This is what I learned from my non-working stories — Since I was a child, I have loved to read. My mom taught me to love books. I remember the joy of being under the covers reading fantasy novels, one of my favorites was the Shannara series of Terry Brooks. Then, around the age of 20, I was overwhelmed by…

Crafting a well-developed character can take time, effort and imagination, but it can be done. — Character development is one of the most important aspects of writing a story. It’s the process of creating and refining your characters so that they become believable and captivating to your readers. Crafting a well-developed character can take time, effort, and imagination, but it can be done. In this article…

Craft characters your readers won’t forget — Characters are the engine of every story. Quite often, indeed, they live longer than the story itself. How many of you happened to remember perfectly the characters of a novel you read many years ago and not remember the plot at all? Plot is no more than footprints left in…

If not, they will stop reading your story — Right now, the number of books available is immense. Through libraries and bookstores, both physical and online, every reader can access almost every book that has ever been written. So, today more than ever, the reader takes an act of trust by starting to read our story. And as writers…

Delight and captivate your reader by crafting stories like Russian dolls. — The concept of frame story dates back to ancient times. One of the earliest examples can be found in “The Arabian Nights”, also known as “One Thousand and One Nights”. This collection of Middle Eastern folk tales features a frame story where Scheherazade tells the king stories for one thousand…

Use it to create suspense and tension, compelling your audience to continue engaging with your story. — In a writer’s toolbox, there is a tool that never gets old and is still infallible today for generating suspense in readers and viewers: the narrative technique of the Cliffhanger. You have certainly met it at the end of a chapter of a novel or at the end of an…

Always challenge your readers’ assumptions and disrupt their expectations. — Have you ever found yourself totally caught up in a book or a movie, hanging on every twist and turn of the plot? Well, that gripping element you’re feeling is what we’re diving into in this article — the good old plot twist! It’s like a secret weapon in a…

As writers, you have to grab your readers’ attention from the very first lines of your story. — In this era of smartphones, a very tough war is fought to get our attention (and sell us something). So, as writers, we, too, have to grab the attention of our readers from the very first lines of our story. To achieve this, an ancient but always effective storytelling technique…

Strategically place clues and hints, making your readers active participants in the narrative. — What is the Foreshadowing Narrative Technique? Foreshadowing is a powerful narrative technique that allows authors to hint at future events and outcomes in their stories. It creates a sense of anticipation and suspense, drawing readers deeper into the narrative. By strategically placing clues and hints throughout the story, writers can engage their audience and enhance their…