4 Ways to Choose the Right POV for Your Novel

by Lewis / February 18, 2020 / Character Development

All writers have to deal with point of view eventually…

Whether you’re creating an intense epic fantasy or a short, cozy adventure, point of view is something that’ll deeply impact how you write your novel. Not only will it determine what information you can share with your reader, but it will also fundamentally change how your reader experiences your story.

Unfortunately, many writers aren’t clear on what point of view is to begin with. Sure, they hear about how important it is to understand, but they aren’t sure what their options are. So, today I’m going to walk you through the four types of point of view, along with how to choose the right point of view for your novel!

How to Write a Genuine Romance

by Lewis / February 11, 2020 / Character Development

Storytelling has taught me that romance is complex.

All too often, fictional romances end up stilted and hollow or outright creepy. Common romance tropes tell us that surprise kisses and fatal attraction are the building blocks of a good romance, when in reality these tropes miss the very foundation that makes romantic relationships work—love.

Of course, romance can be a truly heartwarming part of your novel. The key is to understand what creates true romantic chemistry, and to avoid the many pitfalls and tropes of the genre. Fortunately, by understanding the various stages of fictional romance, you can write a loving relationship worth swooning over!

4 Ways to Gamify Your Writing Habits

by Lewis / January 28, 2020 / Inspiration, Other

Habits are the foundation of any good writing practice.

Whether you write every morning for two hours or aim to write five hundred words a day, by developing these writing habits you remove one more barrier between you and progress. After all, the hardest part of finishing a novel is sitting down to write in the first place.

Unfortunately, keeping up with your writing habits isn’t always easy to do. After weeks of the same routine, the excitement you felt at first may fade, replaced instead with boredom and procrastination. Sometimes you need to mix things up—and adding some writing games to your routine is the way to do so!

The One Question Every Author Should Ask

by Lewis / January 21, 2020 / Inspiration, Publishing

We all want our novels to be successful.

Not only does success mean all our hard work has paid off, but it gives us a sense of tremendous pride. Success is the final reward after the long journey of writing, editing, and publishing our novels, and it’s a reward almost everyone seeks.

However, what this reward looks like isn’t the same for every author. Even if you’ve achieved what others would view as success, it may not carry the same weight for you. After all, success comes in many forms—and finding your personal vision of success is a critical step along your writing journey.

The 12 Steps of Writing a Novel Explained

by Lewis / January 14, 2020 / Other

When you first sit down to write a novel, you’ll likely have a lot of questions.

How should you organize your story, and what details should you include? How long should your novel be? Are there ways to overcome writer’s block, or do you always have to force your way through? What about naming your novel, finding an editor, and one day publishing it?

With the huge variety of questions that come when writing a novel, you may start to think it’s impossible—that your story will remain stuck in a desk drawer forever. However, you can write a novel. You just need to tackle the writing process one step at a time!