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How To Write Shop

Articles on the craft and business of writing

Writing Craft

Looking for tips and articles on the fiction writing craft and techniques? The How to Write shop is a free resource of educational and easy to understand articles on both the craft of writing and writing techniques.

In the writing craft section of the How to Write Shop, you’ll find articles on: characterization, scene and sequel, showing vs. telling, plotting, character development and much more. These articles can help you with writing novels, short stories, poems, essays… or even non-fiction book.

The How to Write Shop knows that writing fiction is a craft. Learning the writing craft and writing techniques, however, can be fun! Check out these educational articles on how to write a book, essay, or screenplay and get writing your next best-selling novel today.


Sense of Smell in Writing

October 20, 2010 by Alex Bledsoe 4 Comments
using the sense of smell in writing

Writers talk a lot about using the five senses. But how much thought have you given specifically to the sense of smell in writing? Not just for description but developing character and worldbuilding and… I once read an interview with director Ridley Scott, whose second film–a little number called Alien had just been released.  In … [Read more…]

Posted in: Description, Worldbuilding, Writing Craft Tagged: description, five senses, sense of smell

How to Write a Scene, Article Three- Show Motivation with Sequel

October 6, 2010 by Lori Devoti 2 Comments
Show motivation in scene with sequel

  Article Three in How to Write a Scene – Show Motivation with Sequel by Lori Devoti, a  How To Write Fiction Series. Sequel Defined: (Swain, Techniques of the Selling Writer) “A sequel is a unit of transition that links two scenes….It sets forth your focal character’s reaction to the scene just completed, and provides … [Read more…]

Posted in: Scenes, Writing Craft Tagged: dwight swain, scene, sequel

How to Start a Novel and Keep Your Readers Reading.

October 4, 2010 by Guest Post 60 Comments
how to start a novel

How to Start a Novel and Keep Your Readers Reading is a guest post by Molly O’Keefe Molly O’Keefe is the Rita-Award-winning author of over fifteen romance novels. She published her first Harlequin romance at age 25 and hasn’t looked back. She loves exploring every character’s road towards happily ever after. How to start a … [Read more…]

Posted in: First Pages, Writing Craft Tagged: beginnings, first pages, how to start a novel

How to Write a Scene, Article Two, Scene Structure: Goal, Conflict, Disaster

September 29, 2010 by Lori Devoti 5 Comments
Building with Blocks

Miss the first article in How to Write a Scene series? Read it here. Article Two in How to Write a Scene, Scene Structure: Goal, Conflict, Disaster by Lori Devoti, a  How To Write Fiction Series. Goal, Conflict, Disaster is the basic scene structure of every good scene and yes, this means every scene should … [Read more…]

Posted in: Scenes, Writing Craft Tagged: conflict, disaster, dwight swain, goal, scenes, sequel

How to Write a Scene– Article 1: Scenes in fiction

September 22, 2010 by Lori Devoti 10 Comments

Article One in How to Write a Scene, Scenes in Fiction by Lori Devoti, a  How To Write Fiction Series. When I first started writing I sat through a number of workshops where multi-published NY Times-best-selling authors would spout what are and aren’t scenes in fiction, and what could and couldn’t be in a book … [Read more…]

Posted in: Scenes, Writing Craft Tagged: conflict, disaster, dwight swain, scenes
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