How To Overcome Writer’s Block

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

If you’re a returning reader, welcome back and if you’re new to the blog, thanks for stopping by! In this blog post, we’re discussing writer’s block and all it encompasses, how to overcome it, and how to keep it from interfering with your creativity. There's thousands of other posts and articles out there that explain this topic, to be sure. But I am diving deep and explaining my own personal experience with writer’s block, how I overcame it, and how you can too. This post will deconstruct the nebulous concept of writer’s block and break it down into easily understandable symptoms and actionable and effective steps for curing these symptoms. This post is a longer one, so grab your coffee, tea, and your notepad and let’s get into it!

What Is Writer’s Block? 

Writer’s block is the kryptonite to a writer’s superpower—creativity. Have you ever found yourself staring at a blank page, unable to write? Perhaps you feel paralyzed by fear or unable to begin the process. Perhaps you move your hands to the keyboard, or lift your pencil to the page time and time again, only to pull them away, thinking hmm, why won’t the words just flow? Writer’s block happens to nearly every writer; it’s inevitable. Writer’s block is the inability to freely dive into writing and the feeling that whatever words come from your fingertips aren’t worth writing in the first place or won’t be good enough.

What Does Writer’s Block Look Like?

It looks like a writer hunched over their keyboard or notebook with a furrow in their brow, a purse in their lips, and a blank page before them. It looks like a lack of motivation, inspiration, or consistency. It looks like notes and binders and word documents galore, but no completed book or short story to tie them all together. It looks like an untouched laptop or notepad gathering dust in the corner. Writer’s block presents itself differently for every writer, but the symptoms are often the same.  The bad news? You’ve diagnosed yourself with writer’s block. But the good news? It’s treatable and an obstacle you can definitely overcome. 

What causes writer’s block?

Writer’s block, while perhaps not a proper medical condition, is a creative hurdle that stops many writers in their tracks. It stems from inexperience, underdeveloped ideas, burnout, a lack of enthusiasm, motivation, or inspiration, fear of rejection or a feeling of inadequacy when it comes to a writer’s own abilities, and maintaining a lifestyle that does not support the habit of writing. Seasoned and aspiring writers alike can suffer from this roadblock in the creative process, but with time, practice, and perseverance, writers can push past this block and eventually leave it in the dust altogether. 

A woman working on a Macbook. Photo by Elisa Ventur.

Why Am I Experiencing Writer’s Block?

You may find the answer to this question below:

• Inexperience: Many novice writers do not know where to begin. They don’t know how to write a story, let alone develop and format a book. They don’t know the rules of writing and that inexperience can hold them back from unleashing their creative potential. If you want to be a writer, and a successful one at that, you must educate yourself on writing tools, best practices, and storytelling as an artform. This is the foundation of being an effective and knowledgeable writer. Read books about writing, take classes and attend workshops to build your skills with practice and feedback.  

• Underdeveloped ideas: Many writers find themselves unable to start writing because the ideas they want to write from are not fully developed. Brainstorming and research are crucial parts of the writing process. Writing from a vague idea is much, much harder than writing from a fully-realized idea. Depending on the genre you’re writing from, take all aspects of the story and cultivate them so they can grow from a budding seed of inspiration to a blossoming concept. For example, if you’re writing a fantasy story, write detailed descriptions of all the characters, settings, world cultures, religions, and histories, timelines, and events. These wordy descriptions will likely not make it into your draft, but they will serve as notes for you to expand and refine your ideas as you write. If you can see it so clearly in your mind’s eye, then you can write from it as if you were really looking at your main characters in their world, with your own two eyes. 

• Lack of enthusiasm: Some writers suffer from a lack of enthusiasm about what they’re writing. This can be a difficult hurdle to overcome especially if you write for work and don’t have much of a choice in the subject matter. For those who fall into this category, you have three choices: make some kind of personal connection to the subject matter, or find a new writing job, or write for pleasure instead. For those who have an idea they really like, but feel disconnected from it or as if they don’t know enough about the topic to write on it, go back to the Inexperience bullet point. Educate yourself on the topic thoroughly enough that you can confidently and accurately write about it without feeling like you’re writing in the dark.  

• Lack of motivation: Many writers feel a lack of motivation when it comes to writing. This symptom of writer’s block can be one of the hardest to push past. Writers who feel unmotivated should take a realistic look at their lives and consider why they may feel that lack of motivation. Do you feel like writing at all? Do you enjoy writing? Do you enjoy storytelling and developing ideas? Do you enjoy making connections with others and sharing experiences? Do you enjoy bringing an idea to life? If any of your answers to these questions were a no, why? Why do you dislike any of these steps?

  If you found yourself saying no, why are you writing —or not writing —in the first place? Why label yourself as a writer, if it's not something you actually want to do? Many writers never end up writing a book, but they don this title and put immense pressure on themselves to engage in an activity that truly doesn’t resonate with themselves. Dig deep and determine if you want to write, why you want to write, and why you are a writer. This why is your reason for doing what you do and it’s going to help you shift your mindset in a big way. If writing is your passion and purpose and being a writer is part of your identity, it will help excite and motivate you to practice writing, because it's what you do. Find your personal connection to writing and take it with you into every writing session. 

• Lack of inspiration: Many people who want to write a book feel as if they have nothing to write about. While a strong feeling, this idea couldn’t be farther from the truth. Every single person has a unique perspective and worldview. Every person has a unique experience. No two lives are identical and in turn, no two stories are the same. Your unique existence is valid and so is your story. If you feel like you don’t have a story or idea to write about, write from real life. Write from your experiences and memories. If you don’t want to write about your personal experiences, write fictional stories that you wish were true about your life. Go back to the Inexperience and Underdeveloped Ideas bullet points and follow those steps. Read other books from the genres you want to write from. Research topics, themes, and ideas, then develop them further into elements you can craft a story from. I like to think the writing process is like building sand castles on the beach —you have billions of grains of sand to work from, but for the castle to take shape, you must sculpt, carve, mold, chisel, and join those grains together. You must work those grains of sand until they form the shape you’re going for. 

Diagnosing & Treating Writer’s Block. Graphic by Payton Hayes.

• Fear of rejection: Many writers struggle with the fear of rejection whether they are aware of this or not. It comes from a combination of Inexperience, Underdeveloped Ideas, and a low self esteem as a writer. These writers may feel confidence in other areas of their lives —they may do well in school or their jobs, they may feel confidence in their physical appearances, they may be aware of other activities they excel at, but when it comes to writing, they don’t believe in themselves or their abilities. The key to overcoming this struggle is practice. Practice, practice, practice. For many writers, the process of writing is very personal and tied closely to their identity. For this reason, it can be difficult for writers to put themselves and their work out there. However, this can be one of the most freeing experiences and is vital to your growth as a writer. When I started seriously writing, I kept my fantasy stories close to my heart. I never let my friends or family read them because I didn’t want them to actually know what my writing was like, for better or worse. They knew I was a writer, but they didn’t know if I was a good or bad writer, and I clung to that uncertainty. I didn’t put my writing online or allow others to read it until much, much later, when I was in college and was somewhat forced to let others into my thoughts, emotions, and written words. From discussion posts in my online courses to writing workshops and critiques in my creative writing classes, to instructor feedback, I was required to put my writing out there, in some form or another.

  What I came to realize was that I should have done this much, much sooner. I would have never broken out of my shell as a writer and a person, had I not been vulnerable and put my work out into the world for others to see, read, like, dislike, criticize, judge, compliment, and tear apart. I was terrified that someone would read my stories and think wow, this is truly poor writing. The reality is that any artform is subjective. We hear this a lot when it comes to visual art, but the same is true for writing. Subjective means “based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions” and when it comes to writing, this means readers will bring their own unique perspectives, worldviews, emotions, experiences, and opinions into the work, whether they are aware of it or not. There is nothing writers can do to stop readers from doing this, and they shouldn’t try to. As a writer, you must allow this fact of life to free you from the confines of wanting to please everyone. Allow yourself to let go of the desire to control other people’s opinions and interpretations of your work. It’s an impossibly unrealistic, unattainable, and unhealthy expectation. Whenever I find myself worrying over how others will react to my writing, I try to remember two things: Buddhism and peaches.

  Let me explain.

  Look, I’m not a Buddhist and I’m not telling you to convert to Buddhism. However Buddhists do practice the art of surrender. This concept is based on letting go of what one cannot control. You cannot control how others react to your writing. You cannot make them like it. You cannot please every single person with your writing, so just let this go. One of my favorite quotes is from Dita Von Teese who said, “You can be the ripest, juiciest, peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.” There will always be someone who doesn’t like peaches and there will always be someone who can find something they don’t like about your writing. Free yourself from the desire to be liked by everyone, by being okay with rejection. Embrace it. Allow yourself to be disliked, criticized, and unaccepted. Allow yourself to produce bad writing. Allow yourself to fail. By doing this, you remove the pressure to be perfect and allow yourself to be. You allow yourself to write, no matter what comes of it. You allow yourself to grow as a writer and a person. 

• Writing conducive lifestyle: Many writers have a hard time writing because they do not lead a life that aligns with being a writer. To be a writer, you must have time to dedicate to reading, researching, studying, writing, editing, and honing your skills. Being a writer in practice rather than name, is more than just writing. To be a writer, you must live a life that supports the regular practice of writing and all that process entails. Writing is not only an activity, it is a lifestyle and a long-term practice. It takes years of dedication, consistency, and practice to result in expert, well-honed writing skills. If you have children or a busy life, you may find it quite difficult to carve out time to write, but it is paramount to being a good writer, let alone finding success in writing. If you answered the questions in the Lack of motivation bullet point, then by now, you should know whether or not you really want to continue writing. If the answer is no, you should probably look into something else. However, if you do, then your next objective is to set aside time every day to improve your writing. Make this a realistic and attainable goal and track your progress as you go. Start out simple and ensure your path is the one of least resistance from both yourself and others in your life. 

How To Defeat Writer’s Block. Graphic by Payton Hayes.

How Do I Overcome Writer’s Block?

If you read through those lengthy bullet points, then by now, you know what must be done. You know what writer’s block is, what it looks like, how it affects writers, where it comes from. Now that you understand writer’s block, it is time to take action. I’ve listed several ways you can combat writer’s block. Practicing these steps will help you build the muscles you need to defeat writer's block whenever it rears its big ugly head. I have also designed a printable flier for you to put up in your writing area, so you can always have these tips equipped and at the ready when writer’s block strikes. 

• Writing everyday: If you are a writer, make writing a priority. The choice is up to you. If you’ve decided writing is your purpose, then make it a daily practice and make no exceptions. Tell yourself the affirmation: Writers write. I am a writer, and I am going to write. Set aside a specific time each day that you sit down and write. You will likely need more time to research, brainstorm, read, and do other writing-adjacent activities, but make sure you write every.single.day. Start with five, ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes at a time, depending on your experience and ability. If you haven’t written in months or years, set aside five minutes each day to write. Find some writing prompts or writing exercises and set a timer, then write until the timer beeps. Chances are you will feel compelled to continue writing past the time you set, but don’t force yourself to do so. If you want to spend five minutes each day working on the same writing project, you can do that too. Gradually increase your writing time as you strengthen those writing muscles and build the habit into your life. It takes twenty-one days to build a habit. That comes out to 1.75 hours across three weeks. When broken down into manageable chunks, a consistent, daily writing practice becomes more possible and over time, it becomes less like a manual task and more automatic. Five minutes every day. That’s all it takes!

• Writing workspace: To make your daily writing practice easier, design a workspace that makes you want to write. Invest in a comfortable desk chair or a standing desk if necessary. Turn on soft lighting and play some instrumental music to help relax your mind while you let the creative juices flow. Make sure you have snacks and a nice warm beverage on hand. You can train your brain to get into writing mode by doing the same thing at the same time every day and employing all five senses to reinforce the habit. For example, if you want to write for ten minutes every day, starting at 7:00 p.m., start by playing your favorite song or an instrumental track you enjoy to remind yourself that it's time to write. Bonus points if you set an alarm to go off at 7:00 p.m. with the song, so it's automated and not on you to remember. While the song is playing, make yourself a cup of tea, grab a fruit or bag of chips, and get your workstation and timer ready. When you’re ready to go, start writing, and don’t stop. Remember, you’re not writing the most amazing, perfect words ever put together on earth. Just write.

• Establish a rewards system that incentivizes you to write. We all enjoy different things—some of us enjoy shopping, others enjoy playing video games, and some enjoy eating delicious food. Without being counterproductive to your other goals or negatively impacting your health, come up with a rewards system that will help you reach your writing goals. If it’s your goal to write so many words each week, set a reward that will encourage and excite you to sit down to write and accomplish that goal. For example, I would like to buy a new book or two. I won’t get a new book until I finish reading one I already own, so I don’t have a bunch of unread books on my shelf. The same principle goes for writing. If you want to reach that weekly word count goal, write for the reward. You don’t have to write perfectly, just get those words onto the page. 

• Take care of yourself and your health: This advice is not just for writers, but because writing is so personal and tied to our mental and emotional health, self-care is an important step in creating a lifestyle that supports writing. Get plenty of quality sleep, practice good hygiene, maintain a healthy diet, and exercise regularly. For people with disabilities, mental illness, or neurodivergence, get any necessary assistance if you haven’t yet. 

Some Additional Tips For Combatting Writer’s Bock

• Try morning pages or a brain dump. Before you sit down to write or work on an ongoing project, try freeing your mind. The concept of “Morning Pages” comes from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, and can be an effective strategy for getting all the mental distractions out of your way before you actually start writing. Like the name suggests, brain dump pages or morning pages are simply a page or two of everything on your mind that you want to offload so you can think clearly. It can be total nonsense, a to-do list, a stream of consciousness, a series of mad ramblings —whatever it is, get it out of your head and onto the page so you can make room for the real writing. 

• Let yourself write garbage. If you’re struggling with perfectionism and overcoming your judgmental internal editor, let yourself be okay with writing garbage. Create a new draft and title it “trash draft” if you like. Then write with reckless abandon. You can write about whatever you like or you can work on a project you’ve been writing. Make your internal editor take a backseat to your internal writer and watch as the story takes shape on the page. No writer creates perfection in the first draft, so stop telling yourself the rough draft is bad. A garbage page is better than nothing. You can create treasures from a pile of trash, but you cannot edit a blank page.

• Get involved in a writing community. If external accountability is more effective for you, get connected with other writers. Network with writers, editors, publishers, and published authors for advice, craft tips, editorial news, and external motivation to keep writing. Sometimes, having a writing community can be more powerful for combating writer’s block that a routine or paycheck. Writing communities are a great way for writers to celebrate one another’s accomplishments and receive truly helpful feedback on writing. 

Writer’s Block As A Result of Burnout

If you’ve made it this far, then the next piece of advice will sound quite contradictory to everything said thus far. If you’re experiencing writer’s block as a symptom of burnout, take a break. Stop writing. I know, it sounds crazy! First, I’m telling you to write, then telling you not to write. Trust me. 

If you’ve done everything advised so far and nothing has worked, don’t force yourself to write when you just can’t. I’m not saying give up, but give yourself time and patience to recover from the burnout before jumping back into writing. When it is time to dive back in, do so slowly and with grace. Stick your toe in the water before diving in headfirst. If you’ve been stuck on a book for years and nothing you do can make you want to continue writing it, try writing something else. Take a break. When it’s time, you’ll come back to it. And if it’s time for you to pivot, don’t judge yourself for doing so. It may be time for a change. 

Thinking Realistically About Creativity

Creativity sometimes comes from a spark of inspiration, the elusive mystical muse that chooses to strike at random. But most often, creativity is a skill you practice regularly, and it’s not as glamorous as the media makes it seem. Writing is hard work and it requires a healthy lifestyle, commitment, vulnerability, and consistency rather than artistic brilliance. Either you’ve chosen to be a writer, or writing has chosen you. If this is indeed the path you wish to take, you must go all in. I’m not telling you it’s always easy, but it does get easier with time, practice, and perseverance. When I first started out, I went years between working on chapters of the same book. Now, I write multiple blog posts each week. I still struggle with feeling motivated or excited to write. Whenever I’m dragging myself to my writing desk rather than running, go through the steps to ensure I am doing everything in my power to get myself to write. It usually works, and then once in a while it doesn’t and I know it’s time for a break. Give yourself some grace as a writer and as a human. There's a million things out there that could affect you or get in the way of your writing practice. But if you’re dedicated, determined, and willing to put in the effort, you can be a writer, and your writing will improve with every session. 

You’re a writer. Writing is what you do. It’s in your bones. It is your purpose and your reason. Writing is your destiny. Now write.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. I hope it helped you to better understand yourself as a writer, the struggle of writer’s block, and how to overcome it and become a better writer. If you enjoyed this post or if it helped you in some way, please leave me a comment! I’d love to know your thoughts! If you’d like to read more writing advice from me, please check out the recent posts from my blog below!

Bibliography

• Ventur, Elisa. (@elisa_ventur) “a business woman who is frustrated because she is working too much.“ Unsplash photo, May 12, 2021 (Thumbnail photo).

• Hayes, Payton. “How To Overcome Writer’s Block.” Shayla Raquel’s Blog, February 7, 2023. 

• Hayes, Payton. “Diagnosing & Treating Writer’s Block.” Graphic created with Canva, February 7, 2023. 

• Hayes, Payton. “How To Defeat Writer’s Block.” Graphic created with Canva, February 7, 2023. 

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Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

How To Submit Your Writing To—And Get It Published In—Literary Journals

A photo of several literary journals and an antique typewriter on my home bookshelf. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends! 

If this is your first time visiting my blog, thanks for stopping by, and if you’re a returning reader, thanks for coming back! Although I have been occupied with external commitments, I aim to increase my posting frequency in 2024.

You’re going to want to get your bookmark button ready because there’s a ton of useful links in this post! 🔖

If you’re reading this blog post, you’re probably a creative or literary writer looking to share your work with the world! Whether you’re a seasoned author or debut writer, literary journals (also called literary magazines) are a great way to get your work out there! Literary journals are periodicals that are committed to publishing the work of writers at all stages of their careers. Most literary journals publish poetry, prose, flash fiction, and essays, but many of them publish photography, paintings, and other visual art as well! 
With 2023 wrapping up and the new year just around the corner, I thought it would be helpful to share some amazing resources for writers looking to submit their work in 2024! Many literary journals are still accepting submissions into 2024 and there are plenty of publications looking for high-quality writing for their next issue! Below is an in-depth guide for submitting your writing as well as a list of my top Oklahoma-based literary journals that I’d recommend submitting to! 

Know Your Market

First off, do your research! The next couple of points go hand-in-hand with this idea, but to ensure the best possible chance at success with your submissions, it is crucial to conduct thorough market and publisher research rather than submitting blindly. According to Poets & Writers, “Your publishing success rests on one axiom: Know your market.”  

I recommend starting with Poets & Writers’ wonderfully thorough guide to Literary Journals and Magazines where you can find details about the specific kind of writing each magazine publishes and in which formats, as well as editorial policies, submission guidelines, general expectations, and contact information. They also have an amazing database of nearly one thousand literary magazines and journals, as well as a helpful submissions tracker so you can easily keep track of which journals you’ve submitted to, how many times you’ve submitted a poem, story, or essay; the amount of money you’ve spent on fees; the status of your submissions; and how much time has passed since you submitted your work all in one place online.

• Poets & Writers’ Literary Journals and Magazines Guide (🔖Bookmark this!)

• Poets & Writers’ Literary Journals and Magazines Database (🔖Bookmark this!)

Most writers get the attention of editors, agents, and other writers by first publishing their writing in literary magazines or literary journals. (Many literary magazines and journals will offer you a modest payment for the writing they accept, sometimes by giving you a free copy, or contributor’s copy, of the issue in which your work appears.) Before beginning the submission process, it is essential to research the market to determine which publications are the best venues for your writing. Your publishing success rests on one axiom: Know your market.

—Poets & Writers

Some other useful resources courtesy of Poets & Writers include:

• Poets & Writers’ List of Open Reading Periods: Journals and Presses Ready to Read Your Work Now (🔖Bookmark this!)

• Poets & Writers’ List of Small Presses 

• CLMP ‘s Directory of Publishers (🔖Bookmark this!)

• New Pages’s  Literary Magazines Guide (🔖Bookmark this!)

• Heavy Feather Review’s Where To Submit List (🔖Bookmark this!)

• Duotrope - An amazing paid resource with SO many useful features from a publishing database with over 7,500 active publishers and agents, news pages, publishing statistics and reports, a submission tracker, theme and deadline calendar, and interviews from editors and agents that can provide insight into specific publications.

Along with the aforementioned guides and resources from Poets & Writers, I also recommend Writer’s Market, Poet’s Market, and Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, all published by Writer’s Digest Books, and give detailed contact information and submission guidelines.

Submission Guidelines and Questions To Consider

When researching your literary magazine presses, be sure to keep in mind the following questions:

• What kind of work is being published?

• How often do they publish?

• What are their submission guidelines?

• Do they allow simultaneous submissions?

• Do they require previously unpublished works?

• In what ways does this publisher “pay” contributors for their work—cash reward or free copies of the finished publication?

• Does this journal offer awards to high-quality submissions?

• Can you purchase additional copies or is there a limit per contributor?

• Where and how does this journal accept submissions?

• What is the contact information for this publisher in the event that you need to withdraw your submission? 

• What experiences have other contributors had with working with this magazine? Is the communication clear and open? 

• What is the turnaround time for approval and rejection letters? 

• Does this journal offer alternative publishing options such as online exclusives or in weekly newsletters? 

These are just a few questions to keep in mind when submitting your work to literary journals. I personally try to keep a variety of large and small journals, and those that accept submissions year-round (rolling submissions) or multiple times throughout the year, on my calendar.

Literary Market Place (Book-mart Press) has larger publisher and literary agent listings, and The International Directory of Little Magazines & Small Presses (Dustbooks) is a print directory you can find on sites like Amazon. You can also utilize their online database.

Find The Right Publisher For You and Your Work

Not all publishers are created equal and not all books are “big five” books. What I mean by this is that not every book—or piece of writing—will get published by one of the big five publishers and not every book is going to be on one of The New York Times’ bestsellers lists. But this isn’t inherently a bad thing. Some books are best suited for bigger publishers while others are best suited for smaller publishers and publishing your work with the right press is critical for success in the publishing industry. The same is true for literary magazines. Not every work is suited for The New Yorker or Poetry Magazine. 

There are many pros and cons to publishers of all sizes, but the primary difference is that big publishers often have more resources and a wider audience reach, but they are often far more selective when it comes to which books they publish. On the other hand, smaller publishers may not have the clout that big publishers do but they often are more intimate and personal when it comes to submissions, communications, and the publishing process. Additionally, big publishers usually have bigger marketing budgets, while small publishers often allow greater creative control when it comes to decision-making in the publishing process. Alternatively, there are medium-sized publishers that tend to have the best of both worlds and fall somewhere in between. If you’d like to read more about the pros and cons of publishing houses of all sizes, check out this fantastic article from Publishers Agents Films. 

That being said, I think you should absolutely shoot for the stars when submitting and querying. I can’t help but think of the Wayne Gretzky quote, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” 

A screencap of Michael Scott from The Office, courtesy of NBC and Katherine Arnold.

And Gretsky is 100% correct. However, when it comes to the publishing industry, success doesn’t happen by accident or luck alone. Writers must be selective and strategic in their submission process, just like publishers. It is important to be realistic about what kind of publishers will be the best for your work—it’s just a matter of good fit.

Below are some great articles about working with small versus large presses.

• “Small Press Vs Big Press: What Is The Difference?” by Winnifred Tataw of Win’s Books Blog

• “The New York Times Bestseller List.” by Seth Godin of Seth’s Blog

• “The Big Five US Trade Book Publishers.” by Ali of The Critical Thinker

• “Big Six Publishing is Dead–Welcome the Massive Three.” by Kristen Lamb

Publisher Tiering and Simultaneous Submissions

Once you understand the benefits and drawbacks of small, medium, and large presses, one way to prepare for submissions is by tiering prospective publishers. I first learned about this process from Clifford Garstang, author of Oliver’s Travels and other novels, and editor of the acclaimed anthology series, Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet.

Tiering is an aid to simultaneous submissions that groups the best magazines together in the top tier, somewhat less prestigious magazines in the next tier, and so on. It is advisable to submit work to the top tier first, or at any rate within the same tier, so that an acceptance by one, which requires withdrawal from the others, won’t be painful. (If you get an acceptance from a lower-tier magazine while you’re still waiting to hear from a higher-tier magazine, that could lead to a difficult withdrawal. Withdrawal is ethically required, but what if the higher-tier magazine was about to accept the piece?) So, I decided to rank literary magazines—first in fiction, because that’s what I was writing, but later in poetry and nonfiction because many people requested that—to help me decide where to submit. In theory, I would aim toward the top of the list and work my way down until someone finally accepted my story.

—Clifford Garstang

Garstang meticulously prepared a wonderfully helpful ranking chart for 2023 Literary Magazine Rankings. I have no doubt these rankings will look quite similar, next year as well, but until we have an updated list, I’ll be going by his 2023 list.

Track Submission Deadlines With Calendar Blocking

Another great way to prepare for submitting your work in 2024, is to block out submission windows for all the presses you’re interested in submitting to. I typically keep my favorite fifteen literary journals' submission windows in my Google Calendar and a master list of many other potential magazines' submission windows, organized by date, in a Google doc. That way, I keep the top fifteen literary journals I’d like to publish with at the forefront of my mind and I can easily find other publishers throughout the year. I’d recommend researching literary magazines at all levels in your desired category—poetry, prose, essays, and visual art and making your own master list that is tailored to your work. Making a specific list based on your work will prove far more useful to you than simply going by my list.

Pro Tip: You can either block out submission openings AND closings or just the openings. In the image below, you can see that I usually just block out the opening dates and assume any blocks of time without that event means they’ve closed.

A screencap of Submission Calendar Blocking in Google Calendar. Photo by Payton Hayes

A photo of Nimrod International Journal Fall 2023 issue, Awards 45 on a wooden side table. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Maintain A Consistent Submission Schedule and Make Time For Your Writing Rituals

In addition to tracking submission deadlines, it is also a good practice to make and keep a consistent submission schedule for yourself. Once you’ve got a couple of pieces that you feel confident in publishing (and have been edited and proofread), start sending out a couple of submissions each week. I also suggest creating some sort of rejection ritual. You will inevitably face rejections, but instead of letting them get you down, let them be part of the process. Whenever you receive a rejection letter, print it out and burn it or tape it to your writing desk as motivation to keep writing and keep submitting. Likewise, come up with some kind of acceptance ritual—some way to celebrate each of your accepted submissions. No matter the amount of rejections you receive, don’t get discouraged! It just takes time and perseverance. The more you submit, the easier the whole process will get, I promise.

Besides, sometimes even if you don’t get accepted, you still get a freebie out of it in the end and who doesn’t like free stuff? I submitted to Nimrod International Journal in 2023 and while none of my submissions were accepted, they still sent me a free copy of the issue I submitted to. If I’m honest, I wasn’t expecting them to send me a free copy—they send one free copy out to all contributors, but since I was rejected, I didn’t think I counted as a contributor—and it sort of felt like a tiny slap in the face. But after some time passed, I realized it wasn’t personal and was grateful to have the free copy.

Oklahoma Literary Journals

As a writer and editor based in Oklahoma, I’m pretty familiar with the literary scene here in the scissortail state and I’d like to take a moment to share a few of my favorite literary journals that I’ve personally had the pleasure of working with. 

New Plains Review—January 15 for the Fall 2024 issue and July 15 for the Spring 2025 issue

New Plains Review, a student-run literary journal at the University of Central Oklahoma, proudly receives hundreds of submissions from all over the world. Keeping with the University of Central Oklahoma’s goals of both excellence and diversity, it is our mission to share with our readers thought-provoking, quality work from a diverse number of authors and artists around the world. We are eager to help these creators broaden their audience and reinforce the importance of the arts in our everyday lives.

1890: A Journal of Undergraduate Research—September 15 

The purpose of 1890: A Journal of Undergraduate Research is to provide undergraduate students the opportunity to demonstrate their interests and abilities in various disciplines by accepting works of research, creative writing, poetry, reviews, and art. New Plains Student Publishing uses 1890 to encourage, recognize, and reward intellectual and creative activity beyond the classroom by providing a forum that builds a cohesive academic community.

The Central Dissent: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality—Opening summer of 2024

The Central Dissent: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality is an interdisciplinary academic journal produced by New Plains Student Publishing and sponsored by the UCO's Women’s Research Center as well as the LGBTQ+ Student Center. Being the first and only academic journal focused on gender and sexuality in Oklahoma, our mission is to gather and disseminate quality research, poetry, and academic reviews that explore gender theory, gender identity, as well as how race, class, and ethnicity shape society’s expectations of the individual both currently and historically.

Pegasus—Opening in early 2024

Pegasus is the annual literary journal of original art, poetry, photography, personal essay, and fiction by Rose State College students, faculty, and staff. 2024 Submission deadline to be announced. 

Nimrod International Journal of Poetry and Prose—January 1 to October 1 for general submissions in prose and poetry and January 1 to April 1 for the Nimrod Literary Awards contest

Nimrod International Journal welcomes submissions of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. We publish two issues annually. Our spring issue is thematic, with the theme announced the preceding fall. Previous themes have included Writers of Age; Range of Light: The Americas; Australia; Who We Are; Islands of the Sea and of the Mind; The Arabic Nations; Mexico/USA; and Crossing Borders. The fall issue features the winners and finalists of our annual Literary Awards. In most cases, both issues also contain work accepted as general submissions throughout the year.

Literary Magazines currently accepting submissions into 2024

Erin Duchesne of Make A Living Writing has compiled a fantastic list of 18 Literary Magazines Accepting Submissions in 2024 so I figured I’d include a condensed version of it here as well as a link back to the article for your convenience.

Literary journals with submissions open year-round:

• Asimov’s Science Fiction —Rolling Submissions

• Harper’s Magazine —Rolling Submissions

• Narrative Magazine —Rolling Submissions

• The Sun Magazine—Rolling Submissions'

• The New Yorker—Rolling Submissions

Literary journals with one submission deadline:

• Ploughshares—June 1 to January 15

• POETRY Magazine—September 16 to June 14

• The Sewanee Review—September 1 to May 31

• The Georgia Review—August 16 to May 14

• The Kenyon Review—September 1 to 30

Literary journals with multiple submission deadlines:

• AGNI —September 1 to December 15; February 14 to May 31

• The Iowa Review—August 1 to October 1 for fiction and poetry; August 1 to November 1 for non-fiction

• The Gettysburg Review—September 1 to May 31; graphics accepted year-round

• New England Review—September 1 to November 1; March 1 to May 1

• Swamp Pink—September 1 to December 31; February 1 to May 31; prize submissions are accepted in January

• The Paris Review—March and September for prose; January, April, July and October for poetry

• Granta—March 1 to 31; June 1 to 30; September 1 to 30; December 1 to 31

Literary journals with submissions opening soon:

• One Story—Opening in early 2024

Although this list is a great place to start for literary journals that are currently still accepting submissions going into 2024, I still highly recommend you research your market and put together a tailored list for journals you plan to submit to in the coming year. And that’s it for my guide to all things literary journals and magazines! This is by far not a comprehensive list, but I tried to be as thorough as possible! What did you think of this guide? Let me know in the comments below! If you know of any amazing resources not listed here, please leave me a comment to and I’ll get them added to this post! Thanks for reading and supporting my work!

