Redemption Arcs: How to Redeem a Flawed Character

by Lewis / June 2, 2020 / Character Development

We’ve all made mistakes in our lives…

However, very few of us have made the kinds of mistakes our characters have. From murder to warmongering, many of us write characters who do horrible things and embody horrible traits. But what if we don’t want them to end up the villain—what if we want to redeem them?

This is where the redemption arc comes in, where you take a destructive character and slowly transform them into something akin to a hero. Of course, this transformation won’t come easily—which is why learning to write effective redemption arcs is so important.

Third Book Syndrome: My Third Self-Publishing Experience

by Lewis / May 19, 2020 / Post-Mortems, Publishing

A strange thing happened while writing my third book.

I had developed a strong writing process while working on my first two books, yet The Ten Day Edit eluded me. It wasn’t that I didn’t have enough time, or that I didn’t know what to write about—instead, it was what I now know is third book syndrome.

In hindsight, I should have seen it coming, but I honestly didn’t expect it to affect me as much as it did. What I expected even less, however, was how I finally overcame it.

5 Types of Heroes and How to Write Them

by Lewis / May 12, 2020 / Character Development

All of us have a favorite fictional hero…

However, far from the usual stereotypes, that hero could be any number of things! After all, heroes aren’t just noble knights, but wise witches, rough and tumble bounty hunters, space pilots, and tons of other flawed and interesting characters. In fact, there are many types of heroes that can populate our stories.

Fortunately, this variety of heroes isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it gives us writers more room than ever to tell unique stories and write amazing novels—all with equally unique heroes!

The 10 Steps of Editing a Novel

by Lewis / April 28, 2020 / Editing

Editing is the final hurdle between you and a finished novel…

And what a complex hurdle it can be! Editing a novel requires you to focus on so many things, from typos and spelling, to story-breaking plot holes and characterization. It’s no wonder that writers get lost in the editing process—there’s just too much to worry about.

Fortunately, there is a simple way to keep yourself on track as you work on editing your novel. By having a plan from the start, you’ll not only save yourself from a lot of extra work and headaches, but also from the stress of not knowing what comes next.

How Do You Know If Your Novel Is Truly Ready?

by Lewis / April 21, 2020 / Editing, Inspiration

Are you satisfied with the story you’ve created?

This is a question that will haunt almost every writer. After so much time engrossed in our writing journeys, most of us forget that—eventually—that journey has to end. There comes a point when we simply can’t make any more meaningful changes to our novels, no matter how hard we try or how long we sit staring at the page.

As you wind down the process of editing your novel, you too will face this question. When is your story truly ready, and how can you know for sure? Well, the answer is that finishing a novel is an act of faith—and that’s why you have to trust both yourself and your story.