[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Introduction” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]You love to write stories, but you’re not sure if you’re doing it the right way.
I mean …
Maybe you have great basic concepts but aren’t sure how to build those into a cohesive theme.
Or maybe your theme is crystal clear in your mind, but you struggle to put together a compelling plot.
Or maybe, you just don’t know which story structure best fits your golden idea.
You’re not alone — writing fiction is hard, and none of us is sure about the best path forward all the time. Fortunately, precisely because we all search for answers on a regular basis, your fellow authors are also more than willing to share those answers with you when they find them.
The Internet is full of great writing advice if you know where to find it.
And that’s what this guide is all about — bringing the best information on the web about all facets of writing a great story together in one place.
Below you’ll find more than 100 awesome articles by some of the most accomplished writing experts around, categorized to help you find the advice you need.
So get your list of questions together, take a deep breath, and dig in.
Table of Contents
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Chapter 2
Premise
Check out our discussion of premise at the link below …
What Is the Premise of a Story?
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Chapter 3
Theme
Theme is the unifying or dominant idea in a story that recurs throughout the plot and presents the author’s overall message to the reader. Examples include good v. evil, death, and man as hero.
Theme can be explicit or implicit, but without it, your story won’t really say anything to your reader. Theme ties everything together, so you have to know what you’re trying to convey and how to do it.
These experts can help you hammer out your message.
- 25 THINGS WRITERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THEME by Chuck Wendig
- Does Your Fiction Novel Have a Theme? by James Chartrand
- Fiction Writing Exercises for Exploring and Developing Theme by Melissa Donovan
- Finding The Theme Of A Story: Almost Famous by Chris Oatley
- Finding Your Themes by Holly Lisle
- Theme Me Up: How to Develop Your Theme by Janice Hardy
- Theme, Fiction, and Empire Games by Charles Stross
- Top 10 Types of Story Themes by Samantha Stone
- Writing from theme by John August
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Chapter 4
Plot
Plot is the series of events that drive your story from beginning to end, together with the structure that orders those events and helps establish relationships among them. It is the framework around which your story and characters are built.
Without a compelling plot, your story will languish and your readers will put down your book.
The resources below will help you … um … plot your course.
- 11 Plot Pitfalls – And How to Rescue Your Story From Them by Laura Whitcomb
- 25 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PLOT by Chuck Wendig
- 5 Tips for Writing an Effective Plot Twist by Suzannah Windsor
- How To Create A Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps by Glen C. Strathy
- How to plot a novel: 7 tips for success via Now Novel
- How to Write a Novel Plot that Grips your Reader via The Writers’ Workshop
- Novel Plotting Worksheets by Annie Neugebauer
- Plot Generator via Plot Generator
- The 7 universal story plots that still entrance audiences by Ffion Lindsay
- The Best Advice on Plotting I’ve Ever Heard by Janice Hardy
- The Golden Rules for a Good Plot via Scribendi
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Chapter 5
Story Structure
Story structure is the scaffolding on which you build your plot. It helps you lay out the events of your story in a way that flows well for readers and keeps your characters moving toward their destinies.
There are several standard story structures from which to choose, and there are also ways to customize structure based on the demands of your individual story.
The experts below can help you pick through the options and zero in on the structure that’s right for you.
- Writer’s Cheatsheet to Plot and Structure by Matt Herron
- Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet by Tim Stout
- Classic Story Structure Begins with Plot by Adam Sexton
- How to Outline a Novel – Seven Point Story Structure via Writers to Authors
- How to Plot With the Three-Act Structure by Janice Hardy
- How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point Arc by Ali Hale
- Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction by Karen Woodward
- Story Structure by Alexandra Sokoloff
- Story Structure in Short Stories by Philip Brewer
- The Best Approach To Story Structure: From Aristotle to Dramatica by Glen C. Strathy
- The One Underlying Substance of All Story Structure Models: Bullshit by Lincoln Michel
- The Secrets of Story Structure (Complete Series) by K.M. Weiland
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Chapter 6
Setting
Setting is the backdrop against which your story takes place. It can include locale, time, date, day of week, cultural climate, weather, geography, and almost any number of other factors.
Setting goes a long way toward establishing the mood and tone of your story, so you need to put some work into getting it right.
The resources below can help you, ahem, set the table.
- Building Your Story’s Setting via Novel Writing Help
- English 250 Fiction Unit: Setting by George Hartley
- How to Describe the Setting in a Story via WikiHow
- Literary Devices – Setting via Literary Devices
- Setting—The Place and Time of Story by Beth Hill
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Chapter 7
Point of View
Point of view is the perspective of the narrator in your book and generally takes the first-person, second-person, or third-person form.
But which one is right for your story? And can you switch points of view as your plot unfurls?
These and other questions are answered in the expert advice below.
- 6 Tips to Choosing the Right Point of View by Nancy Kress
- Different Types Of Point Of View via The Beginning Writer
- Grammar Girl : First, Second, and Third Person by Geoff Pope
- How to Write a Novel with Multiple Points of View via NY Book Editors
- Point of View via The Balance
- Point of View From My Point of View by Alex Keegan
- Point of View in Writing by Joe Bunting
- Point of View: The Complete Guide by Harvey Chapman
- Points of View in Fiction via The Writers’ Workshop
- Science Fiction Writer Robert J. Sawyer: On Writing — Point of View by Robert J. Sawyer
- Tools for Writing: Points of View in Writing via Aims Community College
- What Is the Point of View of a Story? by Ginny Wiehardt
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Chapter 8
Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is the gradual reveal of all details — or at least most of the essential ones — about the universe where your characters dwell and in which your story takes place.