Bibliography

• Arnold, Katherine and NBC. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take – Wayne Gretzky – Michael Scott” – The Campus Activities Board.” Lanthorn Website, November 25, 2019. (Wayne Gretzky quote/Michael Scott meme from NBC.) 

• Duchesne, Erin. “18 Literary Magazines Accepting Submissions in 2024.” Make A Living Writing, accessed December 18, 2023.

• Garstang, Clifford. “2023 Literary Magazine Rankings: Overview.” Clifford Garstang.com, December 19, 2023.  

• Gus. “The Pros & Cons of Working With a Small or Large Publisher.” Publishers Agents Films Website, October 30, 2014.  

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of Nimrod International Journal Fall 2023 issue, Awards 45 on a wooden side table.” December 18, 2023. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A screencap of Submission Calendar Blocking in Google Calendar.“ December 18, 2023. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of several literary journals and an antique typewriter on my home bookshelf.” December 18, 2023. 

• Hayes, Payton. “Oklahoma literary journals on a wooden bookshelf.” March 14, 2024 (Thumbnail photo).

• Poets & Writers staff. “Literary Journals & Magazines.” Poets & Writers website, accessed December 18, 2023. 

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Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

How To Write Poems With Artificial Intelligence (Using Google's Verse by Verse)

This blog post was written by a human.

*Please note that exclusively using AI to write and publish text-based content is unethical and should not be done under any circumstance. In this post, I demonstrate how to utilize AI as a tool for writing practice, but I do not condone the use of AI to produce text without extensive editing and human intervention. In fact, I highly advise against it. In absolutely no cases should AI-written content be submitted to editors, agents, or publishers, nor should it be published online or in print materials. AI should never be used to replace the art of writing and storytelling through text. This is just a fun, light-hearted post that shows how writers can experiment with AI to help get their creativity flowing, much like warming up with writing exercises. Please keep in mind that AI use poses various ethical and environmental ramifications. I strongly encourage you to do your own research before trying out the techniques in this blog post for yourself. 

Hi readers and writerly friends!

If you’re new to the blog, thanks for stopping by, and if you’re a returning reader, it’s nice to see you again! In this post we’re going to explore writing poetry using artificial intelligence (AI).  I heard about this from an article a few years ago. I tried to find it, but so many others have come out discussing the same topic since then and it seems it’s been buried in the search results. However, I have linked some particularly interesting articles at the end of this post for further reading. All other articles quoted in this post will be linked at the end as well.

Artificial Intelligence

Before we can create poetry using artificial intelligence, we must first understand what the term means in definition as well as what it means for the future of humanity. Artificial intelligence is changing the world in ways no one can yet fully predict.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) of Oxford University Press defines artificial intelligence as:

“Noun. The capacity of computers or other machines to exhibit or simulate intelligent behaviour; the field of study concerned with this. Abbreviated AI.” (OED 2008)

Artificial intelligence can also be described as the theory and development of computer systems that are able to perform tasks such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, translation between languages, and other tasks that normally require human intelligence. Initially, AI included search engines, recommendation algorithms such as those used by YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix, computer programs that could play games like chess with users. In the last decade, we have seen an emergence of AI applications that can complete a myriad of tasks that typically require human intelligence. These applications include understanding and responding to human speech (apps such as Siri and Alexa), self-driving cars (such as Tesla), and even art making and poetry writing programs (such as the infamous Lensa app and Verse by Verse by Google).

In his article, “Can AI Write Authentic Poetry?” cognitive psychologist and poet Keith Holyoak explores whether artificial intelligence could ever achieve poetic authenticity. In the article, he makes the comparison of AI to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein:

“On the hazier side of the present horizon, there may come a tipping point at which AI surpasses the general intelligence of humans. (In various specific domains, notably mathematical calculation, the intersection point was passed decades ago.) Many people anticipate this technological moment, dubbed the Singularity, as a kind of Second Coming—though whether of a savior or of Yeats’s rough beast is less clear. Perhaps by constructing an artificial human, computer scientists will finally realize Mary Shelley’s vision.” (Holyoak 2022, par.6)

Despite the bleak predictions of how AI may one day replace all human activity, the reality is that this technology is simply not there yet. While AI can simulate human intelligence successfully in many tasks, it is still lacking in the poetry writing department and requires humans to be the editors and final decision makers in the outcome of a poem. Holyoak explains this current iteration of poetry AI being a system that “operates using a generate-then-select method” (Holyoak 2022, par.10).

In his article, Keith Holyoak ponders the validity of AI poetry, functionalism, the Hard Problem of consciousness, and the critical essence or subjective experience within poetry. I have linked his article at the end of this blog post, and I highly encourage you to read it if you’re even remotely interested in these topics.

Users can select up to three poets to serve as their muses. They will provide suggestions as you write. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Google’s Verse by Verse

Verse by Verse is a powerful poetry-writing AI created by Google that produces suggestions line by line, inspired by famed classical poets such as Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The tool allows users to select up to three poets they want to mimic from a list of twenty-two classical poets.

Google’s about section on the Verse by Verse demo page says this of the software:

“Verse by Verse is an experiment in human-AI collaboration for writing poetry. We have created a cadre of AI poets, trained on the poems of many of America's classical poets, to work alongside you in writing poetry.

Each poet will try to offer suggestions that they think would best continue a poem in the style of that given poet. As such, try working with different poets to see whose style best meshes with your own.

Explore what works best for you when composing the poem. You can try using the poets' suggestions (including editing them to better match your style!), or write your own inspired by what they suggest.” (Google)

I conducted a little more research to gain a better understanding of how the AI operates and how best to use it for writing my own poetry. The article “Google’s ‘Verse by Verse’ can help you write poetry” by Aditya Saroha provides insight into how the muses provides suggestions based on classical poets. Saroha said, “Google explained that Verse by Verse's suggestions are not the original lines of verse the poets had written, but novel verses generated to sound like lines of verse the poets could have written. To build the tool, Google’s engineers trained models on a large collection of classic poetry. They fine-tuned the models on each individual poet’s body of work to try to capture their style of writing” (Saroha 2021, par.8-10). So, the poetry that the tool’s muses provide the user with were not actually lines crafted by classical poets, but rather inspired by their individual bodies of work.

In the article, “Google’s ‘Verse by Verse’ Lets You Imitate Writing Style Of Your Favourite Classical Poet” by Rudrani Gupta, provided quotes from one of Google’s software engineers, Dave Uthus where he explained how the AI was trained to write like classical poets. She said, “The suggestions of the new verses are possible because the tool has been ‘trained to have a general semantic understanding of what lines of the verse would best follow a previous line of verse,’ said engineer Dave Uthus. ‘Even if you write on topics not commonly seen in classic poetry, the system will try its best to make suggestions that are relevant,’ he added” (Gupta 2020, par.4). By training the AI in this fashion, the tool allows modern poets to write about modern topics, themes, and concepts, while imitating classical style and voice.

While this software can prove to be a useful writing too, it isn’t intended to replace talented poets. Saroha concludes his article by noting that the tool is meant to aid poets rather than replacing them. He said, “Through the tool, Google aims to ‘augment’ the creative process of composing a poem. Google said Verse by Verse is a creative helper, an inspiration and not a replacement” (Saroha 2021, par.11 ).

Google’s Verse by Verse, an AI poetry-writing tool. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I First Used Verse by Verse In 2020

I was first introduced to Verse by Verse in 2020 and I tried it just to see how effective it could be. At the time, I was really getting into my own religious deconstruction and exploring overt sexuality and expression. As a result, my writing at the time certainly reflected my interests and spiritual journey. I typed in words such as holy, prayer, pleasure, love, lust, sex, worship, devotion, god, and church. The poets I selected as my muses were Whitman, Emerson, and Poe and as I wrote each verse on the left, they provided me with inspiration from the column on the right.

I do not have the original poem the AI created when I first did this exercise in 2020 however, from that, I ended up with the following poem:

PRAYER

"Oh God," she says, hands clasped together, fingers entwined, knees bent.

He doesn't answer; he does.

he answers with earnest, continued, devoted worship

head bowed, eyes closed, his mind devoid of all else but this

—this soul-shaking, earth-shattering pleasure, this blessed communion between man and woman,

the Holy Spirit an undoubted voyeur through the candlelight,

this holy practice wherein they do some of their finest praying. (Hayes 2020)

Revisiting Verse by Verse in 2022

To show you how this AI writes poetry and how it’s suggestions can be effective for your own poetry writing, I decided to give it another go in 2022. Below is a gallery of screenshots from the tool as I entered each verse/line at a time. As you can see, my muses Emerson, Poe, and Whitman all provided me with interesting and unique suggestions to include in my poem.

I used words and phrases that came to mind, without rhyme or reason. I typed out ten verses and my chosen muses produced three lines each to help inspire my poem. Below are the twenty-seven lines from each poet in the right column (totaling eighty-one lines among my muses).

Ralph Waldo Emerson Muse

Tides of the hands of the bold,

Tides of the North wind, and to woods

Tides of the hands of the snow;

Hearing a weary weary voice at happy eve,

Hearing a happy poet recount

Hearing a weary poet high

Whilst upper wits, and for their memory ave

Dwarfed for thy harp to willing hand;

Victor over war’s enchanted lid

Spreading their scent through a ian gold;

House in for the blood of their delight,

Bright with homage to their well-known delight!

Wield these young honey wine for their delight:

Escort and beauty for their sick delight:

Their shining beauty to each youthful lamp  

Knew that their roar and pulse of kindred air:

Wield these first tones that shine through speak;

Bright with homage to their well-known delight!

Soothes with their shining sorrow;

Mixed with sand by other true delight.

Scent with thy summer horn.

Spreading their scent through fancy and desire;

Stream through thy friendship to the upper air,--

Beer and cup from every cottage beams–

Freedom and beauty for a delicate beams.

Strewed the wide wave with their enchanted maids;

Mixed with sand by other true liberty.

Walt Whitman Muse

Entering my feet over the prairies,

Wherein each stands or sweeps in the though,

Entering my feet upon the prairies

Splashing the waves with a yellow light,

Splashing the waves over the beach at night,

Splashing the river with a mystic midnight light,

Gave up the mighty and diverse hand

Rose the old drunkard, with a long side,

Making the young land tremble for the soul;

Wherein I feel so certain and happy,

Wherein all women pass from the world,

Encircled by a servant at hand;

Encircled by a servant at hand;

Making a song of a open air;

E’er lashes and clothes without wealth.

Thunder on stride on stride on lean words:

Rich greenish drift and the measureless light;

Wherein I understand each breath and the age;

Encircled by a delicate mouth and hand.

Mighty and perfect pour through the night.

Perfume the white arms of the summer night

Rich with ample forms and barbarian words,

Rich and perfect play for other globes!

Light the world with a mystic motion;

Encircled by a world in other bay;

Encircled by a perfect float in the air;

Encircled by a perfect float in the air:

Edgar Allan Poe Muse

Which fall’st into this world like rain

When in an happy Runic rhyme,

Wherein my youth and dreams and words,

Light as the lavas of summer air

Drowning a wild feeling with the sound

Tempting and dreaming in this passionate light

Filled with deep thoughts of thee.

Brought a silver, silken rest.

Brought a silver silken veil of light,

Beside the dames that gilded each bright noon,

Filled with light of life and light!

Brought down the world to me with their delight;

Put my own solace to a golden light,

Brought a silvery silken veil of light,

Hold about my fingers with their delight,

Divulge this secrets of that lovely isle!

To breathe those voice of thine. The lovely light

Nor ask the riches of the summer air;

To breathe those kisses of the summer air.

Sorrow with its own light eye.

Filled with light of many eyes.

A fountain of light. No living light

Hold about my fingers with their delight

Hold about my fingers as a crown.

Brought on a throne in their elysian air;

To breathe those kisses of the jewelled air;

To breathe those voice of thine.The lovely light

So, the muses definitely wrote…something. It’s not necessarily poetry —yet.

From those lines, I narrowed them down to my favorites in the following lines:

Wield these young honey wine for their delight:

Their shining beauty to each youthful lamp  

Splashing the river with a mystic midnight light,

Wherein I feel so certain and happy,

Encircled by a delicate mouth and hand.

Light the world with a mystic motion;

Tempting and dreaming in this passionate light

Brought a silver silken veil of light,

Put my own solace to a golden light,

Brought a silvery silken veil of light,

Hold about my fingers with their delight,

To breathe those kisses of the summer air.

Here, you could put these lines back into the AI to see what you get. I decided to rework them myself to make them less abstract. The lines crossed out above, I ended up using below. I kept my first verse, “feminine beauty dressed in light” and used that as the first line for the poem.

Feminine being dressed in light

To breathe those kisses of the summer air

Held about her fingers my delight

Washed softly away my every care

Encircled by a delicate mouth and hand

Wherein I feel so happy and certain

Her shining beauty imprinted in the sand

She is most deserving of devotion

You don’t have to use all of the lines the muses provided you with. As you can see, I have only used a handful here. This poem isn’t complete, but you get the idea. I’m going to set these lines aside for use with another poem later.  The suggestions from the muses in the tool may not have been completely sensible or eloquent, but its a great starting point for poets who may be stuck. It’s also a great way to practice mimicking your favorite classical poet’s writing style if you’d like. Although AI cannot yet write poetry that is indistinguishable from human poetry, it can certainly serve as a useful tool in your own poetry practice.

The next time you find yourself stuck on a line, try using AI to help you finish out your poem! If you try this, leave your work in the comments below! What was your favorite line the muses came up with? Let me know below!

Thank you for reading this blog post and if you’re interested in reading more about AI poetry or delving deeper into the sources I mentioned above, check out the bibliography and further reading sections below! Additionally, if you’d like to read similar posts, check out the related topics section. Lastly, if you want to read more posts from me, check out my recent blog posts.

Bibliography

• Saroha, Aditya. “Google’s ‘Verse by Verse’ can help you write poetry.” The Hindu, November, 28, 2021. (Paragraphs 8 and 10-11).

•  Google, “Verse By Verse” Google AI: Semantic Experiences. (AI Writing Tool and About Section). 

• Hayes, Payton. “Google’s Verse by Verse.” Photos, January, 16, 2023 (Photo Gallery).

• Holyoak, Keith . “Can AI Write Authentic Poetry?” The MIT Press Reader, December 7, 2022. (Paragraphs 6 and 10).

• Oxford English Dictionary, third ed.  (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), s.v. “artificial intelligence, n.” 

• Danilyuk, Pavel.  (@pavel-danilyuk), “Robot Holding a Red Flower.” Unsplash photo," May 28, 2021. (Thumbnail photo). 

• Gupta, Rudrani. “Google’s ‘Verse by Verse’ Lets You Imitate Writing Style Of Your Favourite Classical Poet.” She The People. November 26, 2020. (Paragraph 4). 

Further Reading

• “Can a machine write better than you?—5 Best (and worst) AI Poem generators.”by Sara Barkat,  September 27, 2022. 

• “How I Use Artificial Intelligence as a Conversation Partner to Write Poetry.” by Lance Cummings, September 9, 2022. 

• “Google’s New AI Helps You Write Poetry Like Poe.” by Matthew Hart, November 24, 2020. 

• “Can AI Write Poetry? — Look at the Examples to Decide.” by Kirsty Kendall,  May 4, 2022.  

• “Why Tomorrow’s Poets Will Use Artificial Intelligence.” by Lance Cummings,  July 1, 2022.  

• “What Happens When Machines Learn To Write Poetry.” by Dan Rockmore,  January 7, 2020.

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Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Info-Dumping in Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels by Breyonna Jordan

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

If you’re new to the blog, thanks for stopping by, and if you’re a returning reader, it’s nice to see you again! For this post, Breyonna Jordan is taking over the blog to tell you all about info-dumping in science-fiction and fantasy novels! Leave her a comment and check out her website and other socials!

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Breyonna Jordan loves exploring new frontiers—underground cities, mythical kingdoms, and expansive space stations, to be exact. As a developmental editor, she relishes every opportunity to help world-builders improve their works and learn more about the wonderful world of writing. She enjoys novels that are fresh, far-reaching, and fun and she can’t wait to see your next book on her TBR list.

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Follow & Connect With Breyonna On These Platforms:

Facebook | Instagram | Reddit | Website

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Breyonna Jordan is a developmental editor who specializes in science-fiction and fantasy.

What is Info-Dumping? 

When writing sci-fi or fantasy, there’s a steep curve on how much the audience needs to know—a world of a curve in fact.

You may have pages and pages of elaborate world histories that readers must be filled in on—the current and past ruling monarchs, failed (or successful) uprisings, how natural resources became so scarce in this particular region, or why a military state exists in this country, but not in the surrounding lands. 

Alternatively, you may feel the need to include pages of small details concerning the settings and characters your readers are exploring. While it’s important to include specific details in your writing—the reader can’t possibly know that the night sky features four moons unless you convey these details—oftentimes, the excess exposition can be overwhelming to readers. 

This info-dumping can be a pervasive problem in fiction, maybe even the problem that stops you from finding an awesome agent or from obtaining a following on Amazon.

So, below I’ve offered some tips for spotting info-dumping, reasons for and the potential consequences of info-dumping, as well as several tips for avoiding the info-dump. 

How Do You Identify Info-Dumping In Your Manuscript?

A section of your work may contain info-dumping if you find: 

• you are skipping lines while reading (Brotzel 2020),

• the paragraphs are very long,

• there is little action and conflict occurring,

• your voice (and not your characters) has slipped in,

• that it looks like it was copied directly from your outline

To help you get a better idea of what excessive exposition can look like, here are two examples of info-dumping from the first chapter of a sci-fantasy manuscript I worked on: 

“Hawk was guarding the entrance to the cave while Beetle went for the treasure. These were not their real names of course but code-names given to them by their commander (now deceased) to hide their true identities from commoners who may begin asking questions. Very few people in the world knew their true names and survived to speak it. Hawk and Beetle knew each other’s true names but had sworn to secrecy. They were the youngest people on their team. Beetle was seventeen with silver hair and had a talent for tracking. Hawk was twenty-one with brown hair which he usually wore under a white bandana. He was well-mannered and apart from his occupation in burglary was an honest rule-follower. Beetle and Hawk had known each other since they were children and were as close as brothers.”

“It is one of the greatest treasures in the entire world of Forest #7. This was thought only to have existed in legend and theological transcripts. This Staff was powered by the Life Twig, a mystic and ancient amulet said to contain the soul of Wind Witch, a witch of light with limitless powers.”

Why Do Writers Info-Dump and What Impacts Does It Have On Their Manuscripts?

As a developmental editor who works primarily with sci-fi and fantasy writers, I’ve seen that info-dumping can be especially difficult for these authors to avoid because their stories often require a lot of background knowledge and world-building to make sense. 

In space operas, for example, there may be multiple species and planetary empires with complex histories to keep track of. In expansive epic fantasies, multiple POV characters may share the stage, each with their own unique backstory, tone, and voice.

Here are some other reasons why world-builders info-dump:

• they have too many characters, preventing them from successfully integrating various traits,

• they want to emphasize character backstories as a driver of motivation,

• their piece lacks conflict or plot, using exposition to fill up pages instead, 

• they are unsure of the readers ability to understand character goals, motivations, or actions without further explanation,

• they want to share information that they’ve researched (Brotzel 2020),

• they want readers to be able to visualize their worlds the way they see them

A Hobbit house with wood stacked out front. Photo by Jeff Finley.

Though these are important considerations, info-dumping often does more harm than good. Most readers don’t want to learn about characters and settings via pages of exposition and backstory. Likewise, lengthy descriptions:

• distract readers from story and theme, 

• encourage the use of irrelevant details,

• make your writing more confusing by hiding key details,

• decrease dramatic tension by boring the reader,

• slow the pacing and immediacy of writing,

• prevent you from learning to masterfully handle characterization and description 

Think back to the examples listed above. Can you see how info-dumping can slow the pace from a sprint to a crawl? Can you spot all the irrelevant details that detract from the reader's experience? Do you see the impact of info-dumping on the author’s ability to effectively characterize and immerse the reader in the scene?

Info-dumping is a significant issue in many manuscripts. Often, it’s what divides the first drafts from fifth drafts, a larger audience from a smaller one, a published piece from the slush pile. 

What Techniques Can Be Used to Mitigate Info-Dumping?

That said, below are three practical tips to help you avoid and resolve info-dumping in your science-fiction and fantasy works: 

1. Keep focus on the most important details. You can incorporate further information as the story develops. This will allow readers to remain engrossed in your world without overwhelming them. It will also help you maintain a robust setting in which there’s something new for readers to explore each time the character visits. 

2. Weave details between conflict, action, and dialogue (Miller 2014). This will allow the reader to absorb knowledge about your world without losing interest or becoming confused. An expansive galactic battle presents the perfect opportunity to deftly note the tensions between races via character dialogue and behavior. A sword fighting lesson can easily showcase new technology (Dune anyone?). A conversation about floral arrangements for a wedding can subtlysubtely convey exposition. Just make sure to keep the dialogue conversational and realistic. 

3. Allow the reader to be confused sometimes. Most sci-fi and fantasy readers expect to be a bit perplexed by new worlds in the earliest chapters. They understand that they don’t know anything, and thus expect not to learn everything at once. Try not to worry too much about scaring them off with new vocabulary and settings. They can pick up on context clues and make inferences as the story progresses. handle it. If you’re still concerned about the amount of invented terminology and definitions, consider adding a glossary to the back matter of the book instead. 

Of course, this all raises the question…

Is It Ever Okay to Info-Dump? 

You might think to yourself, “I want to stop info-dumping, but it’s so difficult to write my novel without having to backtrack constantly to introduce why this policy exists, or why this seemingly obvious solution won’t end the Faerie-Werewolf War.” 

If you’re a discovery writer, it might be downright impossible to keep track of all these details without directly conveying them in text which is why I encourage you to do exactly that. 

Dump all of your histories into the novel without restraint. Pause a climactic scene to spend pages exploring why starving miners can’t eat forest fruit or how this life-saving magical ritual was lost due to debauchery in the forbidden library halls. 

Write it all down…

Foggy woods illuminated by a soft, warm light. Photo by Johannes Plenio.

But be prepared to edit it down in the second, third, or even fourth drafts. 

Important information may belong in your manuscript, but info-dumps should be weeded out of your final draft as much as possible. 

Additionally, as I mention often, I am a firm disbeliever in the power and existence of writing rules. There are novels I love that use info-dumping liberally and even intentionally (re: Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy by Douglas Adams). Most classics use exposition heavily as well and they remain beloved by fans old and new. 

However, what works for one author may not work for everyone and modern trends in reader/ publisher-preference regard info-dumping as problematic. Heavy reliance on exposition is also connected to other developmental problems, such as low dramatic tension and poor characterization. 

If you are intentional about incorporating large swaths of exposition and it presents a meaningful contribution to your work, then info-dumping might be a risk worth taking. If the decision comes down to an inability to deal with description and backstory in other ways then consider reaching out to an editor or writing group instead. 

What are some techniques you’ve used to avoid info-dumping in your story? Let us know in the comments!

Bibliography

• Brotzel, Dan. “Get On With It! How To Avoid Info Dumps in Your Fiction.” Medium article, February 12, 2020. 

• Finley, Jeff. “Hobbit House.” Unsplash photo, February 28, 2018.

•  Gililand, Stein Egil. “Beautiful Green Northern Lights in the Sky.” Pexels photo,   January 7, 2014 (Thumnail photo).

• Miller, Kevin.“How to Avoid the Dreaded Infodump.” Book Editing Associates article, April 14, 2014.

• Plenio, Johannes. “Forest Light.” Unsplash photo, February 13, 2018.

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This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

“Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise by Jim Simmerman

A photo of the book The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell on a wooden coffee table. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello readers and writerly friends!

If you’re a returning reader, welcome back and if you’re new to the blog, thanks for stopping by! In this blog post I’ll be showing you how to write a poem from a bunch of seemingly nonsensical lines. “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” is a creative writing exercise created by Jim Simmerman, and published in The Practice of Poetry, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell. I’ve used this writing exercise a handful of times in the past and in recent projects and its always a lot of fun for writing poetry, so I’ll be showing you how to do it too! If you want to support the original sources of this exercise, consider picking up a copy of The Practice of Poetry, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell from your favorite bookstore or checking out a copy from your local library (or through the amazing library apps at the end of this post)!

“Twenty Little Poetry Projects” by Jim Simmerman

1. Begin the poem with a metaphor.

2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.

3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.

4. Use one example of synesthesia [mixing the senses].

5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.

6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.

7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.

8. Use a word [slang?] you’ve never seen in a poem.

9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.

10. Use a piece of talk you’ve heard [preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand].

11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: The [adjective] [concrete noun] of [abstract noun]…

12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.

13. Make the character in the poem do something he/she could not do in real life.

14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.

15. Write in the future tense such that part of the poem sounds like a prediction.

16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.

17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.

18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.

19. Personify an object.

20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that echoes an image from earlier in the poem. (Simmerman)

Margo Roby’s “A Thousand And One Nights”

I will use these steps when my brain is not behaving, when I have an idea and don’t know where to go with it. There are steps I ignore, but not many. Below is the final draft as published in Lunarosity, a now defunct ezine. I was going nuts while typing the drafts from my old notes. I kept wanting to fix things and get rid of verbs of being. I also had to decipher the original below my first revisions.

I am a concrete person with my writing. When I first tried this, I was sitting on our bed, in Jakarta, because that was my work space. I was feeling downhearted with life—I wrote the first line. I had a small Persian carpet next to me I was staring at while trying to figure out how to do this prompt—I wrote the next line…

1. I am a prisoner without walls
2. among the flowers of my Persian carpet vines/weeds are beginning to sprout

Once I had a focus, a direction, I found the exercise much easier to carry out. I don’t think I can write this exercise without knowing where I am going. It would be interesting to try, though. Randomness has merit. (Roby)

With a draft to go on, I stopped worrying about the steps. I listed nouns and verbs that fit with Persian carpets and Middle Eastern fairy tales, circled words I wanted to look up for other possible meanings, and started back through this draft, trimming, adding line breaks, making the story active rather than passive. I got rid of lines that I had in only because the exercise asked for them.

I will use these steps when my brain is not behaving, when I have an idea and don’t know where to go with it. There are steps I ignore, but not many. Below [right] is the final draft as published in Lunarosity, a now defunct ezine. (Roby)

Margo Roby’s First Draft (With Each Step)

1. Begin the poem with a metaphor.
I am a prisoner without walls
2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.
among the flowers of my Persian carpet vines/weeds are beginning to sprout
3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.
They twine and curl reaching for me pulling me down into the fields of silk and wool; as I slide through warp and weft I hear the rustle of thread grasses. My nostrils fill with the pungency of sheep and goats and I taste the dryness of dust.
4. Use one example of synesthesia [mixing the senses].
The dampness of a blue silk river runs through my ears.
5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.
Nearby, Omar Khayyam sits writing under a date palm, the white minarets of Nineveh on the horizon.
6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.
If a carpet can have a horizon.
7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.
The hunt was on; turbaned caliphs on Arabian steeds, bows and arrows slung across their backs, chased a leopard peering forever across his shoulder.
8. Use a word [slang?] you’ve never seen in a poem.
Tally ho and an arrow is loosed never hitting its mark,
9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.
suspended eternally in mid-air by silken threads.
10. Use a piece of talk you’ve heard [preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand].
A thousand throats can be slit by one man running.
11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: The [adjective] [concrete noun] of [abstract noun]…
The towering trees of thought stand in an expectancy of silence
12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.
and I stand in the trap free of danger
13. Make the character in the poem do something he/she could not do in real life.
my arms sliding around the leopard’s golden ruff;
14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.
Ducky would have run
15. Write in the future tense such that part of the poem sounds like a prediction.
to be hunted forever through threads of colour,
16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.
chased by frozen horses
17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.
trapped by a web of patterns
18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.
another playmate in the Bokharan fields.
19. Personify an object.
The arrows hum through the staring trees
20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that echoes an image from earlier in the poem
and I am trapped in a web of patterns.

A Thousand and One Nights by Margo Roby

Among the flowers of my Persian carpet

vines sprout curl twine me into fields of silk

and wool. Sliding through warp and weft,

I hear the rustle of thread grasses, and

my nostrils fill with the pungency of feral cats,

I taste the dryness of dust, and the dampness

of a blue silk river runs through my ears.

A blend and blur of color mark the horizon

spots of russet and black resolving into a hunt

undisturbed by my addition to the scene.

Arabian steeds damp dark with silken sweat,

silent as Attic shapes, prance and wheel

through date palms and trees of fiery-fruited

pomegranate. Turbaned caliphs, bows slung

across their backs, chase a leopard forever

peering over his shoulder. An arrow loosed never

hits its mark eternally suspended by woven

threads. Trees stand in an expectancy of silence

as I move within zig-zags of light and shadow.

My arms slide round the leopard’s golden

ruff and I am bound by threads of color

to be hunted forever through fields of silk and

wool, chased by frozen horses, another

player in the weaving fields of Bokhara. (Roby 2014)

My First Poem Written Using Jim Simmerman’s “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” In 2018

In 2018, my creative writing class did this writing exercise and below is my poem that resulted from it. I tried my hand at this exercise again in 2022, which you’ll see in the next example further on. I don’t have my earlier drafts of the poem from 2018, so I’ll show you my writing process line by line with my more recent poem from 2022, like Roby did with hers. This poem was published in Rose State College’s annual literary journal, Pegasus XXXVII, in 2018. It was inspired by Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. If you’ve read the series, let me know if you catch all the references! (I have no idea who Caroline Janeway is, by the way. I cannot remember who or what this name is referring to but it’s definitely a reference to… something.)

A photo of page 61 of Pegasus XXXVII with the poem “Angel” by Payton Hayes. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Angel by Payton Hayes

You were an angel

but feathers fall like bowling balls

when the air is missing from the room,

from your lungs.

You gasped when I called you out, a

baffled sound, surprised more so, only by

the startling sensation of your wings being torn off.

Though, that warranted bloodcurdling screams,

and rightfully received them.

You had us all fooled with silken lies,

but Caroline Janeway saw you in the back of Al’s

Pool Hall in Roseville, Minnesota, back in 1994.

And last I checked, heaven wasn’t in the back of Al’s Pool Hall.

She said that you were glued to the lips of some chick in a miniskirt,

that you looked like you’d had one hell of a time.

That’s when I put it all together: you weren’t an angel, you never were.

You’ve always been good at bending the truth, though.

Here I was thinking that you’d fallen from heaven,

but really, I’d just fallen for you.

Solitary walks through silent city streets seem to clear the air for me.

