Writer with a View
Curiosity is the engine that keeps readers turning pages, and emotional investment in the story is key to hooking readers and keeping them turning pages.
One of the biggest reasons readers stop reading early is when stories begin before the real movement starts.
An exploration of how different storytelling forms shape the meaning, structure, and impact of a story.
I put together a list of the biggest newsletter missteps I see, along with simple ways to improve them. If you’re building an audience through your writing or your business, this post applies to you.
Feeling stuck in your manuscript? Learn how story coaching helps writers solve scene problems, clarify structure, and move their stories forward.
Learn how to turn a promising idea into a story that works by finding your story question, building character change, and writing toward a powerful ending.
Learn how to stop feeling overwhelmed by your writing by using a Story Plan to focus on one step at a time and keep your story moving.
With so much riding on a story’s first few pages, it’s no wonder authors often get caught up in a never-ending first chapter editing loop. As the story develops, the beginning will have to change to match. This article looks at strategies to keep writing forward while holding space to strengthen the story hook.
Most likely you’ve heard the writing instruction, “show, don’t tell.” Sometimes, this is excellent advice; other times, it steers writers off course. Showing immerses readers in an author’s fictional world while telling can skip unnecessary descriptions and get to the good part already.
Learn when to show, when to tell, and when to listen to your authorial gut feeling.
Taking a story idea and translating it into an entertaining tale that’s ready for an audience to experience is a huge undertaking. Readers expect to find certain things in the story you set out to tell. Learn what needs to be included in a story to answer its promise to readers, like consistent worldbuilding, hitting genre beats, and creating a main character to root for. If your story has all this, it will be set for a satisfying ending.