“Real writers write every day.”

Unfortunately, that’s a sentiment you’ll often hear in the writing world, and for a time, I subscribed to it myself. And while I still maintain a daily writing routine, I regret the days I spent telling other writers they should to do the same.

Every writer’s process is unique, and what works for one—or even many—isn’t guaranteed to work for you. And that’s okay! The important thing is to find the writing techniques that work best with your time, your skills, and your stories. Unsure if a daily writing routine would be a good fit for your writing process?

Allow me to share the pros and cons of my own experience with a daily writing routine today!

Books are a bit like amusement park rides. 

They come in all shapes and sizes and even levels of thrill, with enough variation that there are few who don’t enjoy any sort of ride at all. But there is one element that all rides must have if they're to succeed: an expectation of pace.

Fast rides fly. Slow rides meander. But it’s rare that a ride will catapult between high and low speeds until the rider begs to be removed. Why? Well, the intense change in pacing would leave most riders bewildered—and likely a bit nauseated, too.

The same goes for stories that lack consistent pacing. So let's avoid bewildering, and perhaps even nauseating, our readers, shall we? Buckle up, writers. We’re about to go for a ride!

Every story needs a good villain, right? Well, not so fast…

Stories need conflict, certainly, but conflict doesn't have to come at the hands of a cackling, mustache-twirling supervillain. There's more than one way to shape your story's antagonist!

In fact, there are four main types of antagonists that appear in fiction, and I can't wait to break them all down with you today. Which type of antagonist is best for your story? How can you make each type a true stand-out success? Read on for more, my friend.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo (i.e. National Novel Writing Month) this November? If so, today's episode breaks down eight essential tips you need to know to make the most of this epic writing challenge.

Conflict is the backbone of any good story.

External conflict, which we broke down recently here on the blog, occurs between a character and an outside force, whether that be another character or an element of nature, society, or technology. On the other hand, internal conflict arises from an ethical or emotional debate that occurs within a character.

This style of conflict, while occurring in some form in every story, has the same ability to carry the full weight of a plot as external conflict. But how? Well, let’s discuss internal conflict together today!

Hello, writers! Kristen here. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome fellow writer Piers Golden to the blog.

Piers is currently a master's student in journalism at NYU, and today he's here to share the many ways in which writing creative non-fiction essays can prove to be a fresh way to exercise your fiction writing skills.

If you enjoy his article, make sure to connect with Piers and check out some of his other articles over on Facebook. Now, without any further ado, I'll let Piers take over his discussion on today's topic!

Conflict drives narrative.

As humans, our curiosity piques when two forces oppose one another. “What is happening?”, we ask. Why are these two forces at odds? How will the conflict play out? Who will win? What would I do if I were in that situation?

These are the questions readers ask, more or less subconsciously, as they read. Which means they’re also exactly the kinds of questions writers should ask themselves when crafting plots for their stories.

In stories, as in life, there are two types of conflict: internal and external. Internal conflicts are the mental, emotional, or spiritual struggles a person faces—Character vs Self—which we’ll talk about on the blog soon!

Today, however, we’re going to focus on the second type of struggle: external conflict. Shall we dive into the breakdown? 

You have a story idea, and you’re ready to write. But have you thought much about how you’ll frame your story?

Subjective storytelling is the framework most commonly found in modern literature, and it's perhaps the most obvious way writers think to tell their stories. With a subjective framework, writers utilize a limited point-of-view (i.e. the story is told solely via the main character's thoughts and experiences) to immerse readers in the main character’s journey.

But this style of storytelling isn’t the only way in which you can frame your story for success. What are your other options, and which is best for your novel? Let’s break down five alternative frameworks today!

When the evening news is overwhelming, when injustice reigns and life reads like conflict straight out of a history book, how do we find the mental and emotional space to write?

This is something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit in recent months, but more so than ever following the events of Charlottesville this August. When a few blog readers expressed similar sentiments on Twitter, I knew it was time to unpack this topic to the best of my ability.

Writing in times of strife may seem insignificant or impossible, but nothing could be further from the truth. Your stories matter, and they are needed. Here are my best tips for bringing them to life when the world is in turmoil...

As writers, writing and reading are obviously the two best ways to fuel our creativity.

But reading and writing aren't the only ways we can stay on top of our creative game. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that you aren't truly maximizing your creativity if you aren't staying active in other areas of your life.

What fuels an artists' work will be different for each of us, but in this week's #FridayFive, I'm sharing five ways that I encourage creativity in my own life outside of simply writing and reading in the hopes that these steps may prove helpful to you as well.

Ready to dive in? Scroll to read a written recap or check out my #FridayFive video below (or over on Youtube---don't forget to subscribe!).

As writers, we often spend a lot of time dissecting and criticizing our work.

We're also no strangers to doubts and insecurities, as we discussed in last week's video and blog post. But just how often do we acknowledge or even relish in what we're doing well? Friends, it's well past time we started celebrating our writing strengths!

Today, I challenge you to think about where your writing strengths lie---and then share them with the world. You can do so in a blog post or a video, in the comments below this article, or over on social media. Wherever you feel most comfortable.

So, are you up to the challenge?

Don't worry, I'll kick things off by sharing a few of my own writing strengths first. You can can catch them in today's video below or over on Youtube, or you can scroll to read through a written summary. Let's go!

Who’s ready to talk trilogies?

Hello, writer, and welcome back to the third and (possibly?) final installment of our blog miniseries on crafting trilogies. 

In the first article, we broke down the three basic types of trilogies and four ways you can plot your own. We then picked up in article two with a breakdown of the many different ways you can craft character arcs for your trilogy, but we’re not stopping there!

When I was first asked to write an article on trilogies, I knew I wanted to talk about plot and character arcs, but many of you also had related questions and concerns. Because many of those concerns couldn’t quite fill out articles of their own, I’ve decided to tackle them today in a blog Q&A session. 

Ready to dive in?