Every great story needs great characters. So you have an idea for the greatest story ever told but fall flat in the character department. What are you left with? You’re left with twists and turns that are useless without someone worth caring about...

Nowadays, if you want to be successful as an author, you need to do more than just write. You need to have a regular way to continuously put yourself out there. Marketing your book, promoting your blog, and growing valuable relationships with your audience...

A poetic form is a set of rules that dictate the rhyme scheme, structure, rhythm, and meter of a poem. The form may also guide the purpose and tone of a poem. When the message and form fit together, you can produce a poem that is truly powerful. Poet...

Science fiction, or sci-fi, is a popular genre. It’s one of the broadest genres in terms of theme, and is characterized by numerous sub-genres. Sci-fi also connects with a wide audience, from stories for the youngest readers to women and men of all ages...

An author website should reflect you and your work and it should be the best it can be to help get promote your work. There are a few things that can make a website stand out more than others. One of the best things you can do for a website is to provide...

What is a Thriller? Thriller novels usually involve a protagonist who is working to fight a foreign power, criminal organization, or a ruthless villain . The conflicts often involve takes of espionage, financial crimes, politics, or some type of adventure...

Journals aren’t just for teenagers. As the new options for self-publishing allow more first-time authors to try their hand at selling their material, more authors than ever are traversing uncharted territory. This can be both exciting, and frustrating...

You may not share the enthusiasm of grammar buffs that have group sites just to have lengthy dialogues about grammar, but as an author, you don't just want to keep your prose error-free. You want to make it sting, pop, and sizzle. Each point of punctuation...

Plotting isn't formula; it's structure. Each genre has a basic plot structure. The following quick snapshots should help you begin a novel writing journey. Remember these are broad generalizations, a place to get you started. Literary Fiction -- In...

Analyzing and writing poetry draws you into a world that speaks another language. From iambs to hexameters, there are new poetry terms and definitions that you need to decipher. By understanding the basic terms related to meter, form, and poetic devices...