Exploring the Different Types of Fiction
Fiction is a general term used to describe an imaginative work of prose, either a novel, short story, or novella. Recently, this definition has been modified to include both nonfiction works that contain [more…]
Finding Ideas for Your Writing
So you know you want to write a book — you just don't know what you want to write about. For many people, it's not uncommon to think that you need to write about something exotic or different or strange [more…]
Writing Act I of Your Screenplay
Every act in the three-act structure has a set of tasks to accomplish. The first act serves as your audience's introduction to the entire world of the script — people, places, time frame, and all. Remember [more…]
Discovering the Key to Every Romance Novel: The Heroine
Most romance readers are women, and naturally, they want to see themselves reflected in their choice of reading. That desire for reflection doesn't mean that every heroine has to be straight from everyday [more…]
Creating Common Manga Characters
When you know how to draw a manga figure, you're ready to turn your attention to creating your own characters. A number of common archetypes appear often in manga. In this case, [more…]
Crafting Your Character's Dialogue in Your Screenplay
A well-crafted verbal exchange is like a catchy song. Diction provides the lyrics; music provides the tune. Dialogue relies on the sounds of words as well as their definitions, on the rhythm of a conversation [more…]
Creating Emotional Conflict and Tension in a Romance Novel
The conflict, or tension, between your hero and heroine should always drive your plot. Your novel should also have a certain story-related momentum, but the key factor that keeps your reader turning pages [more…]
Developing an Artistic Sensibility for Screenwriting
You've probably heard the saying "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Now, that doesn't mean that you should copy the stories or even the style of other writers, but you may want to try moving [more…]
Constructing Your Manga Plot
Following are the basic stages that a manga-ka (a manga artist) uses to create an original plot. The basic stages are widely embraced by the manga-ka community today, and they originate from classical [more…]
Knowing Where and When to Have Love Scenes in a Romance Novel
You have to know where to place the love scenes in your book to make them really effective. Even a beautifully written love scene jars the reader when you put it in the wrong place, making her question [more…]
Earn More Royalties via Self-Publishing
Major publishers typically pay authors a recoupable advance, plus a pre-determined royalty on book sales as compensation. Writers who self-publish their books, however, must cover all their project's development [more…]
Tracing the Rise of Manga's Popularity
Although manga (pronounced MAHN-gah or MANG-ah) may seem like a fairly new art form, humorous and satirical illustrations trace back to 12th-century Japan. Although now understood to mean [more…]
Choosing the Right Content for Your Self-Published Book
To ensure that your book targets the appropriate audience, provides information of interest, and stays on target in terms of the content, ask yourself these questions: [more…]
Establishing a Fictional Character’s History
To better understand a character’s history, or backstory, many fiction writers create entire histories for their characters. When developing a character for a story, determining the character’s personal [more…]
Writing Fiction For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Writing fiction is fun, and also full of challenges. A good way to work through the challenges is to outline the histories of your characters, which helps you present them more clearly to readers. Another [more…]
The Checklist for Writing a Novel and Getting Published
Don’t fall down on the easy stuff. If you’re writing a novel and sending your manuscript to a publisher, it has to be in perfect shape. Make sure that you can tick every box before you consider your novel [more…]
The Structure of Your Novel Checklist
The structure is the backbone of a book: beneath the surface, it holds everything together and imposes order on the flow. Without a coherent and logical structure, the novel’s key elements are unclear. [more…]
Before You Begin Your Creative Writing
Always be prepared! Here’s a checklist of useful writing aids to have with you as you begin to write – just don’t forget the chocolate biscuits. [more…]
How to Generate Creative Writing Ideas
Writer’s block affects all writers from time to time. If you feel a bit stuck for inspiration, try these techniques to get your creative juices flowing. [more…]
Writing Your First Draft
Writing a first draft of your creative writing project – whether a novel, short story, poem or play – can be a bit daunting. Follow these handy hints to help you organise your thoughts and manage your [more…]
Rewriting and Editing Your Creative Writing Project
Rewriting and editing helps to tighten up your work. But it can be difficult – what to chop and when to stop may not be clear, and you may change your mind more than once during the process. Ask yourself [more…]
Ways to Develop and Improve Your Creative Writing
Here are some top tips for developing your creative writing. No writing is ever a finished product – there are always ways to improve and refine your style. [more…]
Creative Writing For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Do you want to be the next J.K. Rowling and dream up a character like Harry Potter? Do you want to write poems or plays? Follow this handy Cheat Sheet, which breaks down the process into manageable tasks [more…]
Must-Have References for Copyediting and Proofreading
If you’re a copyeditor or proofreader, you know the importance of good reference sources. Much of the information in desk references can be found on the Internet, but a good copyeditor or proofreader should [more…]
The Proofreading Symbols
As copyeditor or proofreader, you need to become familiar with the proofreading symbols so that you can make your edits understood. The following tables list proofreading symbols every proofreader and [more…]
