Archive for Writing Tips

Will writing nonfiction help your fiction writing skills?

Absolutely… to a certain extent. Fiction emphasizes creativity and imagination in order to construct believable characters, dialogue and plot. Nonfiction prepares you to write other elements of the novel, such as, narrative, description, or scene, and to blend them together seamlessly into a story. Nonfiction writing also prepares you for novel writing when you want to add layers or to increase the depth of your scenes.

However, if you pour too much of your nonfiction skills into your novel, it will take control of your fiction elements. I am guilty of making this mistake. Here are some symptoms to look out for when nonfiction writing has invaded your novel: Read more

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Why do you read novels?


I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to feast on one of my favorite thing to do: reading novels. I was deprived for quite some time after getting so engrossed in revising my manuscript. Now that the revision is almost complete, all I need is a little break to curl in the sofa with a book. I’m looking forward to be entertained, to be whisked away and to be swept into the hero and heroine’s world of conflict; and in the end presented with a happy ending when the main characters get together and live happily ever after.
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Outline vs. No Outline

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I read about this debate all over the place – in the forums or in “how to” books for writers.

So what exactly is an outline? It’s defined as a statement or summary of the chief facts about something.

Now if you’re already a writer and you know your preferences, you either outline your novel first before you write or you’re a seat-of-the-pants type of writer – based on intuition or experience – rather than a plan.

If you’re a first time writer and want to write your first novel you should continue reading. Then you can decide for yourself if you’d like to outline first or you prefer to just go a head and start writing.

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Don’t take your reader where he wants to go

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The above title is the advice I remember the most while I’m sitting here writing my Work In Progress (WIP) manuscript. The purpose is to not take your reader where he believes he will be taken, but to prolong the suspense and force your reader into a position where he will find it irresistible to know more about what happens next.

This emotional manipulation is one of the best ingredients in plotting your scene to the point where the reader has no choice but to finish reading it. And this reminds me of an interesting topic I learned in my psychological studies called reverse psychology. What does emotional manipulation in fiction have to do with reverse psychology you probably ask? Well, first, let us define reverse psychology. In Wikipedia,

Reverse Psychology is the term that describes the outcome where advocacy of one course of action persuades another person to do the opposite.

For example, reverse psychology occurs in an episode of Seinfeld, when a waitress admonishes Elaine not to touch the hot cup of coffee. Elaine, of course, promptly does.
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How to maintain reader interest to the end for your fiction

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Authors write fiction with goals in mind: they want the reader to read and learn something from their character’s experience. Additionally, the reader expects the story to be entertaining as well. It all sounds fairly easy and straightforward as it makes writing fiction interesting, but it is not. Any writer who’s published or attempted to write a short story or novel understands – writing fiction is easy; writing fiction that maintains the reader’s interest throughout is not.

So how do you present your story to hook the reader from beginning to end? Your ability as a writer is now challenged and you need to equip yourself with several plot devices. These devices help you to captivate your reader’s interest in your story. One type of plot device is suspense. Suspense is when the reader has to wait and worry about what will happen next to the main character(s).
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