You needed to become a part of my past, but how

do I fix the damage that’s been done?

You had a broken halo and I, a broken heart.

I never knew you could be so savage.

The glittering look of endearment in your eyes was

lust and nothing more. I saw so much more.

You, Cupid, loose an arrow; though it sticks I can

no more than despise you, now.

I pluck it from my side, warm, sticky blood

running down in streams.

Janie would have fainted at such a sight.

I’d stand frozen, watching it all unfold before me.

Your bloodied, pristine, feathers litter the ground.

There I stood, trapped by a web of lies.

Yet, la mia anima è libera, my soul is free.

I feel more weightless, now, than any feather ever could.

Though, I suspect that they feel freed from you as well.

You were never an angel but you fell from grace.

I hand you the arrow, dried blood covering the silver tip.

(Hayes 2018, 61)

Revisiting Jim Simmerman’s “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise In 2022

As mentioned, I tried this writing exercise out again for the second time in 2022. Although both rounds of working with this writing exercise got my poetry published in local literary journals here in Oklahoma, I personally feel the second poem is significantly more personal, eloquent, and sophisticated compared to the first poem. The poem I wrote back in 2018 was most definitely a concept poem and based heavily off of my favorite book series (at the time) and this poem from 2022 is rooted in my authentic, lived experience.

My First Draft (With Steps)

1. Begin the poem with a metaphor.

My father is a rock. He is strong, stable, and enduring. 

2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.

My family stands trapped, smiling behind the glass.

3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.

The jagged shards are sharp, threatening to cut me and the irony is not lost on me.  Holding up the frame to my nose, it smells of old and the figures behind the cracks are quiet and stock-still. 

4. Use one example of synesthesia [mixing the senses].

I could almost taste the film of dust around its edges. 

5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.

The Payton of San Antonio is not the Payton of Oklahoma City, though she takes their riverwalks with her.

6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.

My father is crumbling.

7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.

My mother is fluid like a river. Fluid, taking up the shape of any container she occupies

8. Use a word [slang?] you’ve never seen in a poem.

Some would call her flexible, others call her flakey. 

9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.

I’ve made it this far without a mother, I must be fine without her.

10. Use a piece of talk you’ve heard [preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand].

She was just ‘round the corner. Just ‘round the corner.

11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: The [adjective] [concrete noun] of [abstract noun]…

The fathomless abyss of my childhood trauma gapes before me.

12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.

I stand at the precipice, intrigued by its enormity and dreadfulness.

13. Make the character in the poem do something he/she could not do in real life.

I dive like a heron, fishing in its depths for the panacea that will restore my soul.

14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.

Peaches desires more  —ambrosia. 

15. Write in the future tense such that part of the poem sounds like a prediction.

And the soul food she will soon get, but it’s not what she expects. 

16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.

Her just desserts have the gall to be simultaneously acidic and sweet. The second time around, the tequila feels more like a prison than an escape. 

17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.

Atlas reborn, she carries a burden that is far too heavy for her to bear. 

18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.

Mi familia es mi fuerza y mi debilidad -my family is my strength and my weakness.

19. Personify an object.

The bottle gazes up at her from the floor.

20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that echoes an image from earlier in the poem.

My Second Draft (Untitled)

My father is a rock. He is strong, stable, and enduring. 

My family stands trapped, smiling behind the glass.

The jagged shards are sharp, threatening to cut me and the irony is not lost on me.  Holding up the frame to my nose, it smells of old and the figures behind the cracks are quiet and stock-still. 

I could almost taste the film of dust around its edges.

The Payton of San Antonio is not the Payton of Oklahoma City, though she takes their riverwalks with her.

My father is crumbling.

My mother is fluid like a river, taking up the shape of any container she occupies.

Some would call her flexible, others call her flakey. 

I’ve made it this far without a mother, I must be fine without her.

She was just ‘round the corner. Just ‘round the corner.

The fathomless abyss of my childhood trauma gapes before me.

I stand at the precipice, intrigued by its enormity and dreadfulness.

I dive like a heron, fishing in its depths for the panacea that will restore my soul.

Peaches desires more  —ambrosia. 

And the soul food she will soon get, but it’s not what she expects. 

Her just desserts have the gall to be simultaneously acidic and sweet. The second time around, the tequila feels more like a prison than an escape. 

Atlas reborn, she carries a burden that is far too heavy for her to bear. 

Her family watches her, sip after sip, frozen behind the glass. 

Mi familia es mi fuerza y mi debilidad -my family is my strength and my weakness.

The bottle gazes up at her from the floor. 

A photo of the poem “Trypophobia” in a two-page spread from pages 19-20 of the chapbook, Stories For The Road: Trauma and Internal Communication, Vol. 1. sitting on a brown wooden coffee table. Photo by Payton Hayes.

After I wrote the first draft, I left my poem alone for a few weeks so I could come back to it with fresh eyes. I chipped and chiseled away at it, cutting phrases in some lines and adding new thoughts in others. As I drafted this poem, its core message gradually became clearer with each new iteration.

Trypophobia by Payton Hayes

My father is my rock. He is strong, stable, and enduring—a stone statue against the dawn.

I stare at the relic of a bygone family—shattered, they stand trapped, smiling behind the glass.

The jagged shards are sharp, threatening to cut me open and the irony is palpable. 

Holding up the frame to my nose, it smells of old and the figures peering through the cracks are motionless, silent.

I could almost taste the film of dust around its edges.

The Payton of San Antonio is not the Payton of Oklahoma City, though she takes their riverwalks with her.

And now, my father is crumbling. 

My mother is fluid like a river, taking up the shape of any container she occupies.

Some would call her flexible. 

Others call her flakey. 

I’ve made it this far without a mother, I must be fine without her.

She was always just ‘round the corner, just ‘round the corner.

The fathomless abyss of my childhood trauma gapes before me.

I stand at the precipice, intrigued by its enormity and dreadfulness. 

The liquid gold calls out to me, inviting me in with a false sense of courage.

I dive like a heron, fishing in its depths for the panacea that will restore my soul.

Peaches desires more—ambrosia even.

And the soul food she will soon get, but it’s not what she expects. 

Her just desserts have the gall to be simultaneously acidic and sweet. 

The second time around, the tequila feels more like a prison than an escape. 

Atlas reborn, she carries a burden that is far too heavy for her to bear. 

Her family watches her, sip after sip, frozen behind the glass. 

She is swallowed up by the pit.

Mi familia es mi fuerza y mi debilidad—my family is my strength and my weakness.

The bottle gazes up at her from the floor. 

(Hayes 2022, 19-20)

As you can see from all the examples above, Jim Simmerman’s “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise provides an excellent framework for writing poetry. When you follow this process step by step, you end up with at least twenty lines of creative writing to serve as the foundation for a truly powerful message and concrete poem.

You may not necessarily keep them all or keep them in order. But surprisingly,  this structured writing exercise allows creativity to flow freely. Once you have the rough draft, you can rearrange lines and edit the poem to your liking. I always enjoy working with this exercise and if you try this exercise or any of the other exercises in the book, please let me know what you think of it in the comments! If you want to find more amazing poetry writing exercises, consider picking up a copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell from the links below or checking out a copy from your local library.

If anyone can find the webpage with Margo Roby’s post with her process on the exercise and poem, “A Thousand and One Nights” in Lunarosity, or information on the 2004 edition of Lunarosity, please let me know!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “Angel” Pegasus XXXVII. Midwest City, O.K.: Rose State College, 2018. (Page 61).

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the book The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell on a wooden coffee table.”  March 18, 2025.

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of page 61 of Pegasus XXXVII with the poem ‘Angel’ by Payton Hayes.” March 18, 2025. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A photo of the poem ‘Trypophobia’ in a two-page spread from pages 19-20 of the chapbook, Stories For The Road: Trauma and Internal Communication, Vol. 1. sitting on a brown wooden coffee table.” March 18, 2025. 

• Hayes, Payton. “A sideways photo of the book The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach, by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell on a wooden coffee table.” March 18, 2025 (Thumbnail photo).

• Hayes, Payton. “Trypophobia” Stories For The Road: Trauma and Internal Communication, Vol. 1. Edmond, O.K.: The University of Central Oklahoma, 2022. (Pages 19-20).

• Roby, Margo. “A Thousand And One Nights” Lunarosity, 2004. 

• Roby, Margo. “A Thousand And One Nights” Margo: Roby: Wordgathering. (Blog).

• Simmerman, Jim. Robin Behn and Chase Twichell, eds. “Twenty Poetry Projects” The Practice of Poetry. New York, N.Y.: First Collins Reference, 2005. (Pages 119-122)

Further Reading

• Purchase a preowned copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach online from Chegg.com, accessed March 18, 2025.

• Purchase a preowned copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach online from Thriftbooks.com, accessed March 18, 2025.

• Purchase a new e-book or paperback copy of the The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach online from Barnes & Noble, accessed March 18, 2025.

• Purchase a new or used copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach in various formats online from Amazon.com, accessed March 18, 2025.

• Add The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach to your Read, Currently Reading, or Want To Read shelves on Goodreads.com, accessed March 18, 2025.

• You can also check out a copy of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises From Poets Who Teach Read through your local library with apps such as Overdrive, Libby, Libro.fm, Borrowbox, Hoopla, or you can purchase an e-book or audiobook through Google Books, Audible, or Kindle. 

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This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Screenwriting for Novelists: How Different Mediums Can Improve Your Writing

Screenwriter writing at a desk in a library. Photo by Ron Lach.

This blog post was written by a human.

*I am not affiliated with any of the apps, websites, tools, companies, or content creators featured in this post and I make no money off of sharing them as resources for you here. 

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Welcome back to the blog! If you’re new here, thanks for stopping by!

This blog post discusses the benefits of screenwriting in broadening your horizons as a novelist, provides resources for screenwriting, and includes a sample page in screenplay format. All references are located at the end of the post. 

Screenwriting, or scriptwriting, is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media, including feature films, television productions, or video games. Novelists can also benefit from practicing screenwriting. To keep the writing process engaging and motivating, consider changing your writing format periodically or between projects. If you’ve been writing novels for the last few years, consider trying your hand at poetry, screenwriting, or nonfiction and vice versa. Rotating formats and writing styles can help keep the writing process refreshing and can strengthen your skills as a writer.

“Novels, Screenplays, and The Writers Who Do Both” by Annie Ward

In her article 'Novels, Screenplays, and The Writers Who Do Both' on CrimeReads.com, Annie Ward explains how screenwriting and novel writing can complement each other to enhance a writer's skills. She started out writing screenplays but novel writing changed her perspective on writing in general: 

“I discovered that by combining what I’d learned from the craft of traditional screenwriting with the freedom of fiction, I was writing more descriptively with an emphasis on thoughts and feelings, and yet managing to remain structured and succinct. My screenwriting training had forced me to learn to reveal story through dialogue and action. It had reigned in my life-long tendency to digress. I could hear my instructor’s voice whispering in my ear, ‘Get to the point. Show don’t tell. Where is the conflict? Keep it moving.’ (Ward 2022)

While Ward transitioned from screenwriting to novel writing, the structures inherent in various writing mediums can compel writers to explore different avenues of creativity. Sometimes having confines such as a limited word/page count or having to work within certain themes can actually free the writer from their own mind and give them a starting point to work with. Personally, I found writing sonnets challenging yet invigorating, as their inherent structure provided a framework around which to weave my creative vision.

“4 Differences Between Writing a Screenplay and Writing a Novel” by Dan Brown

In his article '4 Differences Between Writing a Screenplay and Writing a Novel,' MasterClass instructor Dan Brown explains that the four key distinctions between screenwriting and novel writing are format, dialogue, length, and pacing. Regarding script format, he said that screenplays are structured using the three-act structure, with direct, concise paragraphs and adhere to the beat sheet in Blake Snyder’s book Save the Cat!.

“There are more rules for the industry standard screenplay format than there are for novels. Script format dictates that the page should be full of white space, with each new scene clearly introduced with a scene heading. Screenwriting software is essential for both aspiring screenwriters and professional screenwriters and will help you quickly format your first draft” (Brown 2021).

Regarding dialogue, Brown states:

“Novels typically rely heavily on an omniscient narrator or on the inner thoughts of a main character. Script writing involves a heavier reliance on spoken dialogue….In a movie script, dialogue appears under a character’s name, sometimes preceded by a parenthetical describing the character’s feelings or gestures. In a novel, the speaker is often implied through context” (Brown 2021).

Regarding length, Brown said that novels are typically hundreds of pages longer, and this is true. Novels have many pages and passages for description and scene-building.

“Screenplay page count will vary depending on if you’re writing a short film, TV-show, or feature, but spec[ulative] scripts are typically around 90 pages long—approximately one page per minute of screen time” (Brown 2021).

Regarding pacing, Brown said:

“The pacing in both films and novels can vary wildly—a thriller, for example, will generally be more quickly paced than a character study. Compared to novels, screenplays for major Hollywood films will be faster-paced with more action lines, engaging the audience from fade in to fade out…” (Brown 2021).

Naturally, different mediums have different structures and formatting which will inherently change the way it is written, the story length, and creative freedoms the storyteller can take. It can be argued that novelists can “waste more time” on details and screenwriters cannot. If you find that your writing style is more suited towards short descriptions, and action, try scriptwriting. If you find that a script cannot contain all of your creativity and you need more space for descriptions and scene development, consider novel writing instead. It can be beneficial to try both. Writers can use the same story for both as an experiment to see how the two writing forms differ and how they overlap.

Go To The Movies

Look at a variety of movies from various genres and with different formats to see different methods of storytelling via screenwriting. The new Dahmer series on Netflix, although opinions are mixed, is an example of non-linear storytelling with film. The Lord of The Rings films are examples of the classic hero’s journey tale and trope often seen in fantasy.

Screenwriter writing at a desk. Photo by Ron Lach.

Read, Watch, Write 

Compare how film adaptations change stories and how moving from one medium can influence the telling of the story. Reading books, watching their film adaptations, and comparing and contrasting them can serve as a useful skill for writers who want to take a different approach.

For example, the post-apocalyptic novel Bird Box written by Josh Malerman, demonstrates how the mode of storytelling has changed and with it, the story as well. On the 39th the episode of the No Thanks, We’re Booked Podcast, the hosts Katie and Mollie, and guest Riley Sager discussed how the book was scarier than the film adaptation; that’s because the book forces the reader to imagine the horrors the characters see rather than providing definitive descriptions. The film displays the characters seeing these horrors without showing the audience what they look like. “… [Josh Malerman] takes away…the description…because the characters can’t see, you can’t see as a reader so, it’s left to… your imagination more so than usual when reading…” (Sager 2019). There’s something about invisible monsters that is just terrifying and the fact that the reader can imagine them to be as horrific as they want, is even more effective than the film. 

For your next writing project, find a story that’s been adapted for the screen and fits your genre —then read the book, watch the film, and write from what you’ve learned about the two different mediums of storytelling. Consider the amount of time spent in pages compared to minutes on-screen and observe how that influences your pacing.

Watch Interviews With Screenwriters Discussing Their Craft

There are many screenwriters and actors who often direct as well and their advice and discussion of their own work can be useful for your own screenplays and other types of writing. They often offer inside looks at their process, how they direct actors for effective storytelling rather than just acting, and how they convert two-dimensional books and scripts into visually compelling three-dimensional films. 

Interviews from Christopher McQuarrie, Aaron Sorkin, and other big name directors such as Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielburg, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, and Alfred Hitchcock can be especially useful and insightful for writers of all genres.

Videos from the YouTube channel, Lessons from the Screenplay. Screenshot by Payton Hayes.

Lessons from the Screenplay

This is an excellent YouTube channel that produces video essays on storytelling through the medium of film and television. The host, Micheal, deep dives into the various aspects of storytelling and provides clear, concrete examples. He analyzes films and TV shows and weaves in relevant, important key information from craft books such as John Truby’s Anatomy of Story to link it to the film and back up his claims. 

The Q&A Podcast with Jeff Goldsmith

Backstory Magazine publisher and host, Jeff Goldsmith interviews writers, directors, and actors about their latest films. These podcasts are interesting and insightful and can provide screenwriters with tons of helpful, actionable, information on storytelling. 

The Good Place Podcast

Holy motherforking shirtballs! With a podcast episode for every actual show episode, the Good Place Podcast is a great look into the writing, directing, acting, and filmmaking of the hit NBC series, The Good Place. The podcast features weekly behind-the-scenes stories, episode and performance insights, and funny anecdotes. Hosted by actor Marc Evan Jackson (Shawn) with a rotating slate of co-hosts and special guests, including actors, writers, producers, and more, this podcast takes a deep dive into everything on- and off- screen. The episodes featuring Michael Schur are especially useful as a writer. 

Scripts.com

Scripts.com is one of the largest collections of movie scripts, screenplays and transcripts which is run by a community of amateur and professional writers. This is an excellent place for screenwriters, playwrights, and novelists alike to practice their craft, post their pieces online, and get feedback on their work. You can also use their free scriptwriting tool, but be sure to double-check all of your formatting to ensure there are no errors.

Studio Binder

Although they’re advertising their service, Studio Binder has a comprehensive guide to writing and formatting scripts. 

The basics of script formatting are as follows:

• 12-point Courier font size

• 1.5 inch margin on the left of the page

• 1 inch margin on the right of the page

• 1 inch on the of the top and bottom of the page

• Each page should have approximately 55 lines

• The dialogue block starts 2.5 inches from the left side of the page

• Character names must have uppercase letters and be positioned starting 3.7 inches from the left side of the page

• Page numbers are positioned in the top right corner with a 0.5 inch margin from the top of the page. The first page shall not be numbered, and each number is followed by a period (Studio Binder 2019).

That’s it for my blog post about screenwriting for novelists. Do you write screenplays? Do you write novels? Have you done both? Which do you prefer? Please let me know your thoughts in the comment below!

Honorable Mentions (Helpful Apps & Websites For Screenwriters)

• Storyist—A powerful writing environment for novelists and screenwriters. Unlike conventional word processors, Storyist helps you track your plot, characters, and settings, and keeps all of your writing organized and accessible—so you can focus on telling your story.

• LivingWriter—One of the best writing apps for novelists, authors, and screenwriters. Start your book, plot your book, write your book, organize your book, and export it for publishing all in one place.

• Final Draft (13) One of the most creator-centered, best-selling screenwriting tools in the world. Use powerful story planning tools to help brainstorm and outline your script, use customizable workflows and modes to stay organized, and forget all the fussing with formatting because Final Draft does it all automatically.

Bibliography

• Brown, Dan. “4 Differences Between Writing a Screenplay and Writing a Novel” Masterclass, August 27, 2021. 

• Lach, Ron. “Writing Notes on a Document.” Pexels photo, May 27, 2021 (Thumbnail photo). 

• Lach, Ron. “Woman Working of Her Work Desk with Books on Top.” Pexels photo, May 4, 2021.

• Snyder, Blake. Save The Cat! California: Michael Wiese Productions, May 25, 2005. Amazon. 

• Sager, Riley, Mollie Tubeville, and Katie Ziegler. “Episode 39: Interview with Best-Selling Author of Lock Every Door: Riley Sager.” No Thanks We’re Booked Podcast, August 7, 2019 (17:40-20:00). 

• Ward, Annie. “Novels, Screenplays, and The Writers Who Do Both.” Crimereads article, March 24, 2022.

Further Reading

• Goldsmith, Jeff. The Q&A Podcast with Jeff Goldsmith,  accessed November 14, 2022. 

•  Jackson, Marc Evan. The Good Place Podcast, accessed November 14, 2022. 

• Michael “Lessons From The Screenplay“ YouTube Channel, accessed November 14, 2022. 

• Studio Binder “How to Write a Movie Script: Screenplay Format and Examples.” Studio Binder blog post, September 1, 2019. 

• STANDS4 Network “About.” Scripts.com, accessed November 14, 2022. 

Related Topics

• Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

• “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise by Jim Simmerman

• Writing Exercises from Jeff Tweedy's Book, How To Write One Song

• Why Fanfiction is Great Writing Practice and How It Can Teach Writers to Write Well

• Experimentation Is Essential For Creators’ Growth (In Both Art and Writing)

• Writing Every Day: What Writing As A Journalist Taught Me About Deadlines & Discipline

• Let’s Talk Amateur Author Anxiety: 7 Writer Worries That Could Be Holding You Back

• Blank Pages Versus Bad Pages: How To Beat Writer’s Block

• Know The Rules So Well That You Can Break The Rules Effectively

• 8 Reasons Why Having A Creative Community Matters

• The Importance of Befriending Your Competition

• How To Overcome Writer’s Block

• When Writing Becomes Difficult

• 5 Reasons Most Writers Quit

• Self-Care Tips for Bookworms

• 5 Healthy Habits For Every Writer

• Yoga For Writers: A 30-Minute Routine To Do Between Writing Sessions

• 20 Things Writers Can Learn From Dreamers

• Check out my other Writing Advice blog posts!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Experimentation Is Essential For Creators’ Growth (In Both Art and Writing)

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

If you’re new to the blog, thanks for stopping by, and if you’re a returning reader, it’s nice to see you again! Experimenting as an artist, creator, or writer is a crucial step in your creative career. Practicing experimentation early and regularly throughout your artistic life keeps your work fresh, innovative, unique, and engaging for both you and your audience. Aspiring or amateur artists should not commit to any one specific style until they’ve had time to experiment with different styles, themes, and mediums. And once they’ve landed on a signature style they enjoy, it is wise to continue experimenting from time to time.

An experiment is a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact. In science, this is true, but it is also the case for art and for writing. When creating art, there are many aspects of the artistic process that can be changed or played with to provide different results.

Vandy, in his article 'Should Artists Experiment?', stated, 'In the world of art, often when we say experiment we think of a psychological process of working out what we like and don’t like about the act of making art and the final result' (Massey, 2020).

For example, in resin art, the artist can use alcohol ink, watercolor, acrylic, pigment, glitter, gouache, sharpies, beads, charms, cabochons, or just about any material between each layer of resin or submerged inside the resin. This example alone shows how much creative freedom we have with just one medium. Consider how you can experiment with different tools as a painter or sculptor. In what ways can you experiment with different colors, saturations, inversions, scales, and shading? In what ways can an artist explore the same subject across multiple mediums? How will an artist’s concept change from pen and paper to digital drawing on a tablet? The possibilities are truly endless and every artist’s experiments will naturally be unique.

I’ve been making art since 2010, and writing since well before then, and I still experiment with my work.Although I now have a style I tend to stick with, that wasn’t always the case, and for most of my artistic practice, my works looked as if each one came from a different artist—you’d never know my hands had created them just by looking at them.

Experimentation helps encourage creativity, freedom to try new things, and broadens your perspective as an artist and creator.

In her article, “Why Artists Must Experiment,” Kathleen Kralowec said “Recognizing an act as an experiment releases it from a lot of seriousness, a lot of demands of perfection. The outcome of experimentation is knowledge, and failure is just as valuable as success, because one has expanded one’s awareness of one’s own abilities, one’s deeper ideas, the potential of a media, a process, a genre, an art-form” (Kralowec 2019).

Art studio filled with canvases and murals done in many different styles. Photo by Matthieu Camoy.

Experimenting with style

Before committing to a signature style or aesthetic, experiment with a wide array of different styles. Try experimenting with patterns, colors, shapes, themes, mediums and styles. No two artists' works are the same and even derivative works can be unique in their own way. Conduct style studies to practice techniques you admire or those outside your comfort zone. For example, try drawing the same sketch ten times, each time emulating a different artist's style to familiarize yourself with various techniques.

Below are a few examples of the Style Challenge artists have been partaking in across social media. The challenge is for an artist to draw something in their own style and then replicate it several more times in other popular animated art styles such as anime, Disney, cartoons, and comic books styles.

Never settle on a specific style; instead continue to always experiment, innovate, and evolve your art, whilst retaining an underlying current of your own style.

Art style challenges on social media

“draw different styles” by p0kky.

“Style Challenge” by emzdrawings.

“Hijabi” by XenoPurple_Art

“Art Style Challenge” by erinleedani.

“Art Style Challenge” by Yulaukira

“Style Challenge” by Mcseal.

Experimenting with themes and motifs

Art studio filled with colorful canvases depicting different styles and themes. Photo by Dom J.

Consider using different themes and subject matter in your work. If you typically write about nonfiction topics, consider writing a short story or poetry. If you usually paint realistic animals, try painting people or still-life paintings instead. If you usually draw geometric forms in your work, try experimenting with realism or surrealism instead. If you typically write comedy, consider painting something with a more political message behind it. If you typically draw geometric or abstract sketches, try drawing something inspired by another work you like such as a Swan Lake ballet performance or a video game character. Experiment with various themes and messages and see how art with similar concepts is translated across different mediums.

Experimenting with techniques

A myriad of techniques can be used across many different art styles and mediums. Creatively mixing and matching techniques with different styles, mediums, and themes, can result in interesting, unique, and engaging art. It also strengthens your skills and creativity as an artist—having to try new things, troubleshoot, and make creative decisions to reach your desired outcome.

In her blog post, Rebecca of the Rebecca Art Tutor blog explains how she instructed students on a variety of techniques and required they use them to illustrate a textured object in a new and interesting way, leaving the creative decisions up to the students. She said, “We had learnt layering paint, dry-brush, different types of brush strokes, scratching into, lifting off, splatter, dots, impasto and more. We then did an exercise where we had to select a textured object (wood, fur, feathers etc.) and represent it with a painting technique….Although still slightly confused by the idea that …[the student] had the answer to ‘how to do fur’... [and] started representing fur with the fan brush in a very effective way…. I had taught the general techniques but allowed the learner to make the connection of how these techniques could be used.” (Rebecca 2022)

This is a fantastic example of how experimentation can result in effective use of techniques to produce interesting and unique outcomes.

Experimenting with size and scale

If you’re an artist who typically paints large-scale works such as signs, murals, and backdrops, consider downsizing to practice your hand at details. Both large and small scale art has it’s upsides; small scale art focuses more on details and large scale art focuses more on the big picture. Experiment with size and shape in your work and you’ll find you prefer one over the other and its freeing to focus on other aspects of an art piece from time to time.

Artist looking through her canvases depicting many different themes, styles, and subjects. Photo is a still from a video by Antoni Shkraba.

Experimenting with different mediums

If you’re a sketch artist, try working with watercolor, ink pens, markers, colored pencils, or crayons. If you’re a sculptor, try creating sculptures from mixed media such as plastic, wood, metal, paper, paper mache, yarn, or stone. If you’re a novel writer, try experimenting with poetry, nonfiction, or screenwriting. If you’re a digital artist, try your hand at video editing or animation. The examples are endless, but the advice is the same: experiment across different mediums to see what you enjoy using and to strengthen your skills as an artist.

Kralowec said that by experimenting, we can learn what kind of space we work best in, learn what kind of daily practice, pace, or goal-structure we thrive in, learn about the rules and how to effectively break them, and we can stumble on new genres, approaches or styles: the creation of something truly new.

In my sophomore year of college, I did an art capstone class, where the final project was to produce a large fine art piece that could be sold in a gallery. One crucial step of this project process was to produce a test piece prior to working with our fine art materials and larger-scale canvases. The pieces I submitted for the final grade were 2ft (L) x 2ft (W) (test piece) and 3 x 2ft (L) x 4ft (W) (final project triptych). I was working with ink and wood and it was essential that I do a test piece to ensure my materials worked well together. After all, the test piece came out better than the actual final project, in my personal opinion. But I learned a valuable lesson in art through that project; art has a mind of its own and all the planning in the world can still result in the unexpected. Experimentation frees us from the turmoil we feel when our creative visions do not turn out quite like we’d planned.

Experimentation and innovation in art is an important skill to build for any creator. Artists should not box themselves into any one style or medium and instead look for new ways to breathe life and intrigue into their work. They will become a stronger, more diverse, artist for it. Writers should do the same. Writers should challenge themselves by working across different storytelling mediums, genres, and styles whilst retaining their own unique voice between the lines.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post about experimentation in art. This advice can be applied to any creative skill and is encouraged for artists of all genres, mediums, and walks of life. If you already do experiment in your work, let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Comoy, Matthieu. “Art studio with wall graffiti.” Unsplash photo, July 26, 2017. 

• Dom J “Horse and figure paintings.” Pexels photo, October 5, 2017.

• bodobe “Paint supplies” Pixabay photo, September 2, 2015 (Thumbnail).

• emzdrawings. “Style Challenge.” Deviantart post, Jul 24, 2019.

• erinleedani. “Art Style Challenge.” Instagram post, accessed November 7, 2022. 

• Kralowec, Kathleen. “Why Artists Must Experiment” Medium article, June 12, 2019.

• Massey, Vandy. “Should Artists Experiment?” Vandy Massey Studio blog post, August 5, 2020. 

• Mcseal. “Style Challenge.” Medibang.com, ArtStreet post, 2019. 

• p0kky. “draw different styles.” Deviantart post, June 21, 2019.

• Rebecca “The Importance of Experimenting in Art” Rebecca Art Tutor blog post, accessed November 7, 2022. 

• Shkraba, Antoni. “Woman looking at paintings.” Pexels photo,  June 2, 2020. 

• XenoPurple. “Hijabi.” Deviantart post, October 25, 2015.

• Yulaukira. “Art Style Challenge.” Medibang.com, ArtStreet post, 2021.

Related Topics

• “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise by Jim Simmerman

• Writing Exercises from Jeff Tweedy's Book, How To Write One Song

• Why Fanfiction is Great Writing Practice and How It Can Teach Writers to Write Well

• Screenwriting for Novelists: How Different Mediums Can Improve Your Writing

• Writing Every Day: What Writing As A Journalist Taught Me About Deadlines & Discipline

• Blank Pages Versus Bad Pages: How To Beat Writer’s Block

• Know The Rules So Well That You Can Break The Rules Effectively

• Let’s Talk Amateur Author Anxiety: 7 Writer Worries That Could Be Holding You Back 

• How To Overcome Writer’s Block

• When Writing Becomes Difficult

• 5 Reasons Most Writers Quit

• Self-Care Tips for Bookworms

• 5 Healthy Habits For Every Writer

• Yoga For Writers: A 30-Minute Routine To Do Between Writing Sessions

• 8 Reasons Why Having A Creative Community Matters

• The Importance of Befriending Your Competition

• 20 Things Writers Can Learn From Dreamers

• Check out my other Writing Advice blog posts!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Writing Exercises from Jeff Tweedy's Book, How To Write One Song

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello, readers and fellow writers! Welcome back to the blog, and if you're new here, thank you for visiting! We’ll be discussing how to write a poem or song from a bunch of common words. By tapping into our subconscious and embracing unpredictability and imperfection, we can craft unique and compelling lyrics.

Why words? Because I believe all words have their own music and along with that music, I believe words contain worlds of words and meanings that are more often than not, locked beneath the surface. Poetry is what happens when words are opened up and those worlds within are made visible, and the music behind the words is heard. (Tweedy 2020, 65)

I first encountered this concept through Logan from vib3.machine on TikTok, who explained Jeff Tweedy’s Word Ladder Method from his book How To Write One Song. It’s called the Word Ladder Method because of the way you write out the words and physically link them together on paper. 

