Skip to content

The Art of Narrative

Providing advice & tools for creative writers

Primary Menu
  • Interviews
  • Book Club
  • About

Author Interview: Elizabeth S. Craig

Posted on February 5, 2019August 10, 2019 by John
Author Interview: Elizabeth S. Craig

Elizabeth is the bestselling cozy mystery author of the Southern Quilting mysteries, the Myrtle Clover Cozy Mysteries, the upcoming Village Library Mysteries, and Memphis Barbeque mysteries for Penguin Random House, Midnight Ink, and independently.

Posted In Interviews

How to Create a Villain

Posted on January 27, 2019September 26, 2019 by John
How to Create a Villain

8 fiction- writing tips on how to create villains that will challange your protagonist and capture your readers’ imagination

Posted In Writing Characters

How to Write a MacGuffin

Posted on January 12, 2019June 14, 2019 by John
How to Write a MacGuffin

What is a MacGuffin? Well, Wikipedia defines MacGuffin as… Just kidding. When you hear the word MacGuffin think motivation. That’s all MacGuffins are. A thing for your characters to chase after. A plot device, usually in the form of an object, that propels the action of your story. MacGuffins are Continue Reading

Posted In Writing Literary ElementsTagged In conflict, elements of fiction, How to, plot, structure

How To Structure a Scene

Posted on December 21, 2018September 29, 2019 by John
How To Structure a Scene

This post contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links Writing your first novel is freaking hard. Actually, that’s an understatement. Sixty-thousand words. Hundreds upon hundreds of pages of story. A pure creative effort that can stand on its own. How does Continue Reading

Posted In Writing Plot

What to do with your Inciting Incident

Posted on November 4, 2018September 26, 2019 by John
What to do with your Inciting Incident

Learn what an inciting incident is, and the five story essentials that your inciting incident must address to set off an effective conflict for your plot.

Posted In Writing Literary Elements, Writing Plot

Best Short Stories for Halloween

Posted on October 16, 2018October 24, 2019 by John
Best Short Stories for Halloween

This post contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links Do you love Halloween? I know I do, and I’ve noticed that there are plenty of lists compiling great movies to watch during this spookiest of seasons. But, I’m here to tell Continue Reading

Posted In Make Money Writing

How to Build Suspense

Posted on September 16, 2018September 28, 2019 by John
How to Build Suspense

I’m a night owl. Most evenings I stay up to the way, way past my bedtime. Some nights I sit on the couch scrolling through Youtube, nothing but the blue glow of the TV to keep me company. Others, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling fan whirling around, Continue Reading

Posted In Writing Literary Elements

How to Conquer Writer’s Block!

Posted on August 26, 2018September 28, 2019 by John
How to Conquer Writer’s Block!

Take a look at the last post on my blog, and you may notice something. The date it was published- June 16th. It’s been over two months since I’ve posted. To be honest it’s been months since I’ve written much of anything. I’ve had plenty of time, too. Enough time Continue Reading

Posted In Make Money Writing

Crafting a Classic Hero

Posted on June 16, 2018June 14, 2019 by John
Crafting a Classic Hero

In today’s popular culture we are awash with anti-heroes. You have your Walter White, your Tony Soprano, Dexter, Tyrion and Jaime, Bond, Bourne, Holmes, and Solo. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an anti-hero. Now, I’m not complaining. I’ve espoused my love for anti-heroes on this very blog. Continue Reading

Posted In Writing CharactersTagged In character, How to

Outlining Your Story

Posted on May 16, 2018June 14, 2019 by John
Outlining Your Story

Learn how to outline your story using the four act structure!

Posted In Writing PlotTagged In conflict, drafting, plot, structure

Posts navigation

Previous 1 2 3 4 Next

Recent Posts

  • How to Fix a Mary Sue Character
  • External Conflict vs. Internal Conflict: How to Use Both in Your Fiction
  • Ten Free Online Tools for Creative Writers
  • Author Interview: Garrett Robinson
  • How Jane Austen Creates a Theme

Categories

  • Book Chat
  • Editing
  • Interviews
  • Make Money Writing
  • Marketing
  • Writing Characters
  • Writing Literary Elements
  • Writing Plot

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 345 other subscribers

Copyright All right reserved
Scroll up
The Art of Narrative
Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Flash Blog.