Fiction
Word Play: Examples of a Play on Words
It goes without saying that writers are drawn to language, but because we love words so much, the English language is filled with word play. By interrogating the complexities of…
Read MoreHow to Come Up With Story Ideas
How do writers develop good story ideas? Sometimes, coming up with a story idea is the hardest part about writing fiction. Figuring out what to write about can be frustrating,…
Read MoreInciting Incident Definition: The “Why” of Fiction
“The inciting incident is how you get [your characters] to do something…. It’s the doorway through which they can’t return, you know. The story takes care of the rest.” —Donald…
Read MoreSymbolism in Literature: What Symbolism Is, and How to Use It In Your Writing
Symbolism describes the use of concrete images to convey abstract ideas. Because this literary device is widely open to interpretation, and because many readers form different relationships to concrete objects,…
Read MoreNaNoWriMo Tips: Preparing for National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month begins in November, and if you’re planning on organizing your own novel writing intensive, you’ve got some NaNoWriMo prep to do. Novelists of all fiction genres…
Read MoreRevising and Editing for Creative Writers
Want to learn more about revising and editing? Check out our self-paced class The Successful Novel, which gives you the tools to write, revise, and publish the novel waiting to be…
Read MoreHow to Write a Novel
The novel form is a large, unwieldy, towering project, and if you find yourself wondering how to write a novel, you might already be daunted by the project’s size and…
Read MoreWhat is Theme? A Look at 20 Common Themes in Literature
When someone asks you “What is this book about?”, there are a few ways you can answer. There’s “plot,” which refers to the literal events in the book, and there’s…
Read MoreFlat Character vs. Round Character: Definitions and Examples
Every fictional person that populates books, movies, and plays falls into one of two categories: flat characters and round characters. Flat and round characters each fill important roles in works…
Read MoreRepetition Definition: Types of Repetition in Poetry and Prose
What is repetition? At its simplest, repetition is a word or phrase used multiple times in a text, for the purpose of emphasizing an emotion or idea. It might seem…
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