Keep the words simple

I’m not talking about expanding your vocabulary. I mean, that’s always a nice thing to do in the name of self-improvement, but fancy, multisyllabic words aren’t going to make a lyric better.They’re very often the thing that breaks the spell being cast by the melody being cast when I listen to music….In fact, I would say that most of my favorite songwriters consciously stick to common, simple, and precise language, but they don’t use it in a common and simple way within a song or melody. (Tweedy 2020, 68-9)

He gives John Prine as an example of someone who uses concise, simple, language effectively, that he “didn’t use a log of big words or flowery language and when he did, he always stayed true to the song and what needed to be said over any desire to make himself sound smart or poetic.” (Tweedy 2020, 69)

Word Ladder: Verbs and Nouns

The 6 Steps For Songwriting Using The Word Ladder

• Step 1: Come up with a label or word for a specific job

• Step 2: List out 10 Verbs to describe the label or job

• Step 3: List out 10 nouns you currently see in the space around you

• Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected

• Step 5: Write a poem with these connections

• Step 6: Rearrange and edit the lines to your liking

Jeff Tweedy’s Word Ladder

Step 1: Come up with a label or word for a specific job.

Tweedy selected 'physician' for his example, listing ten verbs associated with a physician and ten nouns from objects within his line of vision.

Step 2: List out 10 Verbs to describe the label or job

1. Examine

2. Thump 

3. Prescribe

4. Listen

5. Write

6. Scan

7. Touch

8. Wait

9. Charge

10. Heal

Step 3: List out 10 nouns you currently see in the space around you

1. Cushion

2. Guitar

3. Wall

4. Turntable

5. Sunlight

6. Window

7. Carpet

8. Drum

9. Microphone

10. Lightbulb

Jeff Tweedy’s word ladder. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected. 

1. Examine→ Lightbulb

2. Thump→ Microphone

3. Prescribe→ Cushion

4. Listen→ Window

5. Write→ Sunlight

6. Scan→ Carpet

7. Touch→ Turntable

8. Wait→ Drum

9. Charge→ Wall

10. Heal→ Guitar

Step 5: Write a poem with these connections.

“Now take a pencil and draw lines to connect nouns and verbs that don’t normally work together. I like to use this exercise, not so much to generate a set of lyrics but to remind myself of how much fun I can have with words when I’m not concerning myself with meaning or judging my poetic abilities.” (Tweedy 2020, 73)

Jeff Tweedy’s first draft:

the drum is waiting 

by the window listening 

where the sunlight writes 

on the cushions

prescribed

thump the microphone

the guitar is healing 

how the turntable is touched

charging in the wall 

while one lightbulb examines 

and scans the carpet (Tweedy 2020, 73-4)

I find it almost always works when I’m finding a need to break out of my normal, well-worn paths of language. (Tweedy 2020, 74)

Below is Tweedy’s revision of the poem. He says, you don’t have to use every one of the verbs and nouns or put any restrictions on your writing at this point. The goal of this exercise is to warm up your creative muscles. 

Tweedy’s revised poem:

The drum is waiting by the windowsill

Where the sunlight writes its will on the rug

My guitar is healed by the amp charging the wall

And that's not all, I’m always in love (Tweedy 2020, 74)

That’s still a little awkward, but it's enough to jumpstart my brain to where words and language have my full attention again. (Tweedy 2020, 75)

Logan’s (Vib3.machine) Word Ladder

Step 1: Come up with a label or word for a specific job.

The word Logan picked for his example was “astronaut.” He listed out ten verbs to describe an astronaut and then ten nouns from objects in his room.

Step 2: List out 10 Verbs to describe the label or job.

1. Explore

2. Discover

3. Float

4. Wait

5. Voyage

6. Travel

7. Learn

8. Fly

9. Land

10. Journey

Step 3: List out 10 nouns you currently see in the space around you. 

1. Basket

2. Letters

3. Books

4. Art

5. Kitchen

6. Camera

7. Floor

8. Watch

9. Fan

10. Bike

Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected.  In his captions, Logan said, “Having your subconscious constantly finding creative unique phrases while you aren’t actively TRYING is super powerful. It’s a habit [I’]m [trying] to develop.” (00:45-1:00)

Logan’s word ladder. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Logan connected his verbs and nouns like this:

1. Explore → Basket

2. Discover→ Kitchen

3. Float→ Floor

4. Wait→ Fan

5. Voyage→ Books

6. Travel→ Letters

7. Learn→ Bike

8. Fly→ Watch

9. Land→ Art

10. Journey→ Camera

Step 5: Write a poem with these connections. Don’t worry if it still doesn’t make sense. Right now, we’re just writing; we’ll edit it soon!

Logan says in regard to lyric writing, to make it as conversational as possible because it’s more relatable. (Logan 2022, 1:30-1:45)

Here was the poem he came up with from those connections:

I explored your basket 

And discovered us in the kitchen

We floated on the floor 

And waited next to the fan

You voyaged through this book 

And traveled every letter

So I can learn to bike 

And fly through this watch

You landed in my art 

And the camera we journeyed (Logan 2022, 2:36-2:50)

He said, “I know this sounds like nonsense, but we just wrote something without thinking about it.”  (Logan 2022, 2:30-2:35)

Step 6: Rearrange and edit the lines to your liking. For full-length songs and longer poems, continue the process with each stanza. Consider sticking with a common theme, for your first 10 words each time you start the process within one poem or song,  but change the words you use for this process with each stanza. Try to avoid unintentional repetition. For poems, see if you can create a rhyme scheme with the words and themes present and make use of the elements of poetry. 

I wrote a poem using the Word Ladder exercise

I was substituting for a high school drama teacher when I tried this exercise so, you might notice a theme.

Step 1: Come up with a label or word for a specific job

I picked “Actress”

Step 2: List out 10 Verbs to describe the label or job

1. Perform

2. Practice

3. Dance

4. Project

5. Articulate

6. Memorize

7. Act

8. Pantomime

9. Smile

10. Transform

Step 3: List out 10 nouns you currently see in the space around you

1. Podium

2. Mirror

3. Pen

4. Curtain

5. Piano

6. Spotlights

7. Screen

8. Tape

9. Carpet

10. Garbage

My word ladder. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected

1. Perform→ Spotlights

2. Practice→ Tape

3. Dance→ Carpet

4. Project→ Podium

5. Articulate→ Piano

6. Memorize→ Spotlights

7. Act→ Garbage

8. Pantomime→ Mirror

9. Smile→ Curtain

10. Transform→ Screen

Step 5: Write a poem with these connections

The performance begins with the spotlights 

The practice tape is peeling up as I 

Dance across the carpet

My teacher projects from the podium and 

The piano’s keys articulate a melody

I’ve memorized my position beneath the spotlights

Inside, I hope my acting isn’t total garbage

My classmate pantomimes in the mirror

I plaster on a smile as the curtain opens

We transform from stage to screen

Step 6: Rearrange and edit the lines to your liking

The performance begins with the spotlights 

The practice tape is peeling up from the stage

Dancing on the painted wood is nothing like the carpet in our classroom.

For a breath, I think back to rehearsal —the director projecting ques from the podium

The pianos keys articulate the melody of the opening coda

I’ve memorized my lines a million times beneath these spotlights

And still, I hope that my acting isn’t total garbage

The other actors pantomime one another like reflections in mirrors

I plaster on a smile as the curtain opens

We transform from students on a stage to actors on a screen

Here is my final poem:

ACTRESS

The performance begins with the spotlights 

The practice tape is peeling up from the stage

Dancing on the painted wood is nothing like the carpet in our classroom.

For a breath, I think back to rehearsal —the director projecting cues from the podium

The pianos keys articulate the melody of the opening coda

I’ve memorized my lines a million times beneath these spotlights

And still, I hope that my acting isn’t total garbage

The other actors pantomime one another like reflections in mirrors

I plaster on a smile as the curtain opens

We transform from drama students in a classroom to actors on a stage

As you can see this process is easy, effective, and creatively freeing. It takes the pressure of your shoulders to create something perfect, especially with the first draft. Having this skill is a great resource for writers both new and seasoned because it gets the words out of our heads and onto the paper and it gives us something to work with. You can edit a bad page but you can’t edit a blank page.

Exercise 4: Word Ladder Variation (using adjectives)

Don’t let adjectives make you think you’re being poetic. An “impatient red fiery orb loomed in the whiskey-blurred, cottony-blue sky is rarely going to hit me anywhere near as hard as “I was drunk in the day.”...Of course, it’s strange how adding words to paint a clearer, more specific image often muddies the image you’re trying to expose. The problem is when they are used to spice up a vague verb or noun instead of replacing that with precise language….”I was extremely frightened by the very large man behind the counter” versus “I was petrified by the colossus working the register. (Tweedy 2020, 86)

1. Step 1: Come up with a location

2. Step 2: List out 10 adjectives to describe that location

3. Step 3: List out 10 nouns in your line of vision or that pop into your head (and aren’t related to the location you picked) 

4. Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected

5. Step 5: Write a poem with these connections

6. Step 6: Rearrange and edit the lines to your liking

Step 1: Come up with a location

Tweedy selected “outer space” for his location.

Step 2: List out 10 adjectives to describe that location

1. Circular

2. Distant

3. Ancient

4. Haloed

5. Cold

6. Vast

7. Bright

8. Frozen

9. Silent

10. Infinite

Step 3: List out 10 nouns in your line of vision or that pop into your head (and aren’t related to the location you picked)

1. Ladder

2. Kiss

3. Daughter

4. Hand

5. Pool

6. Summer

7. Lawn

8. Friend

9. Blaze

10. Window

Jeff Tweedy’s word ladder variation. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Step 4: Connect the two sets of words in a way is unexpected

1. Circular→ Summer

2. Distant→ Hand

3. Ancient→ Blaze

4. Haloed→ Daughter

5. Cold→ Kiss

6. Vast→ Pool

7. Bright→ Window

8. Frozen→ Ladder

9. Silent→ Lawn

10. Infinite→ Friend

Step 5: Write a poem with these connections

Tweedy’s poem came out as:

there is a distant hand

on a frozen ladder

climbing through 

a bright window

a vast pool waiting

beside a silent lawn

where a daughter haloed

lives a circular summer

one cold kiss

from an infinite friend

away from an ancient blaze (Tweedy 2020, 87)

It’s not a perfect poem, but it took me only about fifteen minutes to complete, and I really do enjoy some of the imagery that emerged. I actually found a few bits of language that I’ve been looking for to complete a song I’ve been working on. (Tweedy 2020, 87)

Exercise 2: Steal Words From A Book

This is the second writing exercise in Tweedy’s book. It’s a bit more free-form than the first exercise and can be helpful for getting you used to working with lyric fragments. (Tweedy 2020, 77)

• Step 1: If you have a melody, keep it at the forefront of your mind as you read

• Step 2: Skim over a page and see what words jump out at you

• Step 3: Highlight the words that strike you   

• Step 4: Keep going until you have a collection of words that sound right with your melody

• Step 5: Use an anchor word if one strikes you and pair other melodic words you find with it

Tweedy explains that this process helps put his ego securely in the backseat and forces him to surrender to a process that puts language/words in front of his creative path and he feels free to find them as though they’ve come from somewhere else. He feels more free to react with surprise and passion or cold indifference than he is able to when his intellect begins treating his lyrical ideas like precious jewels. (Tweedy 2020, 78)

He recommends using anchor words if any jump out at you and to find words that go well together sonically. He uses “catastrophe” as an anchor word and uses it to create the following lines:

wouldn’t you call it a catastrophe

when you realize you’d rather be

anywhere but where you are

and far from the one you want to see? (Tweedy 2020, 79)

Tweedy advises “overdoing it” in terms of coming up with lyrics you like. “Coming up with more than you need is almost never going to make a song worse. Sometimes every good line doesn’t make it into the song you’re working on. But that doesn’t mean you have to throw those lines away. I go back and look at the pages of lyrics I’ve written with this process…and find things I love, even ones I never used, frequently. It helps for there to be some length of time between when they were written and revisited, especially for it to be long enough for the initial melody to have faded. At this point you’re not committing yourself to anything. You’re just creating building blocks. (Tweedy 2020, 79-80)

Exercise 3: Cut-Up Techniques

Grab something you’ve been working on and write it all down on a legal pad. Or if you have access to a printer, print it out double-spaced… The easiest cutting strategy is line by line, but word by word or phrase by phrase can provide equally interesting results. Once you’ve cut up your text, you can either put the strips in a hat or turn them over and pull each line/word/phrase randomly. Then scan your chosen poem construction for unexpected surprises. (Tweedy 2020, 81) 

Tweedy says he almost always finds “at least one newly formed phrase or word relationship” that “moves” him or makes him “smile.” (Tweedy 2020, 81)

“Another way to use your cut-up strips is to forget about trying to make random associations and just use them as moveable modules of language. It’s always fascinating to me how much more alive lines I’ve written become when I’m able to have a simple tactile experience reorganizing the order and syntax of the lines and phrases.” (Tweedy 2020, 81-2)

Tweedy provides a comparison of the initial order and finalized order of a set of lyrics from his song, “An Empty Corner”

Version 1:

In an empty corner of a dream

My sleep could not complete

Left on a copy machine

Eight tiny lines of cocaine (Tweedy 2020, 82)

Version 2:

Eight tiny lines of cocaine

Left on a copy machine

In an empty corner of a dream

My sleep could not complete (Tweedy 2020, 83)

“[The second] version is so much more powerful and better overall that I can’t believe I ever tried to sing these lyrics in any other order…Take the time to play with your words. Allow yourself the joy of getting to know them without being precious about directing everything they are trying to say.” (Tweedy 2020, 83)

Exercise 5: Have A Conversation 

In Chapter 12 of Tweedy’s book, he advises trying another liberating writing exercise. He says to record yourself and someone else having a conversation to see what lyrics can emerge from common conversational language. He shows two examples of this exercise in action and it’s actually brilliant. For the sake of brevity, I’m only including the steps for this exercise but I highly recommend you try it.

• Step 1: Record a conversation or rewrite it as accurately to life as possible

• Step 2: Take the important and surprising snippets from the conversation 

• Step 3: Arrange those snippets to amplify or give them new meaning

• Step 4: Read it aloud

• Step 5: Rearrange and edit as necessary

Other Writing Exercises In Tweedy’s Book

Some other exercises Tweedy recommends in his book include playing with rhymes (in an unexpected and new way) and pretending to be someone else and channeling their essence when writing songs or poems, which takes the pressure to be vulnerable and perfect off the writer’s shoulders. He also recommends songwriters collect pieces of music, either in the form of mumbled songs, hummed tunes, instrumentals you play yourself or digitally, or music from other artist’s songs and advises songwriters to learn other people’s songs like the back of your hand, so you can take them apart and create something new with those parts. 

Additionally, he advises writers to “steal” elements of songs such as themes, lyric fragments, chord progressions, and melodies from existing songs and make them your own. He strongly advises writers to loosen their judgment and allow the creativity to flow freely. 

He explains writer’s block as he sees it and provides four conflicting tips for combatting the “stuck” feeling that comes with being creatively blocked: “1) start in the wrong place, 2) start in the right place, 3) put it away, and 4) don’t put it away.” (Tweedy 2020, 144-49) By all of this, he means rearrange song parts until they sound like a good fit for that part of the song, work on fragments or start from the end if the beginning is stumping you, walk away from the piece if its just not working and “keep punching” until you push through to the lyrics you’re looking for. 

That’s it for my guide, on writing a song or poem using writing exercises from Jeff Tweedy’s book, How To Write One Song. I hope you enjoyed it and that this process inspired you to try this in your own writing. If you do try this method, post your work in the comments below so I can see how it helped you! Make sure to check out Jeff Tweedy’s book and Vib3.machine’s TikTok for more information on songwriting! Thanks for reading!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “How To Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy.” Thumbnail Image, November 6, 2022.

• Hayes, Payton. “Jeff Tweedy’s word ladder.” November 6, 2022. 

• Hayes, Payton. “Logan’s word ladder.” November 6, 2022. 

• Hayes, Payton. “My word ladder.” November 6, 2022. 

• Hayes, Payton. “Jeff Tweedy’s word ladder variation.” November 6, 2022. 

• Logan, Vib3.machine. “Word Ladder” Tiktok.com. 2022. 

• Tweedy, Jeff. How To Write One Song. New York: Dutton, Penguin Random House LLC, 2020. (65, 68, 69, 73-83, 244-49)

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Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

8 Reasons Why Having A Creative Community Matters

Two writers working on their projects together. Photo by Windows.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

If you’re new to the blog, thanks for stopping by, and if you’re a returning reader, it’s nice to see you again! In this post, we’re discussing eight reasons why it is not only beneficial but also why having a writing community is essential for helping writers break out of their shell, embrace criticism, and grow as storytellers. When we hear the word “writer,” the image that comes to mind is that of a hermit holed up in their office or writing room, hunched over their desk, writing at all hours, alone. However, this is often not the case when it comes to successful writers. While writing itself is often a solitary activity, there's a lot of other people involved in the publishing process from mentors, to beta readers to editors, to critique groups, to agents and publishers. The process of writing, editing, and publishing a manuscript isn’t done alone.

However, many writers still forget this crucial part of writing. Writing partners and critique groups serve as excellent sources for feedback, critiques, and writing advice. Many writers avoid writing communities and try to do it all alone. Without other writers around to encourage you, support you, and hold you accountable, it’s easy to give up on your goals.

1. Support

A writing community can provide essential support to both seasoned and aspiring writers alike. I am part of a couple of Facebook writing and editing groups and just scrolling through their posts provides me with an abundance of motivation and support to keep doing what I do. It feels amazing just seeing what everyone else is working on and reading supportive comments from fellow group members. There are many stages of the writing process where writers give up. The difference between an unfinished draft and a published book is a strong writing community.

2. Accountability

A writing community can hold you accountable to your goals. If you’re already great at meeting objectives and reaching your goals, then maybe you can show someone else how to. Many writers still struggle with meeting deadlines and achieving their goals. Having a writing community to fall back on is immensely helpful. Even when you don’t feel like writing, their commentary and advice is motivating and inspiring.

3. Feedback

We’ve all gotten feedback from friends and family, and it’s just not as helpful or constructive as advice from other writers. They don’t understand the genre, demographic, subject matter, or other story elements and provide biased feedback when asked their thoughts. Having a writing community means you have access to constructive, actionable, relevant feedback and in turn, you can provide the same for your fellow writers.

4. Advice

Much like feedback, useful writing advice is essential, and non-writers aren’t equipped to provide it. Writers can recommend books, blogs, guides, YouTube videos, speakers, podcasts, and tons of other useful content to each other through their writing communities.

5. Reaching Readers

Writing communities do not have to be exclusive to just writers; readers are a big part of writing communities too. Take beta readers for example —they enjoy reading novel drafts and providing readers with feedback relevant to their genre. Readers can provide vital advice and critiques to writer’s works without the writer’s lenses. A community of dedicated readers or your target audience can be extremely beneficial to you as a writer, especially during the marketing phase.

6. Inspiration

Group of writers cheering each other on in the library. Photo by Yan Krukov.

Inspiration is an important part of the writing process and watching your fellow writers grow and succeed in their craft can serve as crucial motivation and inspiration to keep you on track with your craft as well. The same reason writers read books from their genre or works from their favorite writers, they can also take feedback from their writing community as inspiration.

7. Helping Others

Helping other writers learn and grow in their craft is a wonderfully rewarding feeling. If you’ve got experience writing, you can share it with your writing community and maybe teach someone something they didn’t already know. Writers often post questions in community forums or groups on Facebook seeking advice for specific struggles in the writing process. Helpful answers from fellow writers can be more useful and actionable than simply asking a friend for their opinion or having to sift through a long blog post to answer a quick question.

8. Tribe

Last but not least, having a writing community means that you have a tribe to belong to. Writers from all walks of life come together for a common goal: to write a book, leave a legacy, and make their mark on the world. Having a connected, empowering, inspirational, constructive community is essential for writers of every genre and level of expertise and having a tribe to belong to is important for anyone regardless of if they are readers or writers.

I’ve included some examples of writing communities that I am a part of below.

Bonus Tip: Check Out The Writing Communities Online and Near You

Oklahoma Writing Communities

Below are a few of the writing communities in Oklahoma:

• Yukon Writer’s Society

• Red Dirt Writers

• The Golden Pony Writers Guild @ The University of Oklahoma

• Writers of Oklahoma Facebook Group

Writer’s Societies at UCO

Below are a few of the writer’s societies I am a part of at the University of Central Oklahoma:

• The English Society At UCO

• The Golden PonyCreative Writers Guild

• The Language Society at UCO

Facebook Writing and Editing Groups

Below are a few of the editorial groups I am a member of on Facebook:

• Authors and Writers Helping Each Other Grow

• I Need A Book Editor

• Ask A Book Editor

• Women Writers, Editors, Agents, and Publishers

• Writers Helping Writers

• Developmental Editor Connection Group

• #WriteTip: Writing Tips, Tricks, Tools, Techniques and Theories

• Proofreading and Editing Services

• Business + Professional Development for Editors

• BetaReader Connect Facebook Group

• Beta Readers Facebook Group

Reddit Writing Communities

• Writers Reddit Community (r/Writers)

• Writing Reddit Community(r/Writing)

• Keep Writing Reddit Community(r/KeepWriting)

• Fan Fiction Reddit Community (r/FanFiction)

• Writing Prompts Reddit Community(r/WritingPrompts)

Online Writing Forums and Communities

• Wattpad

• Archive of Our Own (AO3)

• Critique Circle

• Scribophile

• BetaBooks

• Goodreads Beta Reader Groups

• Reader’s Favorite

•  Absolute Write Water Cooler

•  NaNoWriMo Forums

• Mythic Scribes

• Reedsy Discovery

• Writer’s Café on The Next Big Writer

Other Spaces To Build A Writing Community Online

• Twitter/X–Use hashtags like #BetaReaders, #WritingCommunity, #SeekingBetaReaders or #AmWriting to find potential readers.

• Discord Servers–Join writing servers like The Writing Community or BetaReader Connect for live feedback.

• TikTok–Connect with and engage with fellow TikTokers in the BookTok Community.

That’s it for my list of 8 Reasons Why Having Writing Community Matters. Do you have a writing community? How has it helped you in your writing practice? What are some of your favorite writing communities online and in your area? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Goodman, Jason. “five person by table watching turned on white iMac photo.” Unsplash photo, March 14, 2019 (Thumbnail photo).

• Krukov, Yan. “Group of People Smiling and Standing Near Brown Wooden Table Raising Hands.” Pexels photo, June 3, 2021. 

• Windows. “3 women sitting on chair.” Unsplash photo, April 22, 2020.

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Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

NaNoWriMo: 25 Tips To Help You Write A Book In 1 Month + Free NaNoWriMo Printables

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

We didn’t just come here to win NaNoWriMo—no, we came to slay it. Okay, maybe that line is for the horror writers, but I’m serious when I say I am slaying NaNo this year. 2022 is not only  a new year, but it’s a new beginning. In 2022, we start and finish our novels, we reach our goals, and we don’t stop for anyone!

I’ve prepared this guide months in advance so you can get prepared too! You should be prepping all of October—er, prep-tober for the biggest, baddest, bestest NaNoWriMo ever! And okay, maybe some of those aren’t real words, but we can pretend, and we can still get psyched! Hooray for reaching our goals and stuff!

This blog post covers everything from background information on NaNoWriMo, to how to prepare for the writing challenge, to emergency solutions for that nasty writer’s block, to FREE printables and more!

I discovered this concept from Shayla Raquel from Shaylaraquel.com I took inspiration from her guide which you can check out here!

The NaNoWriMo Crest. Image by NaNoWriMo.

What is NaNoWriMo?

In my opinion, there’s only two valid reasons for asking this question: 1) you’re a writer and you’ve been living under a rock or 2) you’re a non-writer. Either way, I am here to serve and inform. *Bows graciously* NaNoWriMo is an acronym that stands for National Novel Writing Month. It begins every year on November 1. Participants have 30 days to write a 50,000-word novel. It comes out to 1,667 words a day.

How do I participate?

To get started, simply head to NaNoWriMo.org, click the Sign Up button, and fill out your profile. Once you’ve set up your profile, you can announce your novel, add buddies, and start prepping your book.

Is it free?

It’s free. In fact, NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit. However, if you’d like to support them, you can always donate to their organization.

Are there any local events for NaNoWriMo?

Although people all over the world participate in NaNoWriMo, you can go to their Regions page, find your specific region, and see if there are any Come Write-Ins available.

NaNoWriMo’s Come Write In program connects libraries, bookstores, and other neighborhood spaces with their local NaNoWriMo participants to build vibrant writing communities.

For example, the Yukon Writers’ Society in Oklahoma has four official Come Write-Ins. NaNoWriMo sends out official swag and signs so people know where to go.

How do I win NaNoWriMo?

You must reach your goal of 50,000 words by November 30. To receive your official certificate and get the winner badge on your profile, you must update your word count daily and make sure the word count reaches 50,000 words by November 30, 2020. Here’s their how-to guide.

Download Free Novel Binder Printables

Got a binder handy? Fill it with these beautiful printables and add the necessary information.

Here's what you'll get when you download the free PDF:

• Binder title page with name plate

• At a Glance — overview of your novel

• Character List

• The Protagonist — three pages for  character details

• The Antagonist — three pages for character details

• To-Do List—you can fill the list with my NaNoWriMo To-Do List (scroll down!) or make your own!

• Story Outline — three pages detailing the parts of a novel as per the three-act story structure

• Word Count Tracker—with NaNoWriMo daily word count goal and space for your daily word count reached

I suggest tossing these fantastic freebies into a lovely, matching blue binder! Scroll down to download!

NaNoWriMo To-Do List:

1.      Grab some coffee—this is going to be so fun!

2.      Set up your NaNoWriMo account

3.      Fill out your author bio and add a profile photo.

4.      Announce your novel.

5.      Add your buddies. (Add me too!)

6.      Find your region and see if there are any local Come Write-Ins.

7.      Print my free novel binder templates and prepare your binder. (Scroll back up!)

8.      Tell your social media friends about NaNoWriMo. Tag NaNoWriMo and use hashtags.

9.      Tidy up your writing space and add some inspirational NaNo swag. Or make your own! You can also add a candle, some motivational quotes and pep talk books! (Scroll down!)

10.  Put together a NaNo board. This is the fun part! Grab a corkboard or dry erase board and display your outline, character photos, book cover sketches, inspirational quotes—anything that has to do with your book. If you prefer digital vision boards, start a Pinterest board.

11. Download my emergency writer’s block kit for when the dreaded writer’s block inevitably strikes! Don’t let lack of motivation or inspiration slow you down or keep you from reaching your NaNoWriMo goals! (Scroll down!)

12.  Create a reward sheet. When you hit 10,000 words, you should get a reward—like a weekly coffee stop for reaching your goals each week or bigger rewards for bigger milestones such as every ten thousand words! Write a list of rewards that go with each big milestone you hit. If all of this motivation fails you, your rewards will keep you on track, believe me.

13.  Print the Word Count Calendar (scroll down!) and pin it to your NaNo board!

14.  Add official Come Write-Ins to your schedule if you found any (#5).

15.  Looks like your cup is empty…coffee break?

16.  Create a NaNo playlist. Don’t forget game soundtracks and Ambient Mixer!

17.  Set a certain time to write then tell your family/friends/neighbors/pets you are writing for X amount of minutes/hours each day. Be proactive in stopping distractions. Consider postponing plans with friends and family until you’ve met your goal each day.

18.  Draw pictures of your characters or Google pictures of what you think they’d look like. I like to have a few photos for every character, including headshots, full-body shots, and photos that accentuate their style. You can add them to your NaNo board!

19.  Look at book covers. Obviously don’t steal someone else’s book cover but find a few that you think would represent your book well. Keep them to refer to when NaNo hits. Add to your NaNo board!

20.  You think we’re busy now, but wait ‘til we’re really in the trenches. Speaking of being busy, I think it’s time for more coffee—gotta keep the productivity levels up, right?

21.  Prepare the manuscript. This is actually really fun and can make you feel like a bona fide novelist. Write your title, table of contents (if you have one), acknowledgments, prologue, and so on. Get the novel looking fancy!

22.  Find your accountability buddy now. Get together with them and discuss both of your books! When NaNoWriMo is in full swing and you’re feeling stuck, you can hit up your NaNo buddy for instant support—or a kick in the pants, whichever.

23.  At the end of NaNoWriMo grab a celebratory coffee—for winning or for simply participating!

24.  Consider donating to NaNoWriMo.

25.  If you finish your novel, then great! It’s now time to edit. If you still have some writing to do, stay on the writing train with 1,666 words a day until it’s finished. By participating in NaNoWriMo, you’re building the habit of writing every day and it’s much easier to maintain the habit than to pick it back up if you let it go. Keep writing and you’ll reach the ending before you know it!

Keeping Up With Word Counts

Download my free NaNoWriMo word count calendar so you can keep track of your writing goals and work count all month long!

Cackling Over Calendars

Don’t like my calendar? That’s okay! Try this one on for size! Humor helps pass the time! @hermiejr157 on DeviantArt designed this hilarious, quirky, and painfully true calendar that accurately describes NaNoWriMo for most writers!

“NaNoWriMo Desktop.” by @hermiejr157.

Worried About Writer’s Block?

Download my free NaNoWriMo writer’s block emergency kit!

NaNoWriMo Articles For Extra Inspiration & Motivation

• “A First-Timer’s Guide to Prepping for NaNoWriMo.”

• “NaNoWriMo Advice: 30 Tips for Writing a Book in 30 Days.“

• “How to Prepare for NaNoWriMo: Your 4-Week Success Plan.”

• “100 Plot Ideas.”

• “Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo.”

• “Writing a Novel in a Month: 10 Tips for Plotters and Pantsers.”

• “What is NaNoWriMo? And How to Win in 2022.”

Books To Read In Preparation Of NaNoWriMo!

The books shown above are:

• Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo (Novel and Creative Writing Book, National Novel Writing Month NaNoWriMo Guide) by Grand Faulkner

• The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression (Second Edition) (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 1) by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman

• Write Your Novel From The Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between by James Scott Bell

• Ready, Set, Novel!: A Workbook by Lindsey Grant and Chris Baty

• No Plot? No Problem! Revised and Expanded Edition: A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty

• Your First Novel Revised and Expanded Edition: A Top Agent and a Published Author Show You How to Write Your Book and Get It Published by Ann Rittenberg, Laura Whitcomb, and Camille Goldin

• You can find all of these and more on my Payton’s Picks Page

Build Or Join A Writing Community To Keep Each Other Accountable Throughout NaNoWriMo!