That may seem to be the same as setting, but worldbuilding is much more sweeping and includes all aspects of the universe you’re creating — commerce, nations involved, interplanetary travel, modes of travel and on and on and on.
It’s a complicated concept, and you have to take care not to lose your story in the quest for building a perfect world.
The resources below can help you navigate the choppy, expansive waters.
- 11 Tips for World-Building in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Laurence MacNaughton
- 7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding by Charlie Jane Anders
- An Impatient Writer’s Approach to World Building by Victoria Strauss
- Fiction Writing: How to Create a Believable World for Your Characters by Tim Hillebrant
- Fictional World Building Begins with Imagining by Tina Dubinsky
- Five Foundations of World-building by Malinda Lo
- How to build a fictional world – Kate Messner by Kate Messner
- The Ultimate Guide To World-Building by Claire Bradshaw
- World-Building in Historical Fiction by Tim Weed
- Writing 101: Setting and Worldbuilding by Kaitlin Hillerich
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Chapter 9
Characters
Your characters are the lifeblood of your story. I mean, can you imagine writing anything at all without characters? Not unless you’re a bad Minecraft fanfic author — even then, you’d have to write yourself into the tale.
But you have to get them right, or your story is doomed. Flat and boring characters will doom your tale, and so will overblown, unbelievable characters.
If you’re having trouble striking the right balance and making your characters sing, the resources below can help get you back on track.
- 1000+ Ideas About Character Development on Pinterest via Pinterest
- 5 Things You Need To Know About Character Development by Bronwyn Hemus
- Character Development Reddit via Reddit
- Character development: 9 tips for convincing arcs via Now Novel
- How I Create Characters by Melissa McPhail
- How to Create a Character Profile by The Lazy Scholar
- Quotes About Character Development on Goodreads via Goodreads
- The Art of Character Development by Sheree Rehema
- The EPIGUIDE.COM Character Chart for Fiction Writers by Kira Lerner and Toni Walker
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Chapter 10
Dialogue
Dialogue is vital to the success of your story, but for most authors, it’s one of the toughest parts of writing.
The problem is, no matter how comfortable you are speaking, it feels unnatural to actually write down a conversation between people. Especially made-up conversation between fictional characters.
What often results are written discussions that feel stilted or overdone and that don’t ring true to your readers’ real-world experiences.
Part of the answer to overcoming this author’s affliction is simply to practice writing dialogue, but first, you have to know what you should be practicing.
That’s where the resources below come into play — they’ll show you the ins and outs, the wrongs and rights of crafting fictional dialogue.
Your job is to digest this advice and then put it into practice, again and again and again.
- 10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Dialogue by Ali Luke
- 13 movie dialogue rules to write great dialogues via What a Script!
- 9 Easily Preventable Mistakes Writers Make with Dialogue by Joanna Penn
- 9 Tricks to Make Your Dialogue More Organic by Rob Blair
- Collaborating to Write Dialogue by Janis Cramer
- How to Fix Really Bad Dialogue by Doug Richardson
- How To Format Dialogue by Dax MacGregor
- How to write dialogue in a story: 7 steps for great exchanges by Bridget McNulty
- The #1 Best Tip to Writing Dialogue by Chazda Albright
- Thinking About Writing: Effective Dialogue by Chip MacGregor
- Tips for Writing Dialogue by Teddy Wayne
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Chapter 11
Scene Building
Scenes are the individual units of action that establish your characters’ relationships and move your story through the plot you have laid out.
Scenes are where you do the real work of carrying out your story after all the planning is in the books.
If you can’t write enthralling scenes that compel your reader to move to the next page, and then the next scene, your story won’t have the impact you want it to have.
Check out the resources below if you need help making your scenes more captivating.
- 7 Tension-Building Tips for Writing Action Scenes by Joan C. Curtis
- Crafting Memorable Scenes in Fiction by Martina Boone
- Create Scenes That Sizzle – 7 Essential Elements by Martha Alderson, M.A.
- Creating Scenes: Fiction’s Building Blocks by Sue Bradford Edwards
- How a Scene List Can Change Your Novel-Writing Life by Monica M. Clark
- How to Create Effective Scenes and Chapters in Your Novel by Idrees Patel
- The Fundamentals of Writing a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld and Martha Alderson
- TURBO-CHARGE YOUR FICTION: WRITE SCENES TO HOOK READERS by Angela Booth
- Writing Fiction? What You Need To Know About Creating a Story Theme and Believable Scene Transitions by Candace Sinclair
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Chapter 12
Conclusion
Will these articles and experts guarantee that your next story is a rollicking success?
Heck no!
But the most important thing you can do to become a better author is to keep learning and then apply what you learn to your craft. There is hardly a better way to learn than by emulating people who have been where you want to go and done what you want to do.
And, when it comes to writing great stories, these resources are the cream of the crop. Eat them up, incorporate what you can into your own writing, and then get busy crafting your next story.
It just might be your best one yet!
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