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How To Write Shop

Articles on the craft and business of writing

novel writing

Ten Steps to Deconstructing a Novel (or How to Learn from Great Authors)

April 3, 2018 by Kathy Steffen 18 Comments
Deconstructing a novel

Reading other’s work will help you study story structure and analyze what works and what doesn’t so you can apply concepts of writing that resonate with you to your own writing. Here’s how to do it.

Posted in: Writing Craft, Writing Tips Tagged: novel writing, writing strategies, writing tips

Character Goals: The #1 Thing Every Character Must Have

March 22, 2013 by Kathy Steffen 5 Comments

Character goals. Do your characters have them? Do you know? Do you ever sit down to the blank page and your characters do nothing? You get in the zone, but still, the scene goes nowhere? Are ideas dried up and the story has no place to go? Do your characters get into conflict (as they … [Read more…]

Posted in: Characters, Writing Craft Tagged: character development, novel writing, writing tips

5 Quick Tips to Writing More

February 13, 2013 by Kathy Steffen 7 Comments

Last week I wrote about accountability and how to hook up with outside sources to help you keep your writing on track (and make writing buddies in the process). If you missed it, you can read it here: The Accountability Factor. Now let’s talk what you can do right now and for yourself. Face it, … [Read more…]

Posted in: Featured, Inspiration, Writing Life Tagged: novel writing, writing goals, writing inspiration

Revision Checklist for Compelling Characters

September 28, 2012 by Kathy Steffen 3 Comments
Piercing Eyes

Without compelling characters your book will get tossed aside faster than a vacuous date. What pieces do you need in place? Here’s a checklist for the all-important rewrites.

Posted in: Characters, Revision, Writing Craft Tagged: characters, novel writing, revision

How to Revise: Six Steps to Story Strength

September 19, 2012 by Kathy Steffen 9 Comments

Any of the following will cause story-strength fail. Fix them and your story will engage your reader through the end of your book and beyond.

Posted in: Revision, Writing Craft Tagged: editing, novel writing, revision
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Featured Book

The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogler

The Writer’s Journey explores the relationship between mythology and storytelling in a clear, concise style.

Want help plotting great stories that grab readers?

The Writer’s Journey is on our MUST read list.

Get at Amazon

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Featured Book

The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogler

The Writer’s Journey explores the relationship between mythology and storytelling in a clear, concise style.

Want help plotting great stories that grab readers?

The Writer’s Journey is on our MUST read list.

Get at Amazon


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