Social Media

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanowrimo/

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NaNoWriMo/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanowrimo/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/nanowrimo/

• Tumblr: http://blog.nanowrimo.org/

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nanowrimo/

Facebook Groups

• NaNoWriMo

• 2020 NaNoWriMo (Support & Encouragement)

Use NaNo Hashtags To Find NaNoWriMo-Related Content

Most social media out there allows you to post hashtags, and often up to at least 30 per post! You can comment even more hashtags on the post to increase visibility! Here are 50 different NaNoWriMo hashtags for you to use with your content!

• #1667wordsaday

• #amediting

• #amwriting

• #authorlife

• #book

• #bookish

• #bookishthings

• #booklove

• #booklover

• #booklovers

• #bookstagram

• #bookwormforlife

• #bookworms

• #characters

• #creativewriting

• #fantasy

• #fiction

• #fictionbooks

• #iamawriter 

• #igbooks

• #ilovewriting

• #inktober

• #inspiration

• #instawrimo

• #nanoprep

• #nanowrimo

• #nonfiction

• #poetry

• #preptober

• #procrastination

• #scrivener

• #stylewriting

• #wip

• #write

• #writer

• #writerscommunity

• #writerscorner

• #writerslife

• #writersofig

• #writersofinsta

• #writersofinstagram

• #writing

• #writingchallenge

• #writingcommunity

• #writingeveryday

• #writinglife

• #writingofig

• #writingprompt

• #yabooks

• #yacontemporary

• #yalit

Bibliography

• Baty, Chris. No Plot? No Problem! Revised and Expanded Edition: A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days. California: Chronicle Books LLC, 2014. Amazon (Image and link).

• Faulkner , Grand. Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo (Novel and Creative Writing Book, National Novel Writing Month NaNoWriMo Guide). California: Chronicle Books, 2017. Amazon (Image and link).

• Grant. Lindsey, and Chris Baty. Ready, Set, Novel!: A Workbook. California: Chronicle Books, 2011. Amazon (Image and link). 

• hermiejr157. “NaNoWriMo Desktop” Deviantart post, November 4, 2008.

• McNulty, Bridget. “Writing a Novel in a Month: 10 Tips for Plotters and Pantsers.” Now Novel blog post, accessed October 18, 2022.

• NaNoWriMo. “NaNo Prep 101.” NaNoWriMo website, accessed October 18, 2022. 

• NaNoWriMo. "NaNoWriMo Logo.” Image. Accessed October 18, 2022. 

• NY Book Editors. “A First-Timer’s Guide to Prepping for NaNoWriMo.” Blog post, accessed October 18, 2022.

• Puglisi, Becca, and Angela Ackerman. The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression (Second Edition) (Writers Helping Writers Series Book 1). JADD Publishing, 2019. Amazon (Image and link).

• Raquel, Shayla. “100 Plot Ideas. “ Shaylaraquel.com blog post, October 16, 2022. 

• Raquel, Shayla. “NaNoWriMo 2018 Novel Binder Printables.” Shaylaraquel.com blog post, September 30, 2022. 

• Reedsy. “What is NaNoWriMo? And How to Win in 2022.” Reedsy blog post, October 5, 2020. 

•  Rittenberg, Ann, Laura Whitcomb, and Camille Goldin. Your First Novel Revised and Expanded Edition: A Top Agent and a Published Author Show You How to Write Your Book and Get It Published. Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 2018. Amazon (Image and link).

• Scott Bell, James. Write Your Novel From The Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between. London: Compendium Press, 1707. Amazon (Image and link).

• Steve. “Getting Ready for NaNoWriMo.” Storyist blog post, accessed October 18, 2022.

• Strawser, Jessica. “NaNoWriMo Advice: 30 Tips for Writing a Book in 30 Days.“ Writer’s Digest article, October 6, 2015. 

• The Write Life Team. “How to Prepare for NaNoWriMo: Your 4-Week Success Plan.” The Write Life blog post, October 3, 2022.

Related Topics

• Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

• Book Writing 101: How To Come Up With Great Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (The Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101: How To Choose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Info-Dumping in Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels by Breyonna Jordan

• How To Write Romance: Effective & Believable Love Triangles

• How To Write Romance: Enemies-To-Lovers Romance (That’s Satisfying and Realistic)

• How To Write Romance: 10 Heart-Warming and Heart-Wrenching Scenes for Your Romantic Thriller

• How To Write Romance: Believable Best Friends-To-Lovers 

• How To Write Romance: The Perfect Meet Cute

• Check out my other Book Writing 101 and How To Write Romance posts!

• Payton's Picks: The Best Books On Writing Books

• Manuscript Format Basics

• 4 Of The  Most Useful FREE Apps For Writers (2022)

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Check out my other Book Writing 101 and  How To Write Romance blog posts!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

4 of the Most Useful FREE Apps for Writers

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello readers and writerly friends!

Though it may seem counterintuitive from a notification/distraction standpoint, there are many great tools for both readers and writers readily accessible from multiple devices. If you want to knock out your book challenge or level up your writing game for 2022, keep reading to find out what apps might help you reach your bookish goals this year!

Payton Hayes is not affiliated with any of these apps mentioned below. These are my genuine recommendations. All of these apps listed below are free-to-use or have free versions available.

1. Google Docs

Notion is widely versatile and is very user friendly. Photo by Filip Baotić.

Although its an obvious one to start, most writers and editors will suggest MS Word before Google Docs. However, for someone who values accessibility and security over an abundance of professional editorial features, the cloud-based word-processing app might be the way to go. You can access Google Docs from your desktop, laptop, phone, or tablet and autosave is always one. Writer’s can rest easy knowing their precious drafts are safe in the cloud.

2. Notion

Regardless of whether you’re a creative individual or not, Notion is a fantastic multi-functional app with accessibility across multiple devices much like Google Docs. Notion is described as a project management and note-taking app, but to some, it’s the ultimate productivity station. Notion is truly an all-in-one platform for tracking, project management, note-taking, planning, lists, databases, and so much more. It can be as minimal or maximal as needed and its adaptive to the user’s needs. This means users can complete a wide variety of tasks within a single platform, thus decreasing distraction and increasing workflow.

3. Evernote

Readers and writers alike can benefit from using Evernote because it is designed for note taking, organizing, task management, and archiving. Readers who enjoy taking notes over the books they’ve been reading and writers trying to keep track of their project notes can all make use of the features Evernote has to offer, which include but are not limited to:

• Sync and Organize. Keep your notes handy.

• Web Clipper. A save button for the web.

• Tasks. Bring notes & to-dos together.

• Calendar. Connect schedules and notes.

• Templates. Create better notes, faster.

• Document Scanning. Go paperless with Evernote.

• Search. Find exactly what you need.

Plagiarism Checker by Grammarly. Screenshot by Payton Hayes.

4. Grammarly

While Grammarly is more of a writer tool, non-writers from students to teachers to business professionals can all benefit from checking their work for plagiarism. When it comes to written content, it’s immensely important to ensure your work is unique and that you’re not taking someone else’s words. Double check that your words are fresh by running them through Grammarly’s plagiarism checker. It’s as simple as uploading a file or copying and pasting.

Honorable Mentions

These apps and software didn’t make the cut above because a) they either weren’t free or didn’t have free versions available or b) weren’t available across iOS, Android, and Windows. However, these apps are incredibly useful and are definitely worth checking out!

• Living Writer

• Scrivener

• Final Draft

• Storyist

• MS Word (MS Office 365 Subscription)

That’s it for my top four most useful apps for writers in 2022, and they’re all free! Do you use these apps for your writing? What did you think of this list? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading and make sure to check out my recent blog posts!

Bibliography

• Baotić, Filip. “black laptop computer turned on displaying facebook photo.” Unsplash photo, January 20, 2021.

• Cagle, Brooke. “woman using laptop while sitting on a chair photo.” Unsplash photo, (Thumbnail) November 26, 2018. 

• Google. “About.” Google.com, accessed March 18, 2022. 

• Notion. “Home".” Notion.so, accessed March 18, 2022.

• Evernote. “Home.” Evernote.com, accessed March 18, 2022. 

• Grammarly. “Home.” Grammarly.com, accessed March 18, 2022.

Related Topics

• Get Your FREE Story Binder Printables e-Book!

• 8 Ways To Level Up Your Workspace And Elevate Your Productivity

• Get Things Done With The Pomodoro Technique

• How To Organize Your Digital Life: 5 Tips For Staying Organized as a Writer or Freelancer

• 5 MORE Ways To Stay Organized As A Writer Or Freelancer

• For Content Creators and CEOs with ADHD: Strategies to Succeed Despite Overwhelm and Distractions

• NaNoWriMo: 25 Tips To Help You Write A Book In 1 Month! + Free NaNoWriMo Printables

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• “Twenty Little Poetry Projects” Writing Exercise by Jim Simmerman

• Writing Exercises from Jeff Tweedy's Book, How To Write One Song

• How To Write Poems With Artificial Intelligence (Using Google's Verse by Verse)

• Payton's Picks: The Best Books On Writing Books

• Manuscript Format Basics

• Self-Care Tips for Bookworms

• 5 Healthy Habits For Every Writer

• For Content Creators and CEOs with ADHD: Strategies to Succeed Despite Overwhelm and Distractions

• Yoga For Writers: A 30-Minute Routine To Do Between Writing Sessions

• How To Overcome Writer’s Block

• Check out my other Writing Advice, Freelancing, Resources, and Productivity & Organization blog posts!

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi Readers and writerly friends!

This week in Freelancing, we’re discussing dialogue tags and how to properly format them. Consider this as your new intensive, all-encompassing guide for doing fictional dialogue well.

No matter what genre you write in, learning how to write dialogue effective is an essential part of any writer’s toolkit. Poorly-written dialogue can be distracting or worse —it could cause your readers to close the book in disgust. However, dialogue that is done well can transform your characters into truly believable people and you readers into satisfied, lifelong fans. Of course, the best kind of dialogue isn’t just believable conversation between characters. Good dialogue provide exposition, involves distinct language true to the voice of the speaker, and most importantly, helps move the story along. Dialogue is directly tied to pacing, plot, and tension, and can make or break your story just as much as lame characters or a sagging plot.

This guide is separated into three parts for your convenience: 1) Dialogue Basics, 2) Punctuating Dialogue, and 3) Dialogue Tags—and is filled with cheat sheets, quick-reference-guides, examples, and more to help you with your writing! (This post took me a long time to write, so if you found it helpful, please consider leaving a comment and sharing this with your writerly friends!)

Of course, this is just my own experience as well as examples of other writers who have done dialogue well, but this is by no means a rulebook for dialogue. I’m simply a proponent of the idea that if you know the rules of the writing world well, you can effectively break them well.

Dialogue Basics

Enter late, leave early.

If you’ve been around the writing world for a moment, you might have heard this phrase tossed about when discussing scenes, pacing, and dialogue. It’s a helpful saying for remembering to start a scene at just the right time instead of too early or too late.

Alfred Hitchcock once said that “drama is life with all the boring bits cut out.” Hinging on that, you could say that good dialogue is like a real conversation without all the fluff, and one of the best/easiest ways to cut out that boring fluff is to enter the conversation as late as possible.

Think about it: How many times have you heard someone in real life or in media say, “I hate small talk.” It is the same for your readers. They don’t want to be there for every single “Hi, how are you doing today?” or “I’m doing great, how are you? Thanks for asking. The weather is lovely, isn’t it?” This is a fine and good, but its not interesting dialogue, and it’s highly unlikely that this would move any story’s plot along in a meaningful way. The same goes for other kinds of small talk that usually occurs at the beginning and end of a scene. In order to avoid this kind of slow-paced dialogue, simply enter late and leave early.

Keep dialogue tags simple.

Dialogue tags are the phrases in writing that indicate who is speaking at any given time. “I want to write a book” Layla said. In this case, “I want to write a book” is the dialogue and “Layla said” is the tag. Of course, there are plenty of other dialogue tags you could use besides “said,” such as “stated,” “exclaimed,” or “declared” and so on. When writing dialogue, you generally should keep these elaborate tags to a minimum. Think of it this way, to the reader “said” is boring and simple, but its virtually invisible. Readers expect you to use “said” and because of this, it isn’t distracting to the reader.

Remember the KISS method —Keep It Simple, Sweetie? Remember that for dialogue tags. It’s always better to air on the side of caution than risk potentially distracting your reader with overly complicated, elaborate or convoluted dialogue tags.

As American novelist and screenwriter Elmore Leonard put it:

“Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But ‘said’ is far less intrusive than ‘grumbled,’ ‘gasped,’ ‘cautioned,’ ‘lied’” (Leonard 2021).

“Intrusive” is the operative word here. You want to bring readers into your scene and make them feel like firsthand observers, like one of the characters in the background, without drawing attention to the fact that they’re reading a book. Wordy dialogue tags are a surefire way to yank your readers out of the immersion of a story and snap them back to reality. When you raid your thesaurus for fancy dialogue tags, you risk taking readers out of the scene for a fleeting display of your verbal virtuosity. This is true for any writing where you use convoluted language where you would be better served using simple language instead. If it serves a purpose to use uncommon or elaborate verbiage, then by all means, do so, but if its just for the sake of using big words, the practice of using “wordy” language is best avoided.

Additionally, in some instances, dialogue tags can be removed altogether. If there are only two or three people present in a conversation, dialogue tags aren’t always necessary to keep track of the speaker, especially if their voices are distinct convey a character’s personality to the reader.

Descriptive action beats are your friend.

Action beats are descriptions of the expressions, movements, or even internal thoughts that accompany the speaker’s words, and are included in the same paragraph as the dialogue to indicate that the person acting is the same person who is speaking. Action beats help illustrate what’s going on in a scene, and can even replace dialogue tags, avoiding the need for a long list of lines ending in “he said,” or “she said.”

Check out the fourth part of this guide for an example of how to use action beats to strengthen and vary your dialogue structure.

Character voices should be distinct.

Another key aspect of writing realistic and engaging dialogue is make each character sound distinctly like “themselves.” This employs the use of a number of different linguistic elements, such as syntax and diction, levels of energy and formality, humor, confidence, and any speech-related quirks (such as stuttering, lisping, or ending every sentence like it’s a question). Some of these elements may change depending on the circumstances of the conversation, and especially when it comes to whom each person is speaking, but no matter what, there should always be an underlying current of personality that helps the reader identify each speaker.

Example: Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

In the very first piece of dialogue in Pride and Prejudice, readers encounter Mrs and Mr. Bennet, the former of whom is attempting to draw her husband, the latter, into a conversation of neighborhood gossip.

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”

     Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

     “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”

     Mr. Bennet made no answer.

     “Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently.

     “You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”

     This was invitation enough.

     “Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.” (Austen 2002)

Austen’s dialogue is always witty, subtle, and packed with character and is never simple or convoluted. Readers instantly learn everything they need to know about the dynamic between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet from their first interaction: she’s chatty, and he’s the beleaguered listener who has learned to entertain her idle gossip.

Develop character relationships.

Dialogue is an excellent tool to demonstrate and develop character relationships throughout your story. Good dialogue establishes relationships, but great dialogue adds new, engaging layers of complexity to them.

One of the best ways to ensure your character’s dialogue reflects their personalities and relationships is to practice some dialogue writing exercises. It’s likely that you won’t actually end up using the products of these exercises in your writing, but they’re an easy, low-pressure way to practice developing your characters and their relationships to one another.

For this kind of practice, I’ve found that exercises like “What Did You Say?” are particularly helpful.

Pretend three of your characters have won the lottery. How does each character reveal the big news to their closest friend? Write out their dialogue with unique word choice, tone, and body language in mind.

If the lottery isn’t interesting enough, consider changing things up. Maybe three of your characters have a role to play in a murder investigation. Each one knows a different take on what happened. Lottery or murder investigation aside, developing your character’s relationship will teach you more about your characters themselves, their stories and circumstances, and how to write dialogue that best fits within that framework.

 Find similar exercises here.

Developing character relationships alongside and through dialogue is an excellent opportunity to work on both simultaneously. In this exercise, there are a number of characteristics that will affect how each character perceives and delivers the news that they’ve won the lottery (or that they’ve been involved in a murder investigation).

These characteristics might include whether a character:

• Is confident and outgoing vs. shy and reserved

• Takes things in a lighthearted manner rather than being too serious

• Has lofty personal aspirations or doesn’t

• Couldn’t care less or wants to help others

• Thinks they deserve good things or not

Carefully consider each of your characters and which of these categories they fall into. This should help you determine how they all relate and react to each other in the context of such news.

Show, don’t tell.

We’ve all heard this slice of writing advice, probably more times than we can count, but it’s for good reason. Much like the “enter late, leave early” saying, you’ve probably seen or heard this phrase making rounds throughout the writing world. It’s a sliver of advice that creatives like to use as a buzz phrase in writing communities, but there may be a golden nugget of wisdom to be found in it.

Readers enjoy making inferences based on the clues the author provides, so don’t just lay everything out on the table. This doesn’t mean be cryptic —on the contrary. It basically means you should imply information rather than outright stating it.

Take the dialogue below for example. Even if this is the first instance the reader encounters of Jones and Walker, its easy to deduce that they are police officers who used to work together, that they refer to each other by their last names, and that Jones misses Walker — and possibly wants him to come back, despite Walker’s intentions to stay away.

 Hey, Jones. Long time no see.”

“Heh, Yeah, Walker, tell me about it. The precinct isn’t the same without you.”

“Well, you know I had good reason for leaving.”

“I do. But I also thought you might change your mind.”

However, cloaking this information in dialogue is a lot more interesting than the narrator simply saying, “Jones and Walker used to work together on the force. Walker left after a grisly murder case, but now Jones needs his help to solve another.”

Of course, sometimes dialogue is a good vehicle for literally telling — for instance, at the beginning or end of a story, it can be used for exposition or to reveal something dramatic, such as a villain’s scheme. But for the most part, dialogue should show rather than tell in order to keep readers intrigued, constantly trying to figure out what it means.

Bounce quickly back and forth.

When writing dialogue, it’s also important to bounce quicky back and forth between speakers, like in a tennis match. Consider the ping-pong pace of this conversation between an unnamed man and a girl named Jig, from Hemingway's short story, "Hills Like White Elephants".

It might seem simple or obvious, but this rule can be an easy one to forget when one speaker is saying something important. The other person in the conversation still needs to respond. Likewise, a way to effectively break this rule is to intentionally omit the other character’s response altogether if the plot warrants it. Sometimes, leaving the other character shocked proves to be just as effective on the reader. 

On the other hand, you don’t want lengthy, convoluted monologues unless its specifically intended and needed to drive the plot forward. Take a close look at your dialogue to ensure there aren’t any long, unbroken blocks of text as these typically indicate lengthy monologues and are easily fixed by inserting questions, comments, and other brief interludes from fellow speakers.

Alternately, you can always break it up using small bits of action and description, or with standard paragraph breaks, if there’s a scene wherein you feel a lengthy monologue is warranted.

Try reading your dialogue out loud.

It can be tricky to spot weak dialogue when reading it on the page or a computer screen, but by reading out loud, we can get a better idea of the quality of our dialogue. Is it sonically true to the characters’ distinct voices? Is it complex and interesting, conveying quirks and personality beyond plot? Does it help drive the plot in a meaningful way or is dialogue being used to fill space? If it is the latter, it should be removed, but more on that next.

For instance, is your dialogue clunky or awkward? Does it make you cringe to hear it read aloud? Do your jokes not quite land? Does one of your characters speak for an unusually long amount of time that you hadn’t noticed before, or does their distinct "voice" sound inconsistent in one scene? All of these problems and more can be addressed by simply reading your dialogue out loud.

Don’t take my word for it, take John Steinbeck’s! He once recommended this very strategy in a letter to actor Robert Wallston: “If you are using dialogue, say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.”

Remove unnecessary dialogue.

Dialogue is just one tool in the writer’s toolbox and while it’s a useful and essential storytelling element, you don’t have to keep all of the dialogue you write in your first or second drafts. Pick and choose which techniques best tell your story and present the interior life of your characters. This could mean using a great deal of dialogue in your writing, or it might not. Carefully consider your story and the characters and whether or not it makes sense for them to have dialogue between one another in any given scene. Just because dialogue can be brilliant, doesn’t mean it’s always integral to a scene, so feel free to cut it as needed.

Format and punctuate your dialogue properly.

Proper formatting and punctuation of your dialogue makes your story clear and understandable. Nothing is more distracting or disorienting within a story than poorly formatted or improperly punctuated dialogue —well, except for an excess of wordy dialogue tags instead of “said,” but I digress! Likewise, knowing when to use quotation marks, where to put commas, full stops, question marks, hyphens, and dashes will make your text look polished and professional to agents and publishers.

How to format dialogue:

• Indent each new line of dialogue.

• Put quotation marks around the speech itself.

• Punctuation that affects the speech’s tone goes inside the quotation marks.

• If you quote within a quote, use single rather than double quotation marks.

• If you break up a line of dialogue with a tag (e.g. “she said”), put a comma after the tag. However, if you put a tag in between two complete sentences, use a period.

• Speaking of tags, you don’t always need them, as long as the speaker is implied.

• If you start with a tag, capitalize the first word of dialogue.

Avoid these major dialogue mistakes.

Tighten up your pacing and strengthen your dialogue by avoiding these common dialogue issues. Although the differences in some of these examples are subtle word choice, usage frequency, and arrangement play a big part in dialogue delivery. Consider how these small changes can make a big difference in your writing.

Too many dialogue tags

As you might have guessed, the most contradictory advice you can receive and most egregious errors you can make when writing dialogue have to do with dialogue tags. Do use them. Don’t use them. Don’t use “said.” Do use “said.” Do use interesting tags. Don’t use too elaborate tags. How does the lowly writer win?

Consider this: good storytelling is a delicate balance between showing and telling: action and narrative. So, how does one do dialogue well? Craft and maintain a sustainable balance between action and narrative within your story. I can’t tell you when and when not to use elaborate dialogue tags or when  to cut tags out altogether, but I can suggest that when you examine your dialogue, keep this idea in mind and consider it when you sense the balance of action and narrative has skewed slightly (or dramatically) to one side or the other.

Constantly repeating “he said,” “she said,” and so on, is boring and repetitive for your readers, as you can see here:

So, keep in mind that you can often omit dialogue tags if you’ve already established the speakers, like so:

One can tell from the action beats, as well as the fact that it’s a two-person back-and-forth conversation, which lines belong to which speaker.  Dialogue tags can just distract from the conversation — although if you did want to use them, “said” would still be better than fancy tags like “declared” or “effused.”

Lack of structural variety

Much like the “too many tags” issue is the lack of structural variety that can sometimes arise in dialogue. It’s an issue that most commonly presents itself in narrative but can occur in dialogue as well. Not sure what I’m talking about? Take a look at these sections again:

Now, action beats are great, but here they’re used repeatedly in exactly the same way — first the dialogue, then the beat — which looks odd and unnatural on the page. Indeed, any recurrent structure like this (which also includes putting dialogue tags in the same place every time) should be avoided.

Luckily, it’s easy to rework repetitive structure into something much more lively and organic, just by shifting around some of the action beats and tags:

Another common dialogue mistake is restating the obvious — i.e. information that either the characters themselves or the reader already knows.

For example, say you want to introduce two brothers, so you write the following exchange:

This exchange is clearly awkward and a bit ridiculous, since the characters obviously know how old they are. What’s worse, it insults the reader’s intelligence — even if they didn’t already know that Sherri and Kerri were thirty-five-year-old, twin sisters, they wouldn’t appreciate being spoon-fed like this.

If you wanted to convey the same information in a subtler way, you might write it like:

This makes the dialogue more about Indiana Jones than the brothers’ age, sneaking in the info so readers can figure it out for themselves.

Unrealistic smooth-talking and clichés

In your quests to craft smooth-sounding dialogue, don’t make it flow so smoothly that it sounds fake. Unfortunately, this is a weak point of sounding your dialogue out aloud because even though it may sound good, it may not sound believable. Consider reading dialogue with a friend or critique partner to see if it sounds believable coming from someone else. If it doesn’t sound any better read by your friend, it might be an indicator that your dialogue needs some work. It can also be helpful to record dialogue (with the participants’ permission, of course) and study it for natural speech patterns and phrases. (Feel free to leave out any excess “um”s and “er”s that typically accompany authentic dialogue.) Authentic-sounding written dialogue reflects real life speech.

Likewise, you should steer clear of clichés in your dialogue as much as in the rest of your writing. While it’s certainly true that people sometimes speak in clichés (though this is often tongue-in-cheek), if you find yourself writing the phrase “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” or “Shut up and kiss me,” you may need a reality check.

For a full roster of dialogue clichés, check out this super-helpful list from Scott Myers.

Disregarding dialogue completely

Finally, the worst mistake you can make when writing dialogue is… well, not writing it in the first place! Circling back to one of the first points made in this guide, dialogue is an integral part of storytelling. It’s an important element in any story, no matter the genre because it provides exposition, indicates, personality, and character relationships, and can even be used to reveal a major plot twist during the climax.

So, what do you think of this guide? I will be adding to it periodically, so make sure to bookmark it and join my newsletter to get notifications when updates go live! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Bibliography

• Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: Penguin Books, 2002. Amazon.

• Du Preez, Priscilla. “sihouette of three people sitting on cliff under foggy weather photo.” Unsplash photo (Thumbnail photo), March 5, 2019. 

• Leonard, Elmore. “Elmore Leonard: 10 Rules Of Writing.” Fs blog post, accessed June 27, 2021.

• Myers, Scott. “The Definitive List of Cliché Dialogue.” Medium article, March 8, 2012. 

• Reedsy. “A Dialogue Writing Exercise.” Reedsy blog post, accessed June 27, 2021. 

Related Topics

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• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (The Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101: How To Choose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Info-Dumping in Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels by Breyonna Jordan

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• How To Write Romance: Believable Best Friends-To-Lovers 

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• Check out my other Book Writing 101 and  How To Write Romance blog posts!

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This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Writing 101: How To Choose The Right POV For Your Novel

A stack of books with different points of view. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in the Freelancing category, we’re discussing how to choose the right Point of View (POV) for your book. This refers to not only the way your story is told but also who is telling your story. The point of view is the lens through which your readers connect with your characters and having the right POV can make your story while having the wrong point of view can certainly break it. There’s no real wrong or right here, but sometimes certain viewpoints just make sense for certain stories. We’re going to look at the definition of POV, the importance of POV, the four different POV’s, what POV’s are popular in what genres, how to know when the POV you’re using is right/wrong for your novel, the top POV mistakes new writers make, and how to execute POV well so that it acts as the perfect vehicle through which you tell your story.

What Is a Point of View or POV?

Point of view is (in fictional writing) the narrator's position in relation to a story being told, or  position from which something or someone is observed.

The point of view, or POV, in a story is the narrator’s position in the description of events, and comes from the Latin phrase, “punctum visus,” which literally means point sight. The point of view is where a writer points the sight of the reader.

Note that point of view also has a second definition.

In a discussion, an argument, or nonfiction writing, a point of view is a particular attitude or way of considering a matter. This is not the type of point of view we’re going to focus on in this blog post, (although it is helpful for nonfiction writers, and for more information, I recommend checking out Wikipedia’s neutral point of view policy).

I also enjoy the German word for POV, which is Gesichtpunkt, which can be translated as “face point,” or where your face is pointed. How’s that for a great visual for point of view?

Also, point of view is sometimes called “narrative mode.”

Why is Point of View or POV so important?

So, why does point of view matter so much? Point of view filters everything in your story. Every detail, event, piece of dialogue, person, and setting is observed through some point of view. If you get the point of view wrong, your whole story will suffer for it.

One writing mistake I see often in my editing work is when writers use the wrong point of view for their stories. As the writer, it can sometimes be hard to tell when your story is written in the wrong point of view, but for readers it sticks out like a sore thumb. These mistakes are easily avoidable if you’re aware of them and I’ll go over just how to do that later on in this blog post.

There’s four main POV’s in novel writing

• First person point of view. First person is when “I” am telling the story. The character is in the story, relating his or her experiences directly.

• Second person point of view. The story is told to “you.” This POV is not common in fiction, but it’s still good to know (this POV is common in nonfiction, such as blog posts like this one).

• Third person point of view, limited. The story is about “he” or “she.” This is the most common point of view in commercial fiction. The narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.

• Third person point of view, omniscient. The story is still about “he” or “she,” but the narrator has full access to the thoughts and experiences of all characters in the story.

First Person POV

In first person point of view, the narrator is in the story and is the one who is telling the events he or she personally experiencing. The easiest way to remember first person, is that the narrative will use first-person pronouns such as My, Me, Myself, and I. First person point of view is one of the most common POVs in fiction writing. What makes this point of view so interesting and challenging, is that all of the events in the story are experienced through the narrator and explained in his or her own unique voice. This means first person narrative is both biased and incomplete, and it should be.

Some things to note about first person point of view:

• First Person POV is most common to writing. While it does appear in film and theater, first person point of view is typically used in writing rather than other art mediums. Voiceovers and mockumentary interviews like the ones in The Office, Parks and Recreation, Lizzie McGuire, and Modern Family provide a level of first-person narrative in third person film and television.

• First Person POV is limited to one narrator. First person narrators observe the story from a single character’s perspective at a time. They cannot be everywhere at once and thus cannot get all sides of the story. Instead, they are telling their story, not necessarily the story.

• First Person POV is inherently biased. In first person novels, the reader almost always sympathizes with a first-person narrator, even if the narrator turns out to be the villain or is an anti-hero with major flaws. Naturally, this is why readers love first person narrative, because it’s imbued with the character’s personality, their unique perspective on the world. If I were recounting a story from my life, my own personal worldview would certainly color that story, whether I was conscious of it or not. First-person narrators should exhibit the same behaviors when telling their stories.

Some novelists use the limitations of first-person narrative to surprise the reader, a technique called unreliable narrator. You’ll notice this kind of narrator being used when you, as the reader or audience, discover that you can’t trust the narrator.

For example, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl pits two unreliable narrators against one another. Each relates their conflicting version of events, one through typical narration and the other through journal entries. Another example is Rosie Walsh’s Ghosted, where the main narrator conveniently leaves out some key information about herself and her missing lover which could change reader opinion of her, had it been presented earlier in the story.  Once it finally is presented, readers can’t help but feel they were deceived by the narrator and wonder who they should trust at the end of the story.

Other Unique Uses of First-Person Narrative:

• Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird is told from Scout's point of view. However, while Scout in the novel is a child, the story is told from her perspective as an older woman reflecting on her childhood.

• The classic novel Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is actually a first-person narrative within a first-person narrative. The narrator recounts verbatim the story Charles Marlow tells about his trip up the Congo river while they sit at port in England.

• Many first-person novels feature the most important character as the storyteller. However, in novels such as F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the narrator is not Jay Gatsby himself but Nick Carroway, a newcomer to West Egg, New York.

"I lived at West Egg, the — well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them. My house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season. The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard — it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby's mansion. Or rather, as I didn't know Mr. Gatsby it was a mansion inhabited by a gentleman of that name. My own house was an eye-sore, but it was a small eye-sore and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor's lawn and the consoling proximity of millionaires — all for eighty dollars a month." (2004, 1)

The 2 major mistakes I often see with First Person POV:

• The narrator isn’t likable. Your protagonist doesn’t have to be perfect, and in fact, that’s generally frowned upon because people want to connect with characters and no real human is perfect. They don’t have to be a cliché hero nor do they even have to be good. However, your main protagonist must be interesting. Your audience won’t stick around for even a hundred pages if they have to listen to a character they just don’t enjoy. This is one reason anti-heroes make fantastic first person narrators —they may not be perfect, but they’re almost always interesting.

