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Fiction

Capturing the Art of Storytelling: Techniques & Tips

By Sean Glatch | March 18, 2024 | 12
the art of storytelling

It is hard to describe the art of storytelling, but you know good storytelling it when you read it. You read a passage of prose and it raises your arm…

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How to Write Flash Fiction Stories

By Sean Glatch | March 4, 2024 | 21
microfiction short fiction writing course

Like a lightning strike, flash fiction stories can be over in an instant—radically altering the terrain of the reader’s imagination. These bite-sized stories take a lot of style, skill, and…

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Word Play: Examples of a Play on Words

By Sean Glatch | January 15, 2024 | 6
wordplay definition

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…

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How to Come Up With Story Ideas

By Sean Glatch | January 1, 2024 | 20
How 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,…

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Inciting Incident Definition: The “Why” of Fiction

By Sean Glatch | November 17, 2023 | 2
inciting incident definition

“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…

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NaNoWriMo Tips: Preparing for National Novel Writing Month

By Sean Glatch | October 23, 2023 | 0
NaNoWriMo tips 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…

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Revising and Editing for Creative Writers

By Sean Glatch | October 2, 2023 | 0
the difference between revising and editing

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…

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How to Write a Novel

By Jack Smith and Sean Glatch | September 18, 2023 | 6
how 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…

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What is Theme? A Look at 20 Common Themes in Literature

By Sean Glatch | August 28, 2023 | 21
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…

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Flat Character vs. Round Character: Definitions and Examples

By Sean Glatch | July 16, 2023 | 7
flat vs rounded character

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…

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