Plot vs. Story: The Key to Writing a Compelling Novel Many writers, even seasoned ones, often confuse the terms plot and story, using them interchangeably. However, as I explain in How to Fix Your Novel, understanding the crucial difference between these two elements can significantly improve your writing. By keeping plot and story distinct, you…
Successful author Kevin Kelly has written the best guide to publishing I’ve ever read. It’s called Everything I Know About Publishing and Self-Publishing. Here are some of the best take-aways: “Traditional book publishers have lost their audience, which was bookstores, not readers. It’s very strange but New York book publishers do not have a database…
Lester Dent (1904–1959) was a prolific pulp fiction author who wrote hundreds of stories. He is best known as the principal author of the Doc Savage series, featuring a superhuman hero. Dent developed a formula—a master plot—for writing a 6,000-word pulp story. It has proven effective for adventure, detective, western, and war fiction. Here’s how it starts:…
After a lifetime on a farm in southern Ontario, Janet traded crops for creativity and began cultivating words instead of soil. Her journey from rural life to published author began with poetry, when her poem Follow the River won a contest at Creative Writing Institute. The Institute’s CEO, Deborah Owen, recognized her talent and invited Janet to…
Children’s picture books are filled with talking animals—but did you know that these characters are overwhelmingly male? A recent data‑driven feature from The Pudding reveals that male animal characters are referenced twice as often as female ones in popular children’s books, with male pronouns (“he/him”) nearly three times more common in both books and reader‑submitted…
What started as just one class back in 2000 has turned into an array of classes, services and books offered worldwide. Writing Academy now offers five classes taught by Steve Alcorn through more than 1500 colleges, universities, and library systems worldwide. We also offer more than a dozen video classes at https://writingacademy.com And Steve and…
In recent years, the publishing industry has witnessed a notable decline in paperback editions, particularly in adult nonfiction. Between 2019 and 2024, new adult nonfiction paperback titles decreased by 42%, dropping to just under 40,000. In contrast, hardcover titles experienced a more modest decline of 9% during the same period. Several factors contribute to this…
Author Ian Fanselow breaks down his methodical approach to writing with an example scene from his new novel “Worlds Apart” I am a very methodical person and planning is my strength. So when I learned about the idea of “Scene and Sequel” it immediately clicked for me, and I developed a system I used for…
Author Mónica Vidalón takes us through the process of writing and publishing her Children’s Book Even though my background is in business and advertising, I have always been passionate about writing and illustrating books for children. When my girls were little, I made a point to read to them very often not only to raise…
Mysteries come in many different flavors, from cozies to hard-boiled detectives. So what unites all these disparate plots under one umbrella? All mysteries share 3 things in common A secret, unknown to both protagonist and reader, that poses a story question A protagonist in search of an answer to that story question Clues to allow…
To convince an agent or publisher your manuscript is one they should pay attention to, you need to have a great synopsis. Specific guidelines may vary, but as a rule of thumb, a synopsis is a one-page, double-spaced description of your entire story. It should be about 450 words. The goal is to give your…