• The narrator tells but does not show. We’ve heard this phrase “show, don’t tell” thrown around a lot in the writing community, and while it’s often used as a buzz phrase, and requires some elaboration to make sense, it’s especially true with first person narration. Don’t spend too much time in your character’s head, explaining what he or she is thinking and how they feel about the situation. The reader’s trust relies on what your narrator does, not what they think about doing. It’s all about action. To build on that, first person is the absolute closest a narrator can get to a reader’s personal experience—by that, I mean readers will make the most connection and feel the most represented by first person narration, as long as it is done correctly. Everything the narrator sees, feels, tastes, touches, smells, hears, and thinks should be as imaginable as possible for your reader. It needs to be the difference between looking at a photo of a field of wildflowers and actually standing in the field (mentally.)

Second Person POV

While not often used in fiction —it is used regularly in nonfiction, web-based content, song lyrics, and even video games — second person POV is good to understand. In this point of view, the narrator relates the experiences using second person pronouns such as “you” and “your.” Thus, you become the protagonist, you carry the plot, and your fate determines the story.

Here are a few great reasons to use second person point of view:

• It pulls the reader into the action of the story

• It makes the story more personal to the reader

• It surprises the reader because second person is not as commonly used in fiction

• It improves your skills as a writer

Some novels that use Second Person POV are:

• Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure series? If you’ve ever read one of these novels where you get to decide the fate of the character, you’ve read second person narrative.

• Similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure series, there was a really interesting and unique interactive game based on Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed Trilogy that could be played from the Figment website. It was based in Angelini’s modern-day world and surrounded the main character Helen Hamilton, who is gradually revealed to be a modern-day Helen of Troy. The game was a playable maze that took place in Hamilton’s dreams —she would wake up each night after having the same nightmare of being trapped in an endless labyrinth.

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern takes place primarily in third person but every few chapters, it shifts to second person which pulls the reader right into the story.

The opening of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern:

ANTICIPATION

The circus arrives without warning.

        No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentioned or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it wasn’t.

        The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring tree and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white striped and sizes, with and elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world. Even what little ground is visible from outside is black or white, painted or powdered, or treated with some other circus trick.

        But it is not open for business. Not just yet.

        Within hours everyone in town has heard about it. By afternoon, the news has spread several towns over. Word of mouth is a more effective method of advertisement than typeset words and exclamation points on paper pamphlets or posters. It is impressive and unusual news, the sudden appearance of a mysterious circus. People marvel at the staggering height of the tallest tents. They stare at the clock that sits just inside the gates that no one can properly describe.

        And the black sigh painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, the one that reads:

Opens at nightfall

Closes at dawn

        “What kind of circus is only open at night?” people ask. No one has a proper answer, yet as dusk approaches there is a substantial crowd of spectators gathering outside the gates.

         You are amongst them, of course. Your curiosity got the better of you, as curiosity is wont to do. You stand in the fading light, the scarf around your neck pulled up against the chilly evening breeze, waiting to see for yourself exactly what kind of circus only opens once the sun sets.

        The ticket booth clearly visible behind the gates is closed and barred. The tents are still, save for when they ripple ever so slightly in the wind. The only movement within the circus is the clock that ticks by the passing minutes, if such a wonder of sculpture can even be called a clock.

        The circus looks abandoned and empty. But you think perhaps you can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze, beneath the crisp scent of the autumn leaves. A subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold.

        The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon, and the remaining luminosity shifts from dusk to twilight. The people around you are growing restless from waiting, a sea of shuffling feet, murmuring about abandoning the endeavor in search of someplace warmer to pass the evening. You yourself are debating departing when it happens.

        First there is a popping sound. It is barely audible over the wind and conversation. A soft noise like a kettle about to boil for tea. Then comes the light.

        All over the tents, small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies, the waiting crowd quiets as it watches this display of illumination. Someone near you gasps. A small child claps his hands with glee at the sight.

        When the tents are all aglow, sparkling against the night sky, the sign appears.

        Stretched across the top of the gates, hidden in curls of iron, more firefly-like lights flicker to life. The pop as they brighten, some accompanies by a shower of glowing white sparks and a bit of smoke. The people nearest to the gates take a few steps back.

        At first, it is only a random pattern of light. But as more of them ignite, it becomes clear that they are aligned in scripted letters. First a C is distinguishable, followed by more letters. A q, oddly, and several e’s. When the final bulb pops alight, and the smoke and sparks dissipate, it is finally legible, this elaborate incandescent sign. Leaning to your left to gain a better view, you see that it reads:

Le Cirque des Rêves

        Some in the crowd smile knowingly, while others frown and look questioningly at their neighbors. A child near you tugs on her mother’s sleeve, begging to know what it says.

        “The Circus of Dreams,” comes the reply. The girl smiles delightedly.

        Then the iron gates shudder and unlock, seemingly by their own volition. They swing outward, inviting the crowd inside.

        Now the circus is open.

        Now you may enter.

(2012, 3)

There are also many short stories that use second person, and writers such as William Faulkner, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Albert Camus that played with this point of view.

The 2 major mistakes I see when authors write in Second Person POV:

• Breaking the fourth wall completely. Some writers, such as Shakespeare often broke the first wall within their writing. However, this must be done correctly, otherwise, it yanks the reader straight out of the story and leaves them feeling distracted and often causes them to cringe at the poorly executed technique. In the plays of William Shakespeare, a character will sometimes turn toward the audience and speak directly to them. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck says:

“If we shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear.” —William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Breaking the fourth wall is a technique of speaking directly to the audience or reader (the other three walls being the setting of the story/play.) Another way of looking at it is this: it’s a way the writer can briefly use second person point of view in a first or third person narrative.

• Unintentionally alternating between first and second person. This only works if it was done intentionally and makes sense within the context of the story. I am interweaving first and second person in my blog post because I, the writer, am sharing my personal experience with you, the reader. This works and is most common in web-based content, social media or non-fiction, and it can be tricky to pull off in fiction writing.

Third Person POV

In third person point of view, the narrator is outside of the story and is relating the experiences of a character. The central character is not the narrator and in face, the narrator is not present in the story at all. The simplest way to understand third person narration is that it uses third-person pronouns, such as he/she, his/her, they/theirs.

There are two subtypes of third person point of view:

Third Person Omniscient – The narrator has full access to all the thoughts and experiences or all the characters in the story. This subtype of third person narration is not limited by a single viewpoint.

Examples of Third Person Omniscient:

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Read my Review Here)

• Atonement by Ian McIwan

• Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Atonement is a 2001 British metafiction novel written by Ian McEwan. Set in three time periods, 1935 England, Second World War England and France, and present-day England, it covers an upper-class girl's half-innocent mistake that ruins lives, her adulthood in the shadow of that mistake, and a reflection on the nature of writing. McIwan makes clever use of story order, tense, and third person POV to tell a story from multiple points in time, and due to its nature as a metafiction, the story recognizes itself as a work of fiction that likely could not be achieved in any other point of view.

Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasizes its own constructedness in a way that continually reminds readers to be aware that they are reading or viewing a fictional work.

Third person limited – the narrator has only some, if any, access to the thoughts and experiences of the character in the story, often just to one character. It is not uncommon for dialogue to be the primary mode of storytelling in this point of view because if the narrator has little to no access to the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters, the reader might not get that information from a third person limited narrator.

Some examples of Third Person Limited POV:

• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

• Ulysses by James Joyce

• 1984 by George Orwell

Should you use third person omniscient or third person limited?

The distinction between third person limited and omniscient point of view is unclear and somewhat ineffectual.

Complete omniscience in novels is rate—its almost always limited in one way or another—if not because the human mind isn’t comfortable/capable of handling all of the thoughts and emotions of multiple people at once, then it’s because most writers prefer not to delve that deep into each character anyways.

To determine which subtype of third person point of view you should use in your story, consider this:

How omniscient does your narrator need to be? How deep are you going to go into your character’s minds? How important is it to the story’s pacing, plot, and characterization that you reveal everything and anything they feel or thing at anytime? If its not absolutely necessary, consider leaving some parts out in order to build intrigue in your readers.

The 2 major mistakes I see when authors write in Third Person POV:

• Blurring the line between omniscient and limited. This happens all the time because writers don’t fully understand the very, very thin line between the two subtypes. While it can become confusing at times, there certainly is a distinction to be made and you should take great care to ensure you use one or the other in your writing, but not both at once.

• Giving readers whiplash by alternating between two characters POV’s too quickly. This happens all too often with omniscient narrators that are perhaps a little too eager to divulge all the character inner workings. When the narrator switches from one character’s thoughts to another’s too quickly, it can jar the reader and break the intimacy with the scene’s main character. Drama requires mystery, intrigue. If the reader knows each character’s emotions, there will be no space for drama.

Woman sitting at a table in the foreground with a man smoking in the background. Photo by cottonbro.

Here’s an example of third person omniscient that is poorly executed:

Meredith wants to go out for the night, but Christopher wants to stay home. He’s had a long day of work and just wants to relax, but she resents him for spending last night out with his friends instead of her.

If the narrator is fully omniscient, do you parse both Meredith’s and Christopher’s emotions during each back and forth?

“I don’t know,” Meredith said with a sigh. “I just thought maybe we could go out tonight.” She resented him for spending the previous evening out with his friends when he had to work yesterday as well. Was it such a crime for her to want to spend time with her partner?

“I’m sorry Mere,” Christopher said, growing tired of the nagging. “I had a long, crappy day at work, and I’m just not in the mood.” Why couldn’t she just let it go? Didn’t she realize how draining his work was? He felt annoyed that she couldn’t step outside of her own view for even a moment.

Going back and forth between multiple characters’ inner thoughts and emotions such as with the example above, can give a reader POV whiplash, especially if this pattern continued over several pages and with more than two characters.

The way many editors and writers get around the tricky-to-master third person omniscient point of view is the show the thoughts and emotions of only one character per scene (or per chapter.)

Some examples of Third Person Omnicient POV done well:

In his epic series, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin, employs the use of “point of view characters,” or characters whom he always has full access to understanding. He will write an entire chapter from their perspective before switching to the next point of view character. For the rest of the cast, he stays out of their heads.

• Gillian Shields expertly switches between her characters viewpoints by chapter and by book. In her Immortals series, the first book takes place from the first person POV when told by the main character and switches to third person omniscient when told by the supporting characters. The second book is told the same way. The third book instead is told by one of the supporting characters. The fourth book is told by another, different supporting characters.

• Leda C. Muir’s series, the Mooncallers is a fantastic example of excellent execution of third person omniscient point of view as well.

How to choose the right POV for your novel

So, now that we’ve discussed the different types of POV, examples of them executed well, and the top 2 mistakes for each type, let’s discuss how to select the best POV for your story.

Firstly, there’s no best or right point of view. All of these POVs are effective in various types of stories and there are always exceptions to these prescriptive rules. However, it is true that some POVs are often used in certain genres and some are just better suited for certain types of stories and character motifs.

• First Person POV: Most often used in YA Fiction in all subgenres, but especially in coming-of-age stories and romance. Often used in Adult romance as well. Romance stories typically alternate between main character and love interest, switching every scene or every chapter.

• Second Person POV: Most often used in nonfiction including but not limited to: cookbooks, self-help, motivational books, entrepreneurial, business, or financial books, and interactive narratives such as Choose Your Own Adventure.

• Third Person Limited POV: Most often used in all fiction subgenres for all reading levels. This is the fiction go-to. The third person limited POV is fantastic for building tension because the narrators viewpoint is limited.

• Third Person Omniscient POV: Most often used in high fantasy or heavy science fiction.

Of course, like I said, there’s always exceptions to the rules. If you know the rules well, then you know how to break them well.

If you’re just starting out with writing, I would suggest using either first person or third person limited point of view because they’re easier to master. However, you can always experiment with different points of view and story tenses and by practicing them, you improve your ability as a writer. Good, prolific writers learn to master different points of view because it opens their writing up to a greater audience and allows more people to feel included in their writing. Of course, we haven’t even discussed inclusivity, works by authors from a marginalized community, or sensitivity writing, but that’s topic for another day. (I’ll probably cover that in this series so keep an eye out for that.)

Whatever you chose, stay consistent.

The number one issue common to all of these different points of view is that new writers often mix them up or unintentionally alternate between multiple viewpoints within one story. As mentioned under the section covering major mistakes with third person omniscient, the other points of view can suffer from unplanned interweave of multiple viewpoints. The main takeaway here is that you should pick one and be consistent. If you do choose to alternate, consider only alternating between a handful of characters and use only third person limited or first person with each one. Whatever point of view choices you make, be consistent.

There are writers who effectively and expertly mix narrative modes because they might have multiple characters who the plot revolves around, but these kinds of switches generally don’t take place until a break in the text occurs, perhaps at a scene or chapter break.

And that’s it for my blog post on the points of view and how to identify and use them! What is your favorite POV to write in? What is your favorite POV to read in? What is your least favorite POV for both of these? What POV do you struggle with most? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to check out this week’s writing challenge!

Writing challenge: Your mission this week is to write for fifteen minutes while changing narrative modes as many times as possible. Post your writing practice in the comments and take some time to read the work of other writers here.

Recap: Examples of books that utilize various POVs

Examples of First Person POV:

• The Choose Your Own Adventure Series

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 

• The Starcrossed Trilogy by Josephine Angelini

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare

• As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

• The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne

• The Stranger and The Fall (dramatic monologue in First Person) by Albert Camus

Examples of Second Person POV:

• The Office

• Parks and Recreation

• Lizzie McGuire

• Modern Family

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Examples of Third Person Omniscient POV:

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Read my Review Here)

• Atonement by Ian McIwan

• Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

• A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin

• The Immortals by Gillian Shields

• Mooncallers by Leda C. Muir

Examples of Third Person Limited POV:

• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

• Ulysses by James Joyce

• 1984 by George Orwell

Alternating POVs:

• A Happy Death by Albert Camus

• The Scarlet Letter (mostly in Third Person, with a First Person narrator in the intro) by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. "A stack of books with different points of view. "  January 15, 2021.

• Hayes, Payton. "Distance in point of view" (PNG, Graphic) January 15, 2021.

• Hayes, Payton. "Point of  View Pronouns" (PNG, Graphic) January 15, 2021.

• Cottonbro Studio "Woman sitting at a table in the foreground with a man smoking in the background." Unsplash photo, January 15, 2021 (Thumbnail).

• Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.

• Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Circus. New York: Anchor Books, 2012.

• Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993 (5.1.440–44).

Related Topics

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101:  How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• Check out my other Book Writing 101,  and Freelancing posts.

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

Freytag’s Pyramid from Serious Daring by Lisa Roney. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This blog post was written by a human.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in the Freelancing category, we’re continuing the Book Writing 101 series with our third post—how to achieve good story pacing. If you’re looking for the rest of the series, it will be linked at the end of the blog post!

What is pacing?

In literature, pace, or pacing is the speed at which a story is told —not necessarily the speed at which the story takes place. The pace is determined by the length of the scenes, how fast the action moves, and how quickly the reader is provided with information. Story pacing is the momentum of the story and it’s what keeps readers turning pages.

Why does pacing matter in storytelling?

Pacing is an element of storytelling that seems to trip up many new writers. It can be hard to pin down. What is a good pacing for a story? Well, to get a better idea of good story pacing, we have to look at bad story pacing first.

Pacing is also tension. It’s how you build out the rising and falling action of your scenes. When I reference “action” in this blog post, rising and falling action is what I am talking about. This may be literal action scenes, conflict, events, plot points and pinch points, and other peaks and valleys of plot.

If you read my blog post about where to start your novel, then you might remember this next bit. That post (linked at the end of this blog post) is specifically for starting a book, but it serves as a great reminder for starting/ending you scenes and chapters as well.

Pacing is also how you enter and leave scenes and chapters. It’s how you open a scene and keep the momentum all the way through to the “turning point” of that scene or chapter. It’s how you close that scene/chapter and lead into the next one. Think about the “enter late, leave early” rule when trying to achieve goo pacing within your story, and how events in your story drive the plot forward.

What constitutes bad story pacing?

This usually occurs when a story is told at a pace or speed that is either just too fast or too slow for the plot and the events that happen within the story. Story pacing that is just too fast almost gives the reader narrative whiplash in that, everything is being presented so quickly that the reader just can’t seem to keep up and is lost in confusion. Story pacing that is just to slow usually ends up boring the reader and making it hard for him or her to stay motivated to finish the book.

Story pacing really has more to do with the amount of information being presented and the intervals at which it is being presented. Books that have too-fast story pacing often just bombard the reader with information faster than they can process it. For example, a thriller writer may leave things out of the story in an attempt to build intrigue but as the plot progresses, the reader will be come increasingly more confused. In fantasy, too-fast pacing usually arises when the writer drops in a ton of names in rapid succession without really giving the readers time to orient themselves.

However, on the flip side, too-slow pacing can arise in fantasy in much the same way as well. Taking entirely way too long to establish backstory or info-dumping is a great way to slow the story down and bore the reader. And truthfully, this isn’t unique to fantasy; this issue can manifest itself this way in all genres.

Pacing that is too fast: Too much information is presented too often.

Pacing that is too slow: Not enough action is presented often enough.

I know, it looks like I said the same thing twice, only slightly changed—I did.

But in essence, good story pacing is all about balance.

Even seasoned writers struggle to strike the very delicate balance between action and information. What’s worse than a plot twist that comes out of left field? A plot twist that’s more like a straight line than a twist at all. That is to say, the reader could see it coming from a mile away, or due to weak pacing, the world-shattering revelation misses it’s mark and the author’s impact is completely lost on the reader.

Ultimately, to achieve good story pacing is to tell the story in such a way that plot points are reached and key information is revealed at a satisfying and sensible pace.

Identifying pacing issues with word count

This might only be useful if for writers who have critique groups, agents, or editors but essentially, you can identify bad pacing by looking at the word count of a novel. If your editor says “the word count is too low for your genre” then they’re essentially saying, your pacing is too fast, and you’ve not spent enough time building out the story and included too much action. If your editor says “the word count is too high for your genre” then they’re saying your pacing is too slow, and you’ve spent too much time building out the story and not including enough action.

Sentence structure can make or break pacing

Another obvious, concrete clue that your pacing could be off is the way sentences, dialogue, and paragraphs are aesthetically arranged on the page. Think long, drawn-out, convoluted sentences, wordy paragraphs, big, pretentions words, overly-descriptive, adjective-dense, purple pose, a lack of variation in sentence structure, and crowded or skeletal dialogue. These story elements are often easy to overlook, and trying to strike that balance as an afterthought can certainly kill your pacing. Take this paragraph as a meta example. The second sentence commits the very crime that the third sentence calls out.

Think about these things and keep in mind that if it doesn’t add to the writing style, voice, tone or drive the plot, then you don’t need it. Characterization should be dropped in here and there, and not done in page-long descriptions with wordy backstory. Big words and extensive (and often archaic) vocabulary should only be used if it makes sense for the voice, tone, genre, setting, and narrator of the story.

This issue is ubiquitous with academic writing, where some students try to fill their essays with pedantic fluff to reach word count minimums and others just enjoy hearing themselves talk—or reading their own words, rather. Save the filibustering for the Senate.

This doesn’t mean that shorter and more direct sentences are key either. Short, choppy, staccato-like sentences with little variation can undercut tension or mood because they give the reader little time to immerse themselves in description, emotion, or context. Like I said, it’s all about balance. The secret to achieve this balance and good story pacing is varied sentence structure. Look at the Examples below.

Example #1: Short Sentences (~1-8 words)

Use Case: Action and combat scenes, suspenseful transitions, dramatic moments.

Bad: He ran. He stopped. He looked. He panicked. (too choppy, monotone)

Good: He froze, pinned to the spot. Footsteps drew nearer. His pulse quickened. Surely the killer could hear his heart hammering away in his chest. He needed to catch his breath. He also needed to escape. (punchy, dramatic, builds tension)

Effect On Pacing: Speeds up action; creates tension; reads as abrupt or punchy.

This sentence structure is great for scenes that need to move quickly. Naturally, the shorter the sentence, the easier and faster it is for the reader to move through the text. Overuse results in flat, boring, and emotionally-disconnected scenes. This structure is best used when the reader has already made an emotional connection to the characters in the story and the stakes are higher.

Example #2: Medium Sentences (~ 9-20 words)

Use Case: Versatile, used in most narrative passages, dialogue, in between action and revelation (can be used for these situations too).

Bad: N/A. Medium sentences are rarely bad, so long as word choice, word count, punctuation, and clauses are balanced.

Good: The wind groaned through the trees, as she made her way home, a bittersweet feeling settling in her chest.

Effect On Pacing: Smooth, natural rhythm; balanced pacing.

This sentence structure is most common in any published work, and it’s typically comprises the majority of a text. It’s the middle ground for sentence structure, tucked neatly between short, choppy sentences, and long, complex sentences. I like to think of it like the Goldilocks Effect: medium sentences are just right.

Example #3: Long / Complex Sentences (21+ words)

Use Case: Descriptive scenes, internal monologue, world-building.

Bad: Running down the narrow, cobblestoned street that wound unpredictably between the dimly lit shops whose windows reflected shadows of passersby who themselves seemed unsure of which way to go, he tried desperately to remember the route that would lead him safely back to the square. (too convoluted)

Good: Walking down the narrow, cobblestoned street, he remembered the stories his grandmother told about the town, imagining the faces of people long gone.

Effect On Pacing: Slows pacing; allows description, reflection, inner thoughts, (lowers tension back to or below baseline, to rise again later on).

This sentence structure is most common to fantasy and science fiction, where readers expect lore drops frequently but not excessively. These longer sentences can also appear in scenes where there is little or no dialogue.

Story structure can help you with pacing

Much like sentence structure, story structure can be a great way to determine the pacing of your story and where you might be doing really well in terms of tension and pacing and where your story might be sagging a little. The 3-Act Story Structure is just one example.

I think a lot of writers have a hard time with pacing because many of us grew up learning about the 5 elements of plot with a very set-in-stone triangular structure, but I like to think of plot as more of a bell curve. In the graphics below, you’ll see the 5 Elements of Plot (based on Freytag’s Pyramid) versus the Plot Bell Curve (based on the 3 Act-Story Structure) and how pacing looks with each of these story structuring methods.

The issue with the Elements of Plot is that this structure allows entirely too much time to pass between major plot points. This is where many writers’ issues with the “sagging middle” originate from. Look at the bell curve, where tension is kept evenly from plot point to plot point. Instead of a terribly slow and steady incline, the rising action builds tension right from the inciting incident and falling action slows tension from the midpoint to the confrontation.

Story pacing is the momentum of the story and it’s what keeps readers turning pages. Good story pacing is achieved when on a macro level, story structure is balanced and varied, and on a micro level, sentence structure is balanced and varied. When action and information are evenly balanced with emotion and tension, your story’s plot points land with their intended impact.

If your aim is strong story pacing keep the 3 P’s of Pacing in mind: Purpose, People, Points.

Purpose = What is the purpose of the scene? What is happening? Is it more of an information-heavy scene (such as characterization) or is it an action-heavy scene (high tension)?

People = Which characters are involved in this scene? Do they mention other characters not present? What relationship dynamics are at play between these characters in this scene?

Points/Progression = Where is Point A? Where is Point B (both literally and figuratively)? How does this scene effectively bring the story and the reader from Point A to Point B, in terms of plot points, characterization, and story progression?

If you know your scene’s Purpose and which People are involved in the scene, you can then narrow in on the scene’s plot Points and evaluate the scene’s narrative Progression.

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes:

1. Variety is vital: Mix short, medium, and long sentences to create rhythm.

2. Match sentence length to emotion and tension: Short for speed, long for reflection.

3. Avoid extremes in isolation: Too many short sentences makes for choppy, rushed pacing and too many long sentences results in sluggish, verbose pacing.

TL;DR: Varied sentence structure & story structure + balance of action and narration aligned with tension and emotion = good story pacing.

And that’s how to achieve good story pacing. I hope this post helped you and if it did, make sure to comment below to let me know! You can also check out the other blog posts in my Book Writing 101 series!

Bibliography

• Hayes, Payton. “Freytag’s Pyramid from Serious Daring by Lisa Roney.”(Thumbnail Photo) January 8, 2021.

• Hayes, Payton. “5 Elements of Plot #1” (Graphic) January 8, 2021.

• Hayes, Payton. “5 Elements of Plot #2” (Graphic) January 8, 2021.

• Hayes, Payton. “Plot Bell Curve #1” (Graphic) January 8, 2021.

• Hayes, Payton. “Plot Bell Curve #2” (Graphic) January 8, 2021.

Related Topics

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101: How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• See all posts in the Freelancing category.

• See all posts in the Book Writing 101 series. 

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: August 30, 2025

Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

This blog post was written by a human.

Hello readers and writerly friends!

Three friends sitting on a rocky hill at sunset at Joshua Tree. Photo by Cynthia Magana.

What’s in a name? It’s a question Shakespeare asked and many other writers today find themselves pondering because sometimes character names are a very crucial part of creating compelling characters. A name can make or break a character’s believability and so, authors should always chose carefully when selecting names for their characters. However, this isn’t something to get too in-your-head about. While there’s many factors that can influence a character’s name, it’s really up to you to chose something you feel best represents that character. If you’re just starting your novel or still in the first draft phase, consider using [Main Character], [Supporting Character 1], and [Main Antagonist] as placeholder names while you get the first draft completed. Names aren’t something to interrupt the writing process over. You can always come back to your characters later and change their names during the editing phase.

If you’re in the editing phase, this blog post is for you so, let’s get into it!

So, what actually is in a name?

As mentioned, there’s a lot of different parts of picking a name for your characters from etymology, to genre, to time-period, etc., and its easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer research you must do to carefully curate names for characters that you want to be compelling and memorable. Names are incredibly important because they tell the reader a lot about your story—cultural background, genre, influences and worldview, time-period, setting, and identity. However, picking a name that doesn’t suit your characters can do a lot of harm to your story, from distracting the reader, to losing relatability and connection between the reader and characters, which is ultimately the most important part of storytelling—the reader-character-connection.

Parents, experience, upbringing, and worldview

I go into this a little bit in my blog post, “How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters” but when crafting a character, you have to take a lot of external factors into consideration including family trees. If you have a female main protagonist in your story, its important to note that her parents are going to have a direct effect on her name, her upbringing, and her worldview.

If you’re trying to determine a name for this character you might ask yourself the following:

• Does she have both or only one of her parents and what is their situation like?

• What are their names (if you have picked already)?

• What kind of upbringing did they have?

• What kind of names would they name their daughter?

• What is the setting like and what kind of names would be prominent in this setting?

• When was the character born?

This information is all, lower portion of the iceberg and doesn’t necessarily have to make it onto the page, as long as you know the answers and how they inform characterization. These kinds of questions should be at the front of your mind when considering what to name your characters.

Genre

Contemporary, historical, and time-period pieces

First on the list, let’s look at genre as a starting point for coming up with names for characters. If you’re writing a contemporary novel or historical fiction, for example, you could use a baby name website, or modern name generator to try and spark inspiration for names. Essentially, contemporary works would encompass anything that seems realistic and plausible today and the names should follow that. Historical fiction would require some research —such as looking up popular names in certain countries during a specific year to get an idea what names were in use in the setting of your novel.

Science Fiction, High Fantasy, and invented names

I think a lot of the naming struggle comes from writers who’s works fall into the science fiction and fantasy category because they feel as if they have to completely make up new names from scratch for world building and immersion and that can be really overwhelming to both new and experienced writers alike. While you can pull names out of the air, its typically easier to base your characters and cultures off of real-world people and cultures and use real names as a starting point. For example, in short story, The Sieka of Sahn’Jatar, is set in the middle-east in Terrae Forrh and this setting is based off of the Sahara desert and the middle-east on Earth and the cultures are also based off the cultures of those locations, i.e., Iran, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Sudan, Morocco, and India. Names, appearances, mannerisms, language, and accents are inspired from these cultures as well. However, the Nelnaiian elves in the southern part of the continent are inspired by France and their language is mildly derivative of both French and Spanish.

Essentially, if you had to compare your fantasy/sci-fi characters and cultures to that of the real world, which ones would the be most like? Once you determine this, research the language and names of that real-world culture and see what minor twists you can put on existing names to tailor them to your world while keeping with a general theme for consistency’s sake.

For example, if I wanted to name a young elven girl that would have lived in Sahn’Jatar, I might pull names from Syria. One I found was Amira. To make this more suited for my fantasy world and less like I found it in a baby names list, I might add or remove vowels/consonants until I have something new. Aamira or Amiira could work. Or I could even use Ammira or Amirra.

If I wanted to keep the pronunciation but change the spelling, I could use Emira or Amire. If I wanted to make the name or masculine I could tack an “o” to the end of the name or change out the “a”s for “o”s such as in Amiro, Omiro.

I could swap letters around altogether to end up with Imiro, Omira, Imira, or Amiri.

Pro tip: Always double check that your result isn’t something that exists or is widely popular in your inspo culture or another culture. For example, if my result from the name exercise above was Omar, then I’d simply be back at square one. It would be okay to use this name because of its origin in Muslim culture, but I would have to be cognizant of the fact that this is a real name/word/concept in an existing culture. It might be better to tweak it again if I didn’t want readers to think “Hey, that’s my name!” or that I simply pulled it out of a list. Instead, I might use Omaar and so on. Just know, that you might have to go through this process a few times to come up with the most perfect, original names. Certainly, cross-check your work.

The main takeaway here is that you’d use existing names and cultures as a starting point and tweak them until the become x) as original as possible while y) fitting the characters and setting of your story.

Consider these things when trying to invent your own character names:

• What language and culture are the from? What are they inspired by?

• How are vowels and consonants pronounced?

• Are male and female names/words conjugated differently?

• Are their honorifics such as with Korean or Japanese?

• What do your names suggest about society, class, and privilege?

Use the answers to these questions as a rule-system for naming your characters, so that you can ensure consistency and uniformity among members of specific societies, groups, and kingdoms. Of course, there will always be exceptions to the rules, especially if you have regions that are sort of melting pots of culture.

And on the other hand, you do want to be careful when using real-world cultures as inspiration for your invented world. Try to avoid using stereotypes in your fantasy if they’re offensive, or harmful to the culture you drew inspiration from. For example, in my short story I mentioned earlier, the Saabuli, a warband and reigning power over Sahn’Jatar is inspired by militant Muslim culture, however I try my absolute best to avoid including stereotypes or mention of terrorist themes in the story. Just be mindful of whatever culture you’re drawing inspiration from and make sure to do your research.

