Let’s talk about inciting incidents! Revising one of my old manuscripts, I realized it was missing something. It’s a manuscript written years before I learned the important details of writing a good book. Why does that matter? It was missing a strong inciting incident. This scene forces the protagonist on a new path and gives the reader something to anticipate. It hooks the reader for the first time!

If you’re struggling with understanding “active versus passive” sentences, I’m here to help with three simple tips. Writing in a passive tone is common, even for experienced writers, but it can be relatively easy to fix. 

Writing Chapter One can be tricky. I’ve been there, and I’ll be there again.

With each new book, crafting that opening scene is hard. After reading it over and over, your mind can be left a jumbling mess, but the process becomes easier with time.

I searched the top 6 books on Amazon, the category: Amazon Best Sellers in Teen and YA Books. I thought it would be interesting to look at their opening lines, as well as their opening scenes. Do they have anything in common?

​NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It’s free to join and any writer can participate. You can be a new writer, experienced, or somewhere in between. The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month: November. Why 50K words? That specific amount is considered a novel, and the goal is to write a novel. 

The question came up during a Wordy Woman webinar, "How can I improve my story's dialogue." How does a writer write good dialogue? What makes dialogue bad?

Using said repetitively as a dialogue tag isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This choice is strictly up to the writer. However, dialogue tags can be used too much during a conversation between two people. If a reader understands who’s talking, then fewer tags are better. But if there are three characters talking, then you may want to increase your tags to provide the reader with direction. 
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However, don’t assume the reader understands know who’s talking if it’s merely a conversation between two people. You still need dialogue tags. Please don’t leave your reader confused! Using dialogue tags is an art, and it’s necessary. 

You’ve spent 30 hours a week, working on your book for months and/or years.  You’ve revised it three different times, edited chapters along the way, and you’re finally finished. 

​A key question you need to ask yourself is: Who else has read your manuscript? Has a fellow writer read it yet? If not, then the revising process isn’t complete. No matter how many times you’ve read your story, or your mom’s read it, you need to have a fellow writer (or three) critique your manuscript.

Do you have a manuscript ready for others to read? Maybe you’re handing it off to critique partners, an agent, a publisher, or an editor. Before you send your draft to someone, below are a few simple tricks to help kick your story into shape. 
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I’ve edited and critiqued many manuscripts, and my stories have been critiqued and edited by many others as well. All in all, I’ve realized writers make the same mistakes, some more than others. Hopefully, this post will help improve your writing. 

The following section is pulled directly from my newest book, A Wordy Woman’s Guide for Writing a Book.

A book consists of scenes and sequels. Each scene is the “place” where a particular part of your story is carried out. If your protagonist has an argument in his office, then that scene contains an argument in the office. The way your protagonist feels and responds to that argument is the “sequel.” ​

I’ve seen and heard this question asked many times. Heck, at the beginning of my writing journey, I had the same question. How long should my chapter be? One answer was given over and over: There isn’t one way to write a chapter, and your chapter should be as long or as short as your story needs it to be. 

​Writing goals can be tricky, especially for a new writer who doesn’t know how long it takes for them to write a book. But goals are important and they’ll help you write even if you’re “not in the mood.” As soon as I start writing, 8 times out of 10, that drabby mood disappears and I’m in love with the words again. 

​When you have an idea for a new book on the horizon, it may require research. Some books require more research than others, and some books may require more research later in the writing process rather than in the beginning. But for those aspiring writers who find themselves researching for hours and hours before they ever start writing their book, this blog post is for you.

​Why is a plot outline good for your writing? Not every writer creates an outline, but many writers do. You don’t have to know exactly what will take place in each chapter before you write, but the more you know, the better. I’ve known many writers, including my younger writer self, who have written their stories into dead-ends by not having an outline. 

I’ve been asked this question by friends many times. If you have an idea for a story, what’s the next step?

Sometimes you may start with an idea for a plot, and other times you may have an idea for a character.  If you find yourself stuck, figure out the stakes for your protagonist. What sort of conflict will your protagonist run into throughout the story? If you have a few ideas for scenes, write those scenes down first. After that, do a bit of research about the town (or a similar one) where you want your story to take place. Look for nearby locals in that town to give you a few ideas for possible scenes. 

Below is a four-step process to start you in the "write" direction for writing your book. If you can complete these steps, you have the workings of a story! 

I love a good book! And I dislike books that flip back-and-forth between the same types of scenes over and over again.

​I read one book where half the scenes took place in the same hospital room, without anything new happening. Yes, there was a hot doctor, and there was a bit of strife between the patient (main character one) and her sister (main character two). But for the most part, the book was boring. 

I’m sure this answer varies from reader to reader, and from writer to writer. But a good protagonist is a character that makes hard decisions, faces conflict more than once, and has a relatable disposition.