• Style Sheets 101: Why You Need One

    There are several ways to keep yourself and your writing organized. One is a writer’s notebook and the other is to create and maintain your style sheet. Keeping all your ducks in a row as you write a book is no small feat! Let’s face it, you’re trying to keep track of the tiniest details that live within 50,000 or more words. Plus, you have way more important things to figure out, like your climactic moment and how to actually end your story. What is a style sheet? A style sheet is a document you add your preferences to regarding…

  • What are Plot Holes and How to Avoid Them

    Plot holes can creep up in any book genre, and typically go undetected for a while. To start identifying plot holes within your work, you have to know what you’re looking for. There are a few different types of plot holes: Continuity errors Something takes place that is impossible Storylines are unresolved at the end of the book Contradictions are embedded in the writing An illogical event takes place Now, that we know what plot holes are, we need to know how to avoid them. The most helpful way to avoid plot holes is to revise your work with strong…

  • 10 Ways to Do Research for Your Book

    When it comes to researching for your book there are many avenues — and rabbit holes — you can take to find the information you want. Researching is a fine art, especially now that the internet can turn up results that may not be completely accurate. Whether you’re writing a fiction novel or a nonfiction memoir, research will be an integral step for every book. Since your credibility as a writer is on the line, you’ll want to be triple sure that any researched information you include is 100% factual and that you have a strong source to back you…

  • 10 Tips for a Better Book Opening

    The opening of your book is the place where readers will decide to keep reading or set aside your book — no pressure. So, your opening pages need to jump straight into your story without dawdling on about the protagonist’s history or how he/she ended up in the current predicament. The back story is 100% necessary for you, as the writer to know ahead of time. You’ll need to develop all that information before you begin to type the first page of your book. That background work, however, will only slow your readers down and bore them if you drop…