Additionally, ensure your names all fit well together. Make sure your first names and last names both look aesthetically good together as well as sonically work well with one another. Take time and care to ensure your all the names in your entire cast of characters make sense together against the backdrop of your setting and genre. You wouldn’t have a high fantasy story where all the characters have intricate names except one, who’s name is Jerry, right? And of course, the same goes for Sci-Fi.

Naming places

As mentioned in my blog post about creating compelling characters, the setting/world is also a character in a sense, and especially in Sci-Fi and fantasy where a lot of worldbuilding takes place, it’ quite common to have to come up with names for universes, galaxies solar systems, worlds, continents, countries, regions/provinces/states, counties, cities, towns and infrastructure/landforms. I would argue that naming places in Sci-Fi and fantasy is pretty similar to coming up with names for people. The only differences are a) there may be several words/spaces/punctuation in the name, and b) infrastructure and landforms may be included in the name.

An example from my own writing— a river in Terrae Forrh is called the Lae’ir’nali river. There are also some tepuis in Terrae Forrh, a singular one called Kuketi Tepui, and a mass of tepuis, upon which a city has been formed, is called Asyanir, The Tabletop City. Another name for tepui is table-top mountain. So, you can see how I used the different landforms in their own names.

History and Culture

All names are rooted in history and culture and as mentioned before it’s a good idea to take inspiration from existing history and culture as a starting point, even if you’re not trying to make up your own names from scratch. Your challenge as the writer, is to come up with a fairly concrete historical and cultural basis for your names.

Of course, if you have various cultures represented in your book, consider how their names might sound different. I wouldn’t expect my French-derivative names to sound anything like my Syrian-derivative names. It all has to do with characterization, worldbuilding, and ultimately identity. If you’re writing a Sci-Fi story that takes place across multiple planets with different races, consider what various naming conventions may be used to give characters their names and how they fit in with those races and cultures.

Name trends

Something to keep in mind when naming characters is that names do rise in and fall out of popularity over the years and names do go through trends, especially first names, since last names are usually passed down through the family line or are adopted/dropped with change in marital status. First names are often affected by gender and tradition. Male names are often passed down in patrilineal fashion whereas girls may be named after a grandmother, aunt, or godmother instead.  If the names in your book have been passed down through your fictional families’ bloodlines, consider how and where they got those names and why they would pass them down. Additionally, you should consider the religious and traditional aspects of inherited names as well.

US map showing states where the names Ashley and Jessica were the most popular in 1992 based on data provided by the Social Security Administration.

Graph showing the popularity of the name Ashley between 1970 and 2012, with prevalence peaking in 1988 at roughly 50,000 children with this name. Data provided by the Social Security Administration.

Names not only reflect culture, but they reflect character

It’s a sort of chicken versus egg cycle when it comes to characters and names—the name becomes the character, and the character becomes the name. Whether we realize it or not, our name is very much a part of our identity. Think about how characters might behave differently if they had a unique/hard to pronounce/read/spell name as opposed to having a common easy name. My name for example, is Payton and I was at least fourteen before I ever encountered anyone else with that exact same spelling and they were a guy! It was a relatively uncommon name when I was growing up and people would always ask me “Oh, is it Peyton with an e?” and I’d have to correct them. So, as an adult, I naturally have a complex about my name and the way its spelled. I take pride in knowing my name is somewhat unique, but I know I may never find my name on a Coke bottle and that’s just how it is. I am just as befitting of my name as my name is a part of my identity.

However, I grew up when the name “Ashley” was very, very popular and likely knew over 20 different Ashley’s throughout K-12, including one of my best friends and my older sister. I decided I was so sick of hearing that name in all my classes and with friends, I would never name my daughter that if I had one. I remember I had a music class one year where there were three different Ashleys in that class. We had to call them Ashley C., Ashley T., and Ashley H just to tell them apart.

Consider how names might influence your characters’ personalities:

•  Are they self-conscious about their name?

• Do they feel like their name suits them?

• Do they get picked on in school because of the spelling?

• Do they have a thick skin because they’re used to people butchering the pronunciation?

• If their name is really common, do they hate their name for it’s lack of uniqueness?

• Do they get confused with other kids in their class (Such as with the Ashley example above)?

• Do they change their name or go by a nickname to establish some sense of identity and individuality?

• How are your character’s perceived and then treated because of their names?

Because of the “which one came first?” nature of the naming/character process you can really work backwards or forwards. That’s why I suggest writers use placeholder names while they get their first draft done. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, or green or experienced with characterization—the naming process can be tricky for any kind of writer. It’s a very experimental process with a lot of playing around with words and culture and language to see what works and what doesn’t.

Additionally, remember to do research within your genre to determine if the “popular” name you’ve chosen for your main protagonist is not the same or at all similar to other books in that genre. After you’ve gone to the trouble to find the perfect name for your character, it would be a shame for readers to just get him/her mixed up with another character from a completely different story by an entirely different author.

Examples of bad names

Anachronistic names

Nothing severs the reader-character connection faster than a name that distracts or annoys the reader or is so forgettable that the reader has to flip back through earlier pages just to remind themselves of the main character’s name. Try to avoid names that are just absolutely outlandish for your setting and genre. If you’re writing about a time in which you did not live through personally, do your due diligence and conduct as much research as you can to ensure your names fit the time period about which you’re writing. Names that stick out as being unrealistic for the time period are a dead giveaway that the author lacks experience in said time period. For example, if I was writing a story set in England in the 1800’s I might give the name Matilda to my main protagonist, but if I named her Maylee it would be a clear sign, I didn’t do my research on the time period. You just can’t give names that were popular in 2007 to characters that were born in 1943.

Distracting names or names that just don’t make sense

Likewise, names that are distracting in other ways—such as Jev, Patch, or Vee Sky in Hush, Hush, has always been distracting to me. I never felt like any of these names suited the characters they were given too and wondered if Fitzpatrick could have spent a little more time naming her characters. In the same vein you don’t want names that are going to be completely unpronounceable (ornate names are often best left for fantasy and sci-fi, but even then they need to be pronounceable and relatively easy to read.)

Forgettable names or names that sound too alike

Additionally, names that are forgettable or easy to mix-up with others are just as bad. When I read the Angel series by L.A. Weatherly, I found myself often getting the side characters names mixed up or forgetting them altogether. The supporting angel killer characters all blended together and the angel’s names—such as Paschar and Bascal—were very hard to tell apart (and imagine listening to those names on audiobook, you’d never remember the difference between them!) Likewise, you want to make sure that you don’t have too many characters with names starting with an “a” if the main character’s name starts with an “a”. Don’t be afraid to have some diverse names.

Resources for coming up with names and how to save names

As I mentioned earlier, for fantasy, I like to derive invented names from existing cultures, but how/where do I find these names? And what if you want to use names that do exist for a contemporary work, where would you go to find them?

Baby name websites and random name generator sites are key here. I wouldn’t use the fantasy name generator because it pulls fictional names from existing works which can be plagiarism if you’re not careful and aware of this. Additionally, you can use naming books such as LLewellyn’s Complete Book of Names.

If you’ve found some names you’d like to keep for later, I would suggest making a digital list somewhere, be it in Microsoft Word, Evernote, Google Docs, Scrivener, Pages, or what have you, keep a running list of Female First Names, Male First Names, Non-binary names and Surnames.

Also, on the topic of Non-binary and unisex names, consider the history of names that originally were male names but became popular for females and vise versa. Also consider how you can put a new spin on a traditionally binary name to breath new life into it and use it in a way it has never been used before. And while writing niche is important because you do want people to have some specifics to make connections to, you should consider if its possible to use unisex or non-binary names in your stories because they are more inclusive and will help a wider audience of readers connect with your characters and their story.

Naming Miscellany

Naming Villains

When naming characters, and villains especially, double check that your “perfect names” don’t actually exist in the world. This serves as a final pass on your part to ensure that no accidental libelous writing can be found in your book because your villain’s name is almost entirely made-up by you. I always Google my villain names just to ensure that no one is going to come knocking because they ended up as the bad guy in my book.

I had a friend who was named Katniss Everdeen (no, I swear I am not making this up.) and when Suzanne Collins’ dystopian trilogy, The Hunger Games came out, it was an absolute nightmare for her. She said she couldn’t travel or get pulled over without having TSA and Police grill her about her supposed fake name. She said she considered changing her name, but she doubted the process would be any less grueling than day-to-day life because wherever she went to change her name, they didn’t take her seriously. Finally, almost a decade after the hype blew over, she has found a little peace, but people still ask her about it to this day.

Four friends watching the sunset. Photo by Helena Lopes.

Using your friend’s names

Feel free to pay homage to you friends, family and people who have inspired you but using their names in your stories but try to limit it to only one of their names as opposed to full names, and again, don’t used these names for villains or characters painted in a bad light. Likewise, be very, very careful with self-insert characters in your stories.

Taking inspiration from existing works of fiction

Be very careful when taking inspiration from existing works. Some works of fiction are just so, SO popular that the names of the characters in these works are just as famous as celebrities. It is very apparent when the name Edward shows up in a new writer’s work, that they were obsessed with Twilight growing up, or the name Jace for the love interest of the female, main protagonist, after Jace Wayland appeared in the fan-favorite Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

And that’s it for my guide to naming fictional characters and places! This was the fourth installment of my Book Writing 101: How To series. Let me know what you think of coming up with names and if this blog post helped you, leave me a comment down below! At the end of this post is a list of related topics including a link to my Story Binder Printables, and the first 3 parts of this series. See you next week for part 5!

Bibliography

• Four friends watching the sunset. Photo by Helena Lopes.

• Graph showing the popularity of the name Ashley between 1970 and 2012, with prevalence peaking in 1988 at roughly 50,000 children with this name. Data provided by the Social Security Administration.

• US map showing states where the names Ashley and Jessica were the most popular in 1992 based on data provided by the Social Security Administration.

• Magana, Cynthis. "Three friends sitting on a rocky hill at sunset at Joshua Tree." Unsplash photo, uploaded on . Accessed

Further Reading

• LLewellyn’s Complete Book of Names

• Babynames.com 

Related Topics

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101 - How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

Recent Blog Posts

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

This blog was written by a human

Hi readers and writerly friends!

The How-To Series continues! This week, in Freelancing, we’re going to discuss how to come up with story ideas and what to do with them! This is normally where I’d direct you towards a useful, related blog post, but we’re gathering quite the list already, so I’ll just leave that bit at the end of this post for your convenience!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!

So, where do book ideas come from?

Book ideas can come from anywhere. That’s it. Blog post over. We can all pack up and go home. Right?

Well, yes, book ideas can come from practically anywhere, but it takes more than just a juicy theme or a compelling character to make a book. You certainly need those elements present to make a thrilling novel, to be sure, but its so much more than that. However, we’re not here to discuss the elements of a novel —no, we did that last week. (Check the links below!)

While novel ideas can come from just about and where and anything, you can also brainstorm novel ideas. Think about your favorite novels and see how you can create a mashup of two or more stories that would fit well together and put your own twist on it, such as Alexa Donne’s Jane Eyre in Space —Brightly Burning, or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, (the same writer who did Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!) for example. While the latter is a literal mash-up, the former is more like a mash-up or genre-bender with Donne’s own twist on the original premise.

So, think about how you can put your own spin on your favorite tales!

How would x-story be different if it were…

• set in space? in the center of the Earth? on another planet?

• told in another genre?

• told from the opposite gender or a non-binary narrator?

• told from someone with 30-years age difference?

• told from the perspective of an animal?

• mashed-up with your favorite movie?

• told from a different POV or story tense?

 Write the book YOU want to read

These are just a few ways to put a refreshing spin on old stories to make them feel new. You can also consider what kind of book YOU want to read. How would your favorite story be better? How could you change it to include certain elements you feel it is lacking, but with a whole new cast of characters, a new theme, and a fresh new setting? How can you rework and existing story to include more representation for a minority?

Explore fun websites to spark inspiration

I have an interesting little blog post that does just this! (It’s listed at the end of the blog post too!) Essentially this post is a long, organized list of fun websites that you can read or interact with to spark inspiration for your next book. If you already know what you might like to write about, try some of these sites out to see how you can put a new spin on it to make it your own story that has never been told before. For instance, I might like to try rewriting Hush, Hush, but instead of the typical plot points that occur throughout that story, I might swap the genders of the characters, and set it in 1943, where an asteroid shower has been happening for the last 30 years. See how that immediately changes the whole story? It might not be the best example, but you get the idea! Consider reading articles on news sites from Buzzfeed to the New York Times to get inspiration from the crazy every-day lives of other people, like Florida Man. Sometimes, the truth can be stranger than fiction and can spark even the most outrageous novel ideas that eventually become great stories!

Read bad books!

Ever heard of BookTube? Well, if not, then bless you! It’s what book YouTubers and others in the community like to call the little corner of the video-streaming service that is dedicated to all things bookish!

Consider looking up scathing reviews of books you may or may not have heard of and see how you can rewrite them to succeed in the areas they failed. Obviously, none of this advice is suggesting you plagiarize, by any means. However, it is okay to take an overly broad and vague story premise, mold it, and make it your own. How can you turn this book that is absolutely loathed by the Bookish Community into a novel that readers everywhere will love simply by reimagining the things they went wrong with? For instance, there are plentiful mixed (and mostly critical) reviews for Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings Zenith. 

Here is the description from Goodreads.com:

Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, Marauder, however, she's just Andi, their friend and fearless leader.

But when a routine mission goes awry, the Marauder's all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi's past.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.

Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their ship or just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles toward the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only certainty is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.

—Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, Zenith

This book has a 3.11 average rating and is most known for its unconvincing worldbuilding, lack of original vocabulary explanation (the author drops in made-up words without explaining what they mean beforehand and leave the reader to remain confused, since there is a lack of a glossary in the book as well?) sci-fi elements that simply don’t make sense —such as impenetrable glass spaceships (with metal defense covers?) and golden, double-trigger revolvers— characters that are lazily thrown together and also do not make sense, poor-quality writing, overwhelming number of clichés present throughout, and—I’ll save you the rest because I could go on and on. The point is that this novel was incredibly overhyped, and fans of Alsberg’s YouTube videos were sorely disappointed when the book did not deliver.

So, as a writer, how could rework this story to succeed where it failed? How can you take extra time and immense care to ensure your characters are compelling and are actively evolving throughout the story? What kind of research can you do to verify that your story keeps in line with traditional sci-fi elements, while managing come across in a refreshing, interesting, and new way? How can you make sure your readers thoroughly understand the vocabulary and systems present in your book? What do you personally wish had been done differently? These are the types of questions you have to consider when brainstorming, because if you think you have the skill to rework a very poorly received influencer novel such as Zenith, then you just might have a story idea on your hands. I would suggest reading books that have overwhelmingly terrible reviews and seeing if you can distill the poor, unfinished, low-quality work into something fresh and new that you too would want to read.  You can also do this with movies, TV shows, plays, music, and any other art form that leaves you feeling underwhelmed or unsatisfied once you’ve finished consuming it.

One fantastic example of a writer who reworked a story they were unsatisfied with is Claudia Grey’s Defy the Stars which she wrote after seeing the movie Prometheus and being dissatisfied with how the movie’s producers portrayed David 8. She was inspired to rework the story and write her own book about an android the way she wished it had been told.

In an interview for Nerdophiles on Twitter, Grey explained how she got the inspiration for Defy the Stars from Prometheus:

How did you come up with the idea of writing Defy the Stars?

You know, the actual genesis of this story came a few years ago when Prometheus came out. A lot of it had to do with Michael Fassbender’s performance as David 8. He just walked right into the uncanny valley and stayed there and it was great.

One area the movie didn’t really explore much but that was really interesting was the fact that Elizabeth Shaw was trying to really evaluate how much of David is machine. It’s this very tiny thing but I thought that was a really interesting thing they should have played with more. They have this person who has this other mission – her job is not to analyze this guy – but who spends time trying to figure out if she’s working with a machine or if she’s working with somebody. And that’s not going to be a question that has a really solid answer.

That idea then took root and became the idea of Defy the Stars.

—Claudia Grey, Nerdophiles

Read more from this article in the link below!

Another great example of a story premise that was reworked is “Errant” by Diana Peterfreund.

As per Goodreads.com:

In 18th century France, a noble family prepares to celebrate their daughter's arranged marriage by holding a traditional unicorn hunt. But when an unusual nun arrives at the chateau with her beloved pet to help the rich girl train, nothing goes as expected. Starring hunters, fine ladies, fancy frocks, and killer unicorns.

—Diana Peterfreund, Errant (Killer Unicorns #0.5)

This short story is not only a historical reimagining of arranged marriages with never-before-seen traditions, but it’s also a fantasy. With KILLER UNICORNS. It’s exquisite.

Don’t be afraid to look to other media where narratives left you feeling dissatisfied and consider how you can tell them in a new way that succeeds where these stories failed. And on the flip side, look at where your favorites succeeded and consider how you can channel that into your story idea.

Take inspiration from your own hobbies and interests

Are you a gamer? Consider writing yourself into the world of your favorite video game and then change it to make it your own. Are you a chef? Consider how you can reimagine cook-books to find balance between overly chatty blog posts and old-school recipe-only cook books that lacked that certain something something. What kind of morbid curiosities can you dive deeper into to pull a story from? I personally have a morbid curiosity with true crime and sinkholes even though they both creep me out. Maybe I could write a thriller about people adventuring into the world’s deepest sinkhole only for the trip to go awry and lead to murder, mayhem, and mystery as the characters grow increasingly desperate to survive being trapped inside the belly of the earth?

Yeah, no I wouldn’t write that. Not ever. Not even if you paid me. Sinkholes and caves are the worst!

But you could! You could write about LITERALLY ANYTHING.

What weird thing are you obsessed with? Can you turn it into an interesting, new, dark, fantasy? How can you weave that topic into a novel?

Examine events and people form history to spark inspiration

What is your favorite time period to study? I personally love the Revolutionary war and the romantic period in literature. What chunk of history fascinates you? (Leave a comment below!) How can you take your favorite elements of that time period and either modernize them or convert them from history to fantasy?

Subscribe to writing prompt websites and social media pages

There are TONS of writing prompt profiles on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram and not to mention the plethora of other websites on the world wide web. You can find story ideas on reddit or on Wattpad too! I personally am subscribed to @redditvoice, @reddit, @mr.reddit and @writing.prompt.s on Instagram and I am signed up to receive daily writing prompts from Storyaday.org (they also have a great list of where to find story prompts). Likewise, you can purchase writing prompt books or even play around on your favorite meme sites to spark inspiration. You can also take inspiration from fanfiction as well!

Those are just a few ways to come up with ideas, but they can truly come from anywhere. The truth is, the more media you consume and the more life experiences you have, the more avenues you have open for story ideas to just waltz into your life. Watch some movies, read a few books, go out and catch a local play and then sit down for a good ole brainstorming session and see what you can come up with.

How to keep your story ideas once you’ve been inspired

MS Word document with New Story Ideas. Alternatively, you can use Pages or Google Docs. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Just like with writing, there’s a ton of different methods of jotting down your story ideas. You can keep them in a notebook or binder. You can make an ongoing Google Doc or Microsoft Word Document. You can store them in Scrivener or Evernote. It really doesn’t matter what you use. Just make sure you keep them organized and include enough information so when you come back to them, you remember your ideas vividly and know where to pick them back up. I prefer to keep my fleeting ideas in a single Microsoft Word document titled “New Story Ideas” where everything is in a bulleted list.

 Sometimes, the ideas a fully fleshed out while others are simply one-liners because that’s all I could think of when I was writing it down for later. Figure out what works for you and keep it in an easy to reach place so you can access it whenever the creative spirit strikes you! If you can try to write a brief synopsis for your book ideas so you can come back to them and know exactly what you were talking about 1, 2 or 5 years later. Additionally, don’t be afraid to let your story ideas ferment within that list and feel free to add to them over time when you get more inspiration for them.

And that’s it for my blog post on how to come up with story ideas and how to keep them once you’ve gotten them! Brainstorming is such a personal process and can be different for every writer. How do you come up with ideas? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to check back next Friday with another installment of this Book Writing 101 Series! Part 4 will be out next week!

 Related topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Nerdophiles Interview with Claudia Grey

• Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love (Errant by Diana Peterfreund)

See all posts in Freelancing. See all posts in Book Writing 101.

Thumbnail photo by Jason Goodman.

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

Christmas Wishlist For Writers: 5 Must-Have, Useful Items For The Writer In Your Life

This blog was written by a human

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Its December 2020! Can you believe it? It somehow simultaneously feels like this year flew by and just dragged on forever. Well, against the background of 2020’s chaos, its holiday season once again, hooray! While we can’t all be with our loved ones during this crazy time, you can still show the writers in your life love by gifting them something useful they’ll actually use! Ditch the boring old notebook and go for one of these ideas! If you’re the writer in your life, gift yourself something nice or add your faves from this list to your own personal wishlist!

Books about writing

• Chicago Manual of Style (Contains everything a writer needs to know about grammar, formatting, style, and industry standard practices!)

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

• The Novel Planner: A Daily Planner for Authors by Kristen Kieffer

• Pep Talks for Writers by Grant Faulkner

• No Plot? No Problem! A Low Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing A Novel In 30 Days by Chris Baty

• On Writing by Stephen King

Want more amazing books to choose from? Here’s a list of my favorites —40+ of the best books on writing.

Annual subscription to something useful

Sometimes writers just need the right tools to write. Pick up an annual subscription you your writer’s favorite word processors, apps, writing tools, design software, and marketing services!

Writing Tools

• ProWritingAid

• Grammarly

• Hemingway App

• Medium

• Skillshare Creative Writing Classes

• Wordtune

• Dabble

• Campfire Blaze

Word Processors

• Pages (Mac)

• Microsoft Word (Windows)

• Scrivener

• Word Perfect

Design and Website Tools

• Canva (Lightweight but powerful photo editor and design app)

• Squarespace

• Squarespace Campaigns

• Google Domains

Marketing and Exposure

• Draft2Digital

• Clickfunnels

• Duotrope

• WriteSpike

• Prolificworks

• Bookfunnel

MasterWriter claims to be the “leading songwriting, lyric writing and creative writing software.” If the writer in your life is a creative writer or songwriters, consider picking up a monthly, yearly, or two-year license for $9.95, $99.95 or $149.95.

With this software they can access a suite of useful writing tools that will not only encourage them to express themselves in “a unique and meaningful way,” but will also give them the means to do so digitally, whether their a songwriter, poet, novelist, or blog writer.

Author photoshoot with a professional photographer

Regardless of whether the writer in your life has been published or not, its always a great idea to have professional photos taken. Writers can use these in their resumes, writer websites, media kits, social media profiles, and more. This is likely something they’d never think to get themselves but will ultimately end up paying for themselves since the value of professionally shot photos far exceeds the cost of the service fees. Many photographers will even lightly edit the photos for you. Consider hiring photographer for 1-2 hours and heading out to a library or public park with all of your favorite writerly tools in hand.

Pro Tip: Search Instagram, Facebook Marketplace, or Groupon to start looking for affordable photographers near you.

If you’re in the Oklahoma City area, I would recommend Jae McBride of @Jaeashtenphotos and Jalea Alexandria of @j.alexandriaphotography on Instagram.

Writer’s Associations and Editing Masterclasses

Writers never stop learning and growing. Help the writer in your life become a better writer by taking professional masterclasses or by making valuable connections with other writers and literary freelancers by getting them an annual subscription to a writer’s association.

The Christian PEN (Proofreaders and Editors Network) has tons of affordable masterclasses and lesson packs to chose from.

Writersrelief.com has a great list of writer’s associations to chose from.

Check out these amazing editorial associations!

The Christian PEN offers masterclasses, lesson pack bundles, and even group rates.

Check out my courses here!

Comfy writing room additions

Complete your writing set up with these comfy, warm, adjustable, and ergonomic office-space must-haves!

Writing isn’t a sprint —it’s a marathon. Writing takes time and that means your writer will be parked at their desk for hours on end, typing and staring at a screen. Outfit the writer in your life with a comfortable set up from seating to warmth to blue-light glasses. Get more writing done with a comfy desk chair, adjustable footrest, or even fingerless handwarmers (so you can still type!) Consider tossing in a candle warmer to keep your tea/coffee warm while you write!

• Ergonomic wrist rest

• Comfy, breathable desk chair

• Adjustable footrest

• Fingerless handwarmers

• Lumbar support backrest

• Candle warmer

If you want to go above and beyond and splurge on yourself or the writer in your life, consider picking up a new writing computer for them. This is a vital tool for the writing and editing process and can last them years. Bundle it with writing software and/or a masterclass to really go the extra mile this holiday season!

Story Binder Printables

Bonus Item!

Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

For only $10 you can help yourself or the writer in your life keep their writing notes organized in a beautiful and easy-to-navigate Story Binder! Choose from 10 beautiful covers, take advantage of quick reference pages, easy prepping and developing kits for your story, and make use of 52 pages of actionable content that will help you stay on track while writing your story! The best part is, you get access to my Story Binder Printables FOREVER! Reprint and reuse this system for all of your novels!

These are just a few of the faves on my personal wishlist. I might even end up gifting myself a couple of these! Show the writer in your life that you care and want them to succeed in their craft by gifting them something they can actually use in their writing practice! If you’re shopping for yourself, remember you’re investing in your passion and career, so no shame in the occasional writing book or masterclass and in fact, it’s highly recommended! Happy Holidays readers and writerly friends! Have a merry and safe holiday season this year!

Thumbnail photo by Element5 Digital.

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

This blog is written by a human

Hi readers and writerly friends!

I’m so glad you’re here and I can’t wait to get back into this series! (I may have gone on a  mini vacation/camping and I have been playing a lot of WoW lately! Hello, Shadowlands!)

In any case, after a long-awaited return, the How-To Series is back and this week in Freelancing, we’re going to discuss where to start your novel. Make sure to if you haven’t yet read my blog post, “Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)” ! It’s a great first step to writing your novel. If you’re ready to start bringing your story to life, just keep reading to learn how to start your book in the right place!

The importance of starting your book in the right place

You might have heard this phrase —I think you might have started this story in the wrong place— before from a friend or critique group or what have you. It’s actually a very useful and critical piece of advice because the start of your novel is arguably the single most important part. From the very first page/scene, readers get an idea about your voice as a writer, what the story will be about, what the characters are like, and more. The first page just might be the most important part of your book. But don’t fret! It’s doesn’t have to be as dramatic or as daunting as it first may seem. The key to a good opening scene is one that introduces character, conflict, setting, and ideally, stakes. The opening scene should establish your main protagonist (or if you’re writing with flashbacks, it can introduce your antagonist too!), introduce the main conflict/themes of the story, present the setting as both where and when the story takes place (and what rules/systems/cultures and other aspects exist there), and should reveal the stakes of the story. 

Achieve balance between action and introduction through pacing

This of course, is going to require much of you since there is a lot to accomplish in the opening scene, to be sure. However, the secret is in the pacing. Whenever someone says “I think you might have started this story in the wrong place” it has to do with pacing more than the actual location in the plotline. For example, if you start your story too early or too late, that simply means you haven’t given enough time to establish all of these aspects of a good opening scene: a) character, b) conflict, c) setting, or d) stakes. If you start your story too early, then you will end up with a pacing that feels slow or takes entirely way too long to get the proverbial ball rolling. However, if you start your story too late, then your story will feel rushed and the reader will feel confused and as if they have no clue what is going on. The former usually presents itself in a “waking up” or “weather scene” which is typically irrelevant and will bore your reader, while the latter presents itself typically in action scenes, where the reader is dropped into a situation where there is just not enough information to assess said action.

Start just before the inciting incident

A helpful tip I always try to tell new writers is that they should start their story just before the inciting incident. This doesn’t necessarily mean, fifteen minutes before the action, but it can. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the story will start five minutes before the action, but it can. It really depends on your story and the plot you have created, but you should always try to start your story just before the thing happens that sets the story in motion.

For instance, if you’re writing a YA Highschool Paranomal romance— where a girl discovers she’s a vampire while she’s at school and everyone makes fun of her— you wouldn’t start the story with her waking up. Instead, you might start with your main protagonist sitting in class when she starts feeling unwell. Thoughts are racing through her mind as she struggles to pay attention to her instructor. She can hear her heartbeat drumming her ears, but wait—its not her heartbeat she hears, its her classmates’ and she can hear their blood pumping through their veins as well. Suddenly, she gets up and rushes to the bathroom just to get away from it. When she looks in the mirror, she’s horrified that there’s no reflection. Another girl comes out of the seemingly empty stalls behind her and comments on how pail she looks. Her best friend rushes into the bathroom after her to check on her at the request of her teacher. They look at her in awe as they realize she’s just begun to transition from human to vampire. And to top it all off, the popular girl group comes into the bathroom…

Of course, this is a really overplayed and cheesy cliché, but I’m sure you understand my point. I wouldn’t start a story like this with the weather or someone waking up, or going to sleep, and neither should you, although many, MANY stories seems to start in this fashion. In this example, the inciting incident is the main protagonist transitioning into a vampire. However, you could start this story with her sitting in class when this physical transformation comes on.

Get to the party late, leave early

This advice might not be the best for real life situations, but it works wonders for writing stories. The first part of this saying suggests you should open your story with a social gathering of some sort, or the party. All kinds of different people might find themselves at a party (or other social event, it doesn’t have to be a party. Consider how the event might be different if it were set in a fantasy story or murder mystery!) Think about what groups might attend this party and how your cast of characters fit into this backdrop. Consider where the party might take place and how you can use this sub-setting to establish your story’s greater setting. Present the stakes of the story by introducing the relationships among characters and how they interact with one another. If you haven’t read my blog post, “How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters,” you should check it out. I discuss how setting can even be a character of its own and how characters drive the plot. 

The second part of this saying refers to when your characters actually get to the proverbial party, i.e., when does the story start in reference to the inciting incident. As mentioned previously, you don’t have to start the story right before things change and set the story in motion, but it’s always good to start it as early before this as you can. Likewise, the latter part of the saying —leave early, reminds writers to close the scene early. Don’t end things prematurely, but definitely move on before things start to peter out and get boring for the reader. If your characters are at a party, don’t write until they’re standing around trying to say goodbye for half an hour after everyone else has already left. If it’s not interesting or crucial for character development, and doesn’t drive the plot forward, you don’t need it.

The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Let’s talk about prologues

Prologues are great for some books and story-killers for others. For sci-fi and fantasy novels, prologues are typically told from an alternative point of view and/or story tense, i.e., third-person, past-tense. They serve as a great way to throw in extra worldbuilding lay the groundwork for systems and other aspects of your story. However, prologues don’t always give an accurate portrayal of what your book will be about, for this reason. Likewise, an unfortunate occurrence in the reader world, is that many readers just skip over the prologue entirely. One way I have found to get around this is to write a flashback/repeat prologue — where you start with a scene that will occur later in the book but will not make complete sense until the reader reaches that point in the story and puts the puzzle pieces together for his or herself. This can be tricky, however and depending on your plot/genre it might not make sense for your novel. If I do end up writing a prologue, I prefer to do it once the story is completed. Naturally, your story should be able to stand on its own without a prologue. I would check out prologues from popular stories in your genre or review prologues from your favorite books to get an idea of how to execute a successful prologue.

• If you are going to write a prologue, here are some general tips.

• Keep it short and sweet, but not too short of course.

• It should align with the tone and themes of your story If it is told from a different tense or point-of-view, make sure its not a stark contrast from the rest of the storytelling so readers can get an accurate idea of the narrator’s voice for the rest of the story. 

Prologues naturally slow down the pacing of a story, so consider whether your story really needs to have one. If the answer is yes, consider what information will be present and how you can weave it into the story later, to avoid readers missing crucial story details if they do decide to skip your prologue.

Examples of good openings:

Example 1: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I’m going to start with my all-time favorite series —you guessed it, Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick. (And you thought I wouldn’t, tsk, tsk tsk.)

Hush, Hush does have a prologue, but after that it starts off very domestic, or day-in-the-life but quickly grabs the readers attention on page one. I personally like to think of the first chapter as the true starting point of the story. While the elements in the prologue come back around later in the story, it could also do without it.

I’ve included this entire chapter for educational purposes only. All credit goes to Becca Fitzpatrick and Simon and Shuster Publishing.

1

COLDWATER, MAINE, PRESENT DAY

At my side, Vee Sky said, “This is exactly why the school outlaws camera phones. Pictures of this in the ezine would be all the evidence I’d need to get the board of education to axe biology. And then we’d have this hour to do something productive— like receive one-on-one tutoring from cute upperclass guys.”

“Why Vee,” I said, “I could’ve sworn you’ve been looking forward to this unite all semester.”

Vee lowered her lashes and smiled wickedly, “This class isn’t going to teach me anything I don’t already know.”

“Vee? As in virgin?”

“Not so loud.” She winked just as the bell rang, sending us both to our seats, which were side by side at our shared table.

Coach McConaughy grabbed the whistle swinging from a chain around his neck and blew it. “Seats, team!” Coach considered teaching tenth-grade biology a side assignment to his job as varsity coach, and we all knew it.

“It may not have occurred to you kids that sex is more than a fifteen-minute trip to the backseat of a car. It’s science. And what is science?”

                “Boring,” some kid in the back of the room called out.

                “The only class I’m failing,” said another.

                Coach’s eyes tracked down the front row, stopping at me. “Nora?”

                “The study of something,” I said.

He walked over and jabbed his index finger on the table in front of me. “What else?”

“Knowledge gained through experimentation and observations.” Lovely. I sounded like I was auditioning for the audiobook of our text.

“In your own words.”

I touched the tip of my tongue to my upper lip and tried for a synonym. “Science is an investigation.” It sounded like a question.

“Science is an investigation,” Coach said, sanding his hands together. “Science requires us to transform into spies.”

Put that way. Science almost sounded fun. But I’d been in Coach’s class long enough not to get my hopes up.

                “Good sleuthing takes practice,” he continued.

                “So does sex.” Came another back-of-the-room comment. We all bit back laughter while Coach pointed a warning finger at the offender.

“That won’t be part of tonight’s homework.” Coach turned his attention back to me. “Nora, you’ve been sitting beside Vee since the beginning of the year.” I nodded but had a bad feeling about where this was going. “Both of you are on the school eZine together.” Again I nodded. “I bet you know quite a bit about each other.”

Vee kicked my leg under our table. I knew what she was thinking. That he had no idea how much we knew about each other. And I don’t just mean the secrets we entomb in our diaries. Vee is my un-twin. She’s green-eyed, minky blond, and a few pounds over curvy. I’m a smoky-eyed brunette with volumes of curly hair that holds its own against even the best flatiron. And I’m all legs, like a bar stool. But there is an invisible thread that ties us together; both of us swear that tie began long before birth. Both of us swear it will continue to hold for the rest of our lives.

Coach looked out at the class. “In fact, I’ll bet each of you knows the person sitting beside you well enough. You picked the seats you did for a reason, right? Familiarity. Too bad the best sleuths avoid familiarity. It dulls the investigative instinct. Which is why, today, we’re creating a new seating chart.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Vee beat me to it. “What the crap? It’s April. As in, it’s almost the end of the year. You can’t pull this kind of stuff now.”

Coach hinted at a smile. “I can pull this stuff clear up to the last day of the semester. And if you fail my class, you’ll be right back here next year, where I’ll be pulling this kind of stuff all over again.”

Vee scowled at him. She is famous for that scowl. It’s a look that does everything but audibly hiss. Apparently immune to it, Coach brought his whistle to his lips, and we got the idea.”

“Every partner sitting on the left-hand side of the table—that’s your left—move up one seat. Those in the front row—yes, including you, Vee—move to the back.”

Vee shoved her notebook inside her backpack and ripped the zipper shut. I bit my lip and waved a small farewell. Then I turned slightly, checking out the room behind me. I knew the names of all my classmates … except one. The transfer. Coach never called on him, and he seemed to prefer it that way. He sat slouched one table back, cool black eyes holding a steady gaze forward. Just like always. I didn’t for one moment believe he just sat there, day after day, staring into space. He was thinking something, but instinct told me I probably didn’t want to know what.

He set his bio text down on the table and slid into Vee’s old chair.

I smiled. “Hi. I’m Nora.”

His black eyes sliced into me, and the corners of his mouth tilted up. My heart fumbled a beat and in that pause, a feeling of gloomy darkness seemed to slide like a shadow over me. It vanished in an instant, but I was still staring at him. His smile wasn’t friendly. It was a smile that spelled trouble. With a promise.

I focused on the chalkboard. Barbie and Ken stared back with strangely cheerful smiles.

Coach said, “Human reproduction can be a sticky subject—”

“Ewww!” groaned a chorus of students.

“It requires mature handling. And like all science, the best approach is to learn by sleuthing. For the rest of class, practice this technique by finding out as much as you can about your new partner. Tomorrow, bring a write-up of your discoveries, and believe me, I’m going to check for authenticity. This is biology, not English, so don’t even think about fictionalizing your answers. I want to see real interaction and teamwork.” There was an implied Or else.

I sat perfectly still. The ball was in his court—I’d smiled, and look how well that turned out. I wrinkled my nose, trying to figure out what he smelled like. Not cigarettes. Something richer, fouler.

Cigars.

I found the clock on the wall and tapped my pencil in time to the second hand. I planted my elbow on the table and propped my chin on my fist. I blew out a sigh.

Great. At this rate I would fail.

I had my eyes pinned forward, but I heard the soft glide of his pen. He was writing, and I wanted to know what. Ten minutes of sitting together didn’t qualify him to make any assumptions about me. Flitting a look sideways, I saw that his paper was several lines deep and growing.

“What are you writing?” I asked.

“And she speaks English,” he said while scrawling it down, each stroke of his hand both smooth and lazy at once.

I leaned as close to him as I dared, trying to read what else he’d written, but he folded the paper in half, concealing the list.

“What did you write?” I demanded.

He reached for my unused paper, sliding it across the table toward him. He crumpled it into a ball. Before I could protest, he tossed it at the trash can beside Coach’s desk. The shot dropped in.

I stared at the trash can a moment, locked between disbelief and anger. Then I flipped open my notebook to a clean page. “What is your name?” I asked, pencil poised to write.

I glanced up in time to catch another dark grin. This one seemed to dare me to pry anything out of him.

“Your name?” I repeated, hoping it was my imagination that my voice faltered.

“Call me Patch. I mean it. Call me.”

He winked when he said it, and I was pretty sure he was making fun of me.

“What do you do in your leisure time?” I asked.

“I don’t have free time.”

“I’m assuming this assignment is graded, so do me a favor?”

He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms behind his head. “What kind of favor?”

I was pretty sure it was an innuendo, and I grappled for a way to change the subject.

“Free time,” he repeated thoughtfully. “I take pictures.”

I printed Photography on my paper.

“I wasn’t finished,” he said. “I’ve got quite a collection going of an eZine columnist who believes there’s truth in eating organic, who writes poetry in secret, and who shudders at the thought of having to choose between Stanford, Yale, and … what’s that big one with the H?”

I stared at him a moment, shaken by how dead on he was. I didn’t get the feeling it was a lucky guess. He knew. And I wanted to know how—right now.

“But you won’t end up going to any of them.”

“I won’t?” I asked without thinking.

He hooked his fingers under the seat of my chair, dragging me closer to him. Not sure if I should scoot away and show fear, or do nothing and feign boredom, I chose the latter.

He said, “Even though you’d thrive at all three schools, you scorn them for being a cliché of achievement. Passing judgment is your third biggest weakness.”

“And my second?” I said with quiet rage. Who was this guy? Was this some kind of disturbing joke?

“You don’t know how to trust. I take that back. You trust—just all the wrong people.”

“And my first?” I demanded.

“You keep life on a short leash.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re scared of what you can’t control.”

The hair at the nape of my neck stood on end, and the temperature in the room seemed to chill. Ordinarily I would have gone straight to Coach’s desk and requested a new seating chart. But I refused to let Patch think he could intimidate or scare me. I felt an irrational need to defend myself and decided right then and there I wouldn’t back down until he did.

“Do you sleep naked?” he asked.

My mouth threatened to drop, but I held it in check. “You’re hardly the person I’d tell.”

“Ever been to a shrink?”

“No,” I lied. The truth was, I was in counseling with the school psychologist, Dr. Hendrickson. It wasn’t by choice, and it wasn’t something I liked to talk about.

“Done anything illegal?”

“No.” Occasionally breaking the speed limit wouldn’t count. Not with him. “Why don’t you ask me something normal? Like … my favorite kind of music?”

“I’m not going to ask what I can guess.”

“You do not know the type of music I listen to.”

“Baroque. With you, it’s all about order, control. I bet you play … the cello?” He said it like he’d pulled the guess out of thin air.

“Wrong.” Another lie, but this one sent a chill rippling along my skin. Who was he really? If he knew I played the cello, what else did he know?

“What’s that?” Patch tapped his pen against the inside of my wrist. Instinctively I pulled away.

“A birthmark.”

“Looks like a scar. Are you suicidal, Nora?” His eyes connected with mine, and I could feel him laughing. “Parents married or divorced?”

“I live with my mom.”

“Where’s dad?”

“My dad passed away last year.”

“How did he die?”

I flinched. “He was—murdered. This is kind of personal territory, if you don’t mind.”

There was a count of silence and the edge in Patch’s eyes seemed to soften a touch. “That must be hard.” He sounded like he meant it.

The bell rang and Patch was on his feet, making his way toward the door.

“Wait,” I called out. He didn’t turn. “Excuse me!” He was through the door. “Patch! I didn’t get anything on you.”

He turned back and walked toward me. Taking my hand, he scribbled something on it before I thought to pull away.

I looked down at the seven numbers in red ink on my palm and made a fist around them. I wanted to tell him no way was his phone ringing tonight. I wanted to tell him it was his fault for taking all the time questioning me. I wanted a lot of things, but I just stood there looking like I didn’t know how to open my mouth.

At last I said, “I’m busy tonight.”

“So am I.” He grinned and was gone.

I stood nailed to the spot, digesting what had just happened. Did he eat up all the time questioning me on purpose? So I’d fail? Did he think one flashy grin would redeem him? Yes, I thought. Yes, he did.

“I won’t call!” I called after him. “Not—ever!”

“Have you finished your column for tomorrow’s deadline?” It was Vee. She came up beside me, jotting notes on the notepad she carried everywhere. “I’m thinking of writing mine on the injustice of seating charts. I got paired with a girl who said she just finished lice treatment this morning.”

“My new partner,” I said, pointing into the hallway at the back of Patch. He had an annoyingly confident walk, the kind you find paired with faded T-shirts and a cowboy hat. Patch wore neither. He was a dark-Levi’s-dark-henley-dark-boots kind of guy.

“The senior transfer? Guess he didn’t study hard enough the first time around. Or the second.” She gave me a knowing look. “Third time’s a charm.”

“He gives me the creeps. He knew my music. Without any hints whatsoever, he said, ‘Baroque.’ “ I did a poor job of mimicking his low voice.

“Lucky guess?”

“He knew … other things.”

“Like what?”

I let go of a sigh. He knew more than I wanted to comfortably contemplate. “Like how to get under my skin,” I said at last. “I’m going to tell Coach he has to switch us back.”

“Go for it. I could use a hook for my next eZine article. ‘Tenth Grader Fights Back.’ Better yet, ‘Seating Chart Takes Slap in the Face.’ Mmm. I like it.”

At the end of the day, I was the one who took a slap in the face. Coach shot down my plea to rethink the seating chart. It appeared I was stuck with Patch.

For now.             

—Becca Fitzpatrick, Hush, Hush.

Fitzpatrick, Becca 2009. Hush, Hush, 7-17. New York, Simon and Shuster.

Sorry in retrospect for the long excerpt, but I just had to include Hush, Hush. How could I not?

Anyway, this opening scene absolutely nailed it in all the areas it needed to for it to be an interesting, gripping, and memorable start to one of the most well-known romantic thrillers.

✔️ Established compelling characters

Nora, Vee, and Patch are the prevailing main characters here. They all have interesting and unique personalities that not only set them apart from one another, but even in this short first chapter, the reader can tell these characters are going to be entertaining to watch interact with one another.

✔️ Outlined the story’s core conflict

Nora versus Patch —that is, as far as the reader knows, the story’s main conflict. Nora is creeped out by her new class partner, who seems to know so much about her and refuses to shed any light on himself.

✔️ Introduced the setting for the story

This story takes place in Coldwater, Maine, and is set in the present day. The reader quickly learns that the story is currently being told from the setting of a high school classroom. Based on the supporting characters, tone, and how the students interact with the coach, readers can infer that this story takes place in the 2000’s or later, thanks to the dialogue. It is likely many readers themselves can relate to this type of Sex-ed class setting and I for one, can certainly connect with the idea of having a high school sports coach double as a professor as that happened to me more often than I would have liked.

✔️ Presented the story’s stakes

Nora doesn’t want to fail this assignment and she seems to think Patch doesn’t care either way. The stakes are high because Nora doesn’t want her grade to drop but Patch gets under her skin so easily. Him leaving his phone number on her hand, acts as an open invitation to see what he’s all about. Will Nora bite, just for the sake of her grade? This question is what drives the reader further into the story.

It’s dynamic, interesting and ultimately pushes the reader further along in the plot in a way that feels organic. ✔️

Example 2: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Another example of book that opens at just the right time is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. While I don’t particularly enjoy dystopian fiction, I can’t deny I was hooked from the first page of the series. I’m not including an excerpt for this one, because it is very likely we all know how this story starts out.

Here’s a recap:

Hunger Games opens with main protagonist Katniss Everdeen on the morning of The Reaping. It all starts out very domestic and day-in-the-life as Katniss gets is getting ready and taking care of her family. It demonstrates the level of poverty they are living in and sets the tone for the YA dystopian fiction. As the story progresses, we learn more about this world, how the systems inside this setting work, the characters and their relationships and ultimately, how they are impacted by said systems. Katniss eventually goes out hunting, and her interactions with Gale —them discussing their concerns about The Reaping and their desire to protect and provide for their families —really introduce these characters and their values. This is a series of scenes that lay out the story for the reader and very neatly drive them towards the Reaping. By the time the reader reaches that point in the story, he or she already knows the characters, their values, the oppressive nature of the world they live in, and when everything happens with the reaping, it evokes an emotional reaction from the reader. When Katniss wanting to do whatever it takes to protect her family conflicts with her sister being selected to fight in the Hunger Games, the reader can’t help but wonder where the story can go from here. The fact that the Hunger Games are so terrible that Katniss is willing to take her sister’s place, but she trembles with complete fear as she volunteers as tribute, absolutely tugs at the readers heart strings and forces them to keep reading to see how it all plays out.

However, it might not evoke such a strong emotional reaction had the story started say, in the months or weeks leading up to the Reaping because the story’s pacing would have been too slow to keep the reader invested. Likewise, it could have turned the reader away out of confusion if it had started right with the Reaping or the Hunger Games instead, because there isn’t enough information on the characters or their situation to make the reader care.

Example a of lackluster opening scene from my writing

In this excerpt from a short story I am working on, I have a pretty solid start to an opening scene. It has compelling characters, introduces immediate conflict while also providing backstory to the characters and their struggles. However, this story opening lacks stakes and it happens too quickly. While this is a work in progress, I can already tell that I am going to have to add more to make it more convincing and interesting to the reader.

1

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, PRESENT DAY

My knuckles are snow-white, clasped around the small paper cup of airport coffee in my hands, as I strive for some sense of warmth and normalcy. I hold it together until the last person passes through the airport terminal and break down only once I’m in the relative privacy of the car park.  I slump onto the cold, steel bench, set my coffee beside me, and drop my head into my hands, sobbing.

I’ve just been through something so crazy that I’m still shaken up over it, three days and a flight later. I lost someone I cared about deeply, all because of my own emotions getting the best of me, and by lost, I mean literally.

My name is Stephanie Powers, and no, the irony of my last name is not lost on me -we’ll come back to that later. I’m twenty-four years old, brunette and blue-eyed, and I’ve just landed my first real job after graduating with my Bachelor’s in Mass Communication a year ago. Sounds normal, right? Well, my new normal is going to make this look boring.

 ***

The alarm clock blares for the fifth time and I’m about ready to throw it out the window when switch it off for good this time. I’ve been up for an hour now- I woke up on time and somehow, I’m still running late, and obnoxious alarm clocks aren’t making me get ready any faster. I shimmy into a pair of matchstick jeans and grab my sweater from the pile of clean clothes growing in the chair. I’m walking out the door when I realize I’m missing shoes, which I run back into my room to find. At this point, my room is looking like a tornado came through and showed mercy on absolutely nothing- clothes everywhere, makeup and hair products strewn about on any and every previously open surface available, and on the floor, there’s a graveyard of empty water bottles that unfortunately didn’t make it into the trash bin. I catalogue the damage and make a mental note to tidy up later, but it’s unimportant now. After finding my shoes, I grab my sweater and bag and race out the door, smacking into him.

“Fox!” I shriek, stumbling backwards through the doorway, almost landing on my rear. Fox catches me, with that familiar, yet sinister smile on his face, and pulls me to my feet.

“What are you doing here?” I say.

“Good to see you too, Steph.” Fox says sarcastically.

I pluck a rogue strand of hair from my lip gloss and stand up straighter.

“Good to see you too,” I say, “Not to be rude, but I’m running a bit late.”

“For?” he asks.

An impatient sigh escapes my mouth before I can stop it.

“It’s my first day at the paper, and I want to make a good impression.”

He looks me up and down briefly then smiles wider. “You’ve made a good impression on me, so far.”

“Yeah? Falling on my ass, does it for you?” I say.

He rubs his chin as if considering this. “Yeah, your ass does it for me.” He said, then winked. Actually winked.

Fox Wilder has been my neighbor and childhood friend for as long as I can remember. He’s a whole head taller than me, with blonde shaggy hair and a tan that reminds me of a stereotypical surfer dude. Throw in a shell necklace and the look is complete. Growing up, he lived three doors down from me and we went to all the same schools together, including Washington State University. 

I move to check my watch and realize I’m not wearing it, so I pull my sleeve up over my wrist and tuck my hair behind my ear.

“I have to go.” I say looking around him to my 98’ Volkswagen Jetta, parked in the driveway. His Avalanche was boxing it in. Taking the hint, he fished his keys out of his pocket and went to move his car. I shouldered my bag and climbed into my own, then turned the keys in the ignition. The engine sputtered several times before dying. I tried again, to no avail.

“Great, just great,” I say, “as if I needed any more bad luck already.”

Fox raps on my window and I roll it down manually.

“Car problems again?” he asks, knowingly.

I sigh. “Yeah. At this rate, I’ll never make it to work. Impression: not good.”

“I can take you.” he offers with a smile.

“Really?” I say, almost too enthusiastically.

His smile widened. “Yeah, hop in.” He gestures to his car and a wave of relief washed over me. I might make it to work on time after all. He backs the Avalanche out of the drive and makes for the highway.

Of course, I was grateful, but I couldn’t help thinking, Fox saves the day, yet again. Adding to my mental to-do list, I vow to take my car into the shop after work. I’d get a ride with Fox for the next few days if I could and then be back behind the wheel in no time.

— Payton Hayes, “Stockholm Heroes, a Work in Progress” 😂

Glad we’re done with that part, whew! But do you see what I mean? The short scene at the beginning launches readers into the action with a very fly-by type of introduction to the main character. This scene is really more of an info dump, something which you should really avoid during the exposition. Readers can smell them from a mile away and they absolutely kill pacing. The second scene is where some magic happens. Readers learn about the characters, their immediate struggles, and the setting. However, once again, its too short. Everything happens so fast, and then is over with the snap of a finger. While this scene is so visually appealing and relatable, it might not make sense to start in either of these parts in the story’s timeline. Instead, I should pick one or the other to start with and spend more time fleshing it out.

Go with your gut

It all comes down to your story and the plot that you’re working with. There’s truly no one-size-fits-all approach to writing an opening to a novel, but if you go with your gut and think about your story and what kind of pacing you’ll need to deliver it best, you can come up with a fantastic opening scene at just the right time. Think about slice-of-life scenes that you can use to introduce your characters and think about the events leading up to the inciting incident so you can select the best time to drop the reader into the story. Develop a scene that shows off character, setting, conflict, and stakes. Consider different ways to achieve this without massive info dumps and inorganic dialogue.

There is of course, always exceptions to the rules, but this is how I go about writing opening scenes in my novels. It’s certainly not a hard-and-fast—rules approach but these are just a few guidelines for creating an organic and enthralling opening scene that will keep your reader turning pages. I hope this blog post helped you and I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a comment with your thoughts below! At the bottom of this post, helpful/related blog posts are linked for your convenience.

Related Topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick on Amazon

• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

See all posts in Freelancing. See all posts in Book Writing 101.

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (The Basics)

This blog is written by a human

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Freelancing, we’re going to start a new series: Writing How To’s and today, we’re starting off strong with what is essentially Book Writing 101 —how to write a book. We talk an awful lot about editing, writing, publishing, marketing, and everything in between but we’re going to be bringing it right on back to the basics. How do you actually write a book? It’s a badge of honor for some and a checkbox for others, but one thing is certain: writing a book is not easy. It’s a feat of strength, really. It requires a lot of planning, months and even years of writing, and dedication from start to finish.

There’s really no set way to write a from the first word to the last. The truth is, the writing process varies from writer to writer. In this guide, I will explain the basics of writing a book and a general order to follow, but of course, experiment, try different methods and figure out what works for you!

So, how do you actually write a book? What goes into it?

Research, brainstorm, and come up with an idea

Think about what you might like to read and or write about and even look up what is selling in that genre. For instance, if I want to write a murder mystery for young adults, I might check out some of the popular books that are out at the time and see what the hype is about for myself. Reading is a great way to improve your own writing and familiarizing yourself with your desired genre will only help you.

I will have a more in-depth post for this next week when we cover book brainstorming, but essentially, you want to try and come up with a compelling premise that you can write roughly 50,000-75,000 words around, depending on your genre. Don’t get too bogged down by the word count, right out of the gate; this is just a simple guideline to shoot for. So, do some brainstorming and see if you can come up with an idea that will yield roughly 50,000 words. If you don’t think you can stretch your story idea to book length, consider writing it as a short story or a novella instead. If you believe you do have a solid story idea and you think you can write an entire book from it, consider if your idea is somewhat original. Of course, none of us are out here doing new things under the sun per se, but you can put a new spin on old ideas and resurrect dead story tropes by breathing new life into them with your unique voice, writing style, and twist on clichés.

Establish your prevailing theme and subthemes

I wish someone would have given me this advice when I started out writing. It’s one thing to come up with a premise and a plot, but themes are the driving force in a story and every good story has at least one important theme at its core. Consider your story idea and what the main theme of it is so you can write that into your outline in the next step.

Writer taking notes. Photo by lilartsy.

Outline/Develop your plot

Some people prefer to plan out their novel with an outline while others enjoy writing as they go. I used to be the kind of person who would just write as I went and often my story would become jumbled and confused as the consistency slowly melted away. Now, I sit down with a firm outline and I know exactly where the story is going start to finish, even if I jump around and write out of order. Even if you prefer not to get to crazy with the outlining, I would at least suggest outlining the key plot points according to the 3-Act Story Structure. This is a tried and true plot outline that is present in almost all successful works of writing and if you only used this to outline your novel, it will make all the difference in your consistency. That being said, if you’d like to try the pantser route as opposed to the planner route, you can try writing freely and taking some notes as you go, to try out the alternative process and see how it works for you. A pantser is someone who, “flies by the seat of their pants,” meaning they don't plan out anything, or plan very little. For some writers, the thrill of telling themselves the story as they write it is part of their creative process and what making writing fun for them. If you do decide to go the pantser route, I would suggest that you come up with at least a vague idea for how you want the novel to start and end and then plant yourself somewhere in the middle and write from there. Instead of going from point A to point B to point C, you’re considering point A and point C while you write point B and then connecting them all as you go. At the end of the day, find out what works for you and stick with it.

Develop your characters

As mentioned previously, there’s really no set order to follow when writing a book. For some, the characters are what sparks the inspiration for a novel idea, whilst for others, the premise or the theme inspires characters along the way. Either way, you must have a clear idea of who your characters are and what they are like when writing a book. Characters are the lens through which the story is told and writers must create compelling characters for their readers to connect to while reading. Consider your main character(s), supporting characters, antagonists, and background characters as well. Think about how they will come into play with one another to drive the plot, how their unique personalities both move them forward and backward in their goals, and how it makes sense within the realm of your premise, theme, and genre. Put simply, who is your main character, who is getting in that character’s way, and does it make sense with your story idea?

I have an in-depth blog post for How To Write Compelling Consistent Characters here, so make sure to check that out if you want to know more!

Establish the setting

Book with a view. Photo by Kourosh Qaffari.

Piggybacking on the idea that the story idea can come from anywhere, sometimes, establishing the setting is the first step in the process. Try to imagine all kinds of different terrains and zones and see what stories emerge from these places. I got the idea for my short story, The Sieka of Sahn’Jatar when imagining a vast desert in the greater setting of my ongoing fantasy series. I was just imagining the windswept sand dunes one day and the idea struck me. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a desert I was seeing —no, it was a girl dashing through the dunes, being chased by a warband mounted atop camels against the backdrop of the setting sun. Its crazy how stories can just come to us like that.

So, if you’ve already got your story idea in mind and don’t really need the setting for inspiration, consider where you want to set the story. Consider whether or not worldbuilding is something you’d like to do, or how realistic you want your story’s setting to be. Sometimes, the setting can even be a character all on it’s own, depending on how much of a role it plays within your novel. If you’re writing realistically, do you research, look at maps, and if you can visit the place you’re writing about, so you can write it accurately.

Break out the writing tools

Now, I know what you’re thinking —Payton, what writing tools do I need? I have a laptop.

And you’re totally right. While some people do enjoy writing their first draft longhand with pen and paper, most of us write digitally. However, I’m not just talking about the physical writing implement; I’m talking about you’re writing environment, your word processor (the program you physically write with), your writerly resources, and more.

For starters, where do you write? Do you write at home, locked in your bedroom with a tea and mood music? Or do you prefer to write at your favorite coffee shop with your trust headphones and a croissant nearby? Think about where you can get your best writing done and make it happen.

On that note, I have a helpful blog post on 8 Ways to Level Up Your Workspace And Elevate Your Productivity. It’s really more geared for freelancers and those working from home during the pandemic, but I think it has some great information on how to tailor a space that is both comfortable to work in and also is conducive to productivity.

Next, what kind of word processor will you use to write your novel? Do you use Mac or Windows? If you’re a Mac user, you might want to use Pages, but if you’re a Windows user, you might want to use Microsoft Word. (I think you can use MS Word for both, but that’s besides the point!) If you’d rather keep all of your writing in the cloud, maybe Google Docs is better for you. Perhaps none of these options sound quite right so here are a few more to check out: Scrivener, Apache OpenOffice, LibreOffice Writer, or Word Perfect. There are many others out there, so make sure to try them out and see what works best for you and your writing needs.

Following the word processor, the next tool you will need in your writerly toolkit is a note keeping system of some sort. I hear many people use Scrivener, Notion, or Evernote for keeping their novel notes organized and in one central location. If you’d rather keep the notes tactile and not in the digital realm, consider using a Story Binder to keep all of your hand-written story notes safe and organized.

Next, figure out what other real-world items you’re going to need when you sit down to write your novel. Of course, this might be a figure-it-out-as-you-go-along kind of thing. I personally always need some kind of soft music in the background while I write to help keep me in the headspace of my story. I have a blog post on Get Immersed With The Five Senses, but I think it’s also applicable to writing because it can help you stay de-stressed and inspired throughout the process. Likewise, I highly recommend you make a playlist for your novel so you (and your future readers) can get into the right headspace for your story as easily as clicking play. Additionally, consider what snacks, drinks, and other items you might need to write effectively. I’ve also linked my Yoga For Writers post here, just in case you need a little writing break.

Lastly, prepare your accountability tools. This could be a writing partner, a critique group, your editor, a friend, or even a writing schedule. If you know you will need some external accountability source to keep you writing on the days when it gets tough, then get that ready well before you sit down to write. Consider joining a writing group online if you are having trouble finding a writing community in your area. Maybe NaNoWriMo is just the thing you need to keep the forward momentum going in your writing. Whatever you decide to use, have that accountability crutch ready beforehand so you can lean on it when you need to.

Create a writing schedule

This might be the single most important step in your entire writing career because if you don’t establish a habit of writing regularly, it might not bode well for you as a writer. However, it is likely also the hardest step in writing a novel, because many writers struggle to find the time to write. The truth is that if you want to write, you have to make the time to write. This is a special, designated time where you sit down and write, for however much time or however many words you decide and you do this consistently to progress your project and better your writing skill.

Writer planning her schedule. Photo by Marissa Grootes.

If you can, write every day. Some writers will tell you that you absolutely must write every day, while others will advise writing once a week. If you can, try to write a little every day, and if that’s just not possible for you and your schedule, try to write as often as you can. Don’t use being busy as an excuse for not writing. Ultimately your writing, your writing career, and your novel’s success is on you, and if its truly important to you, then make it a priority in your life. Writing is just like anything else in life that requires exercising a skill and practice. You must work your writing muscles to improve your writing in the same way you have to work your upper arms to get better at push-ups.

Like with the writing space, you can use the 5 senses to trigger yourself into what I like to call “writing mode.” This is the headspace you get in when you write, and it becomes easier and easier to trigger this mindset shift with time and practice. It’s a lot like Pavlov’s dog, in that, with time, effort, and practice, you will subconsciously train your brain to expect that when it’s writing time, you will sit down and write and nothing will get in the way of that. For example, as mentioned, I like to have tea and music when I write. For some, that might be a certain candle or aromatherapy or dimming the lights in your writing space. I personally like to set an alarm for my designated writing time and the alarm itself is actually the music that I listen to while writing. This immediately gets me in the mood for writing and like the dog mentioned earlier, drooling for some black tea.

There are many ways to make writing a habit for yourself and while it will take some self-discipline and patience at first