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15 hours ago
2 min

Leave Your Publishing Expectations at the Door

So you say you’re ready to publish. You’ve written everything you needed to write and edited everything you needed to edit. You even asked

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Your Literary Tone Could Spell Out Your Literary Success

Jeannette DiLouie

Aug 20, 2019
2 min

Your Literary Tone Could Spell Out Your Literary Success

On April 12, 2017, Success.com ran an article called “6 Tips to Rule the Art of Conversation.” It opened with, “The art of conversation is

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Jeannette DiLouie

Aug 13, 2019
3 min

Your Writing Style Is All Your Own

Open a book by Charles Dickens. When you do, you’re bound to find a different writing style than what you’d find reading J.K. Rowling. “Duh

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Our Creative Writing Is Filled With Preconceived Notions

Jeannette DiLouie

Aug 6, 2019
3 min

Our Creative Writing Is Filled With Preconceived Notions

I didn’t plan to discuss bias on a week that’s filled with more political finger-pointing than usual. I had the issue of preconceived notion

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Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 30, 2019
3 min

It’s All in the Exposition

When you first open up a novel, you’re relatively clueless about its contents. Oh, you’ve seen the front cover and you’ve read the back-jack

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Stop, Drop and Roll While Editing a Second Draft

Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 23, 2019
3 min

Stop, Drop and Roll While Editing a Second Draft

Writing a first draft is a sometimes heady, sometimes frustrating, sometimes debilitating experience. There’s a lot to it, what with: Comin

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Don’t Beat Yourself Up: Plot Holes Happen

Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 16, 2019
3 min

Don’t Beat Yourself Up: Plot Holes Happen

Let’s start with this statement: Sometimes, plot holes happen. That’s our thesis right there. It’s meant as both a caution to those authors

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Identifying and Understanding Your Narrative Hook

Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 9, 2019
3 min

Identifying and Understanding Your Narrative Hook

When was the last time you picked up a book, opened it up and went, “Wow! That’s boring. I want to buy it!” If you’re anything like me, tha

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Once You’ve Finished a Story’s Full First Draft

Jeannette DiLouie

Jul 2, 2019
3 min

Once You’ve Finished a Story’s Full First Draft

Starting a story out can be an absolute ton of fun. When you first begin, it’s like you’re on an exploratory expedition. You’ve committed t

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Writing a Story Ending Is a Subjective Endeavor

Jeannette DiLouie

Jun 18, 2019
3 min

Writing a Story Ending Is a Subjective Endeavor

Shakespeare once penned that, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” That was in the complicated tale of Romeo and Juliette, during the balcony sce

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Jeannette DiLouie

Jun 11, 2019
3 min

It’s Over! Mostly.

Once you hit the falling action part of your plot, it’s official: the climactic moment is complete. The darkest moment is over, with your p

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Literary Climax: As Intense as It’s Gonna Get

Jeannette DiLouie

Jun 4, 2019
3 min

Literary Climax: As Intense as It’s Gonna Get

You know the part of a novel where there’s no more build-up. No more teasing. Just raw, unadulterated passion? In an espionage tale, this m

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What You Need to Know About Rising Action

Jeannette DiLouie

May 28, 2019
3 min

What You Need to Know About Rising Action

Perhaps I should have brought the plot diagram back up during our discussion on the first stage of storytelling – the beginning. But sinc...

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What Can We Say About Writing Story Beginnings?

Jeannette DiLouie

May 21, 2019
3 min

What Can We Say About Writing Story Beginnings?

There are great story beginnings, and there are uninspiring story beginnings. There are action-packed story beginnings, and there are slow,

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Oh My Goodness, Writer. Keep It Together!

Jeannette DiLouie

May 20, 2019
5 min

Oh My Goodness, Writer. Keep It Together!

You can get a guide to starting your story in such a way that you’ll be able to more easily finish it. What it looks like when you finish it

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Point of View in Fiction: Who’s Telling Your Story?

Jeannette DiLouie

May 14, 2019
4 min

Point of View in Fiction: Who’s Telling Your Story?

Since we’re talking about point of view in fiction today, let’s start out with three different examples of it. They’re all taken from novel

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Dealing With the Definition of Dialogue Tags

Jeannette DiLouie

May 7, 2019
3 min

Dealing With the Definition of Dialogue Tags

Since today’s topic is dialogue tags – which you may or may not know about – let’s start out with a paragraph of dialogue, which… thanks to

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Understanding How to Write Dialogue Begins Here

Jeannette DiLouie

Apr 30, 2019
3 min

Understanding How to Write Dialogue Begins Here

Before I start out my sad little sob story below, please rest assured that you didn’t read the larger blog’s title wrong. This really is ...

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The Full Setting Range Is Yours to Control and Command

Jeannette DiLouie

Apr 23, 2019
3 min

The Full Setting Range Is Yours to Control and Command

Your main character, Maggie, is running along the beach. Her bare feet dance away from the waves that crawl up the slight slopes, soaking up

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Identifying a Secondary Character’s Characteristics

Jeannette DiLouie

Apr 16, 2019
3 min

Identifying a Secondary Character’s Characteristics

To get a good definition of what a secondary character is, think about your favorite book. In my case, that’s really rather difficult to do

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