“I think it’s important that subplots are related to the main plot in some way.” –Wesley Chu, Writing Excuses Subplots can be interesting and still weaken your novel. That was an important distinction for me to learn. I tend to enjoy developing relationships and secondary story threads, so coming up with material usually isn’t the…
“A plot is also a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality.” – E. M. Forster, Aspects of the Novel You can have interesting characters, meaningful conflict, and plenty happening in your novel, and still have a plot that does not quite hold together. I’ve run into this problem while developing my own fiction….
“The greater the obstacle, the greater the glory in overcoming it.” — Molière You can create a character you understand deeply and still have a story that feels strangely flat. The protagonist may be interesting. Her history may make sense. Her relationships may have emotional depth. But if she has no strong reason to act,…
“Character is destiny.” — Heraclitus A character can have a name, age, occupation, appearance, personality traits, hobbies, family history, and several pages of backstory and still feel flat. I have learned that adding more information does not necessarily create a strong character, one with more depth. Sometimes it simply creates a longer character profile. What…
“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” — John Steinbeck A novel idea may arrive with almost everything attached. You can see the main character, the problem, the setting, and several scenes before you write a word. Another novel idea may…
“What a computer is to me is it’s the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with.” — Steve Jobs AI can give you more ideas than you could ever use. It can suggest characters, plot turns, conflicts, settings, dialogue, scene possibilities, and solutions to problems you have been wrestling with for days….
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” —Maya Angelou Algorithms can push a book to the top of a list. Still, only genuine human connection turns casual clicks into a lifelong fans. When readers feel seen, heard, and linked to…
“AI is the new electricity.” – Andrew Ng, computer scientist and entrepreneur Artificial intelligence is reshaping publishing faster than ever. Thousands of new indie authors already partner with AI to brainstorm plots, polish prose, and reach readers worldwide. Yet the technology alone isn’t enough. The most successful creators combine AI power with uniquely human capabilities,…
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