And if you want your book to become somebody’s favorite novel, you need to master the art of weaving together internal and external conflict.
Forget plot-driven vs. character-driven. Good stories are both.

And if you want your book to become somebody’s favorite novel, you need to master the art of weaving together internal and external conflict.
Sometimes in the online writing space I see people who are concerned that they're not "talented" enough to write. But the truth is that if you're afraid to start because you're not already good, you'll miss out on the growth that happens through the process of creating.
The other day I was browsing through an online writing group I’m part of, and someone posted a question about what makes “good writing” and why so many popular books were apparently “bad.” In response, another commenter cited a wildly popular YA series, and said something to the effect of, “The author isn’t even a … Continue reading Does your prose need to sound more “literary?”
As I look back on my last several years of being a writer, there is a pattern I’ve noticed: the more I’ve studied and learned about writing, the slower I actually get the writing done. And that’s because the more that I’ve learned, the more that I’ve started holding myself to impossible standards.
Well, it's October, and you know what that means: yellow leaves, a chill in the air, and a growing buzz about NaNoWriMo. If that just looked like a goofy jumble of letters and not a word, allow me to explain. NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, a yearly event where people from around the world … Continue reading Thinking of NaNoWriMo? The Truth About Writing a Novel in a Month