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From the instructors who have helped over 100,000 aspiring authors learn their craft.
Recent Articles
- The Two Ways Power Corrupts
Macbeth murders his way to a throne while we watch, understanding every step. A farm rises in rebellion, proclaims all animals equal, and ends with “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal… - Your Similes Come From Another Book
Quiet as a mouse. Fell like a sack of flour. Nothing false in any of them, and nothing that belongs to your book. Similes should be manufactured from the character’s own world. - Dramatic Weight Is a Genre Promise
A body turns up in chapter one. In one book the reader leans closer, dreading what the death will cost. In another, they settle in to guess whodunit over tea. Same corpse. The difference isn’t… - Break Them Just Before You Change Them
Endings are where most manuscripts go soft, and the failure usually happened two chapters earlier. The protagonist finally changes into someone braver, and the change costs them nothing. Nothing was lost to buy it. Readers… - Relief Is a Tension Technique
Somewhere along the way, writers absorbed a rule: every scene has to end worse than it began. Each chapter ends on a fresh disaster, and the next one opens on the wreckage. Then, around chapter… - The Middle Should Look Like a Sawtooth
A middle where the hero wins every scene is a ramp. A middle where she loses every scene is a slide. Both are straight lines, and readers feel the flatness even when they can’t name… - If Your Narrator Is Older Than Your Protagonist
Every coming-of-age story turns on a decision the writer makes before the outline: whether the kid runs from adulthood or at it. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield runs from it. He tells… - The Choice Isn’t the Story. The Cost Is.
Every love story eventually drives up to the same intersection: the person and the obligation, pointing in opposite directions. Readers don’t remember which road the writer picked. They remember the toll. In The Bridges of… - A Subplot Is Not a Rest Stop
A subplot is a second pressure on the story. When it isn’t pressing, it’s a detour with nicer furniture. You can spot the detour easily. The side romance that never interferes. The relative’s custody battle… - Don’t Write Worse to Avoid Looking Like AI
A few weeks ago the internet decided curly quotation marks are a sign a robot wrote your book. Somebody posted a warning about it on Threads, screenshot and all, and the comments filled with writers… - One Honest Conversation Would End Your Plot
Half the romances on the shelf run on a secret, a lie, or a crossed wire that one honest conversation would dissolve. Readers catch it around chapter three. They keep turning pages, but they stop… - A Death Should Bend the Story
Somewhere in your draft is a death that changes nothing. The characters grieve for a scene, the plot pauses to notice, and then it resumes exactly as it was. The test is direction. A working…
About Writing Academy
Writing Academy offers comprehensive video courses for aspiring authors. Whether you’re writing your first novel, exploring screenwriting, or ready to publish, our self-paced courses provide the structure and guidance you need.
Fiction Writing
- Novel Writing Workshop
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- Mystery Writing Workshop
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Young Adult Fiction
- Writing for Children
- Short Story Writing
- Suspense & Horror
Craft & Publishing
- Nine Secrets of Story Structure
- Scenes That Sell Your Story
- Navigating the Editing Process
- Publish Your Book Now
- Write Your Life Story
- Travel Writing
- Non-Fiction Workshop
- Screenwriting Workshop
Your Instructors
Steve Alcorn
USA Today bestselling author of twenty novels and non-fiction books, including mysteries, young adult novels, children’s books, and the acclaimed writer’s guide How to Fix Your Novel. Steve also founded Alcorn McBride Inc, which provides audio and video systems for theme parks worldwide.
Dani Alcorn
Author, instructor, editor, and mentor. Dani trained in screenwriting at Northwestern University and the University of British Columbia and worked as a professional medical writer. She is the author of screenplays and a science fiction novel.