193 min read

When It Comes to Dialogue Tags, Don’t Just Say “Said”

If yesterday’s article seemed to lean too far toward the anti-dialogue tags side of the creative writer debate, I apologize. Let me clear up

8,474 views

Writing Dialogue for Villains Without Embarrassing Anyone in the Process

Jeannette DiLouie

May 3, 20193 min read

Writing Dialogue for Villains Without Embarrassing Anyone in the Process

We’re about to focus on writing dialogue for villains specifically, but the following advice can easily be applied elsewhere. Protagonists,

669 views

Too Many Setting Details for This Reader’s Liking

Jeannette DiLouie

Apr 26, 20193 min read

Too Many Setting Details for This Reader’s Liking

Yesterday, I admitted how I’m not very into reading about setting details. However, that doesn’t mean I’m not into writing about setting de

61 views

If You Don’t Want to Write Cliché Secondary Characters…

Jeannette DiLouie

Apr 19, 20193 min read

If You Don’t Want to Write Cliché Secondary Characters…

Absolutely everyone has an idea of what cliché means when it comes to character creation. For example, Kailee Schnabele of Flagler College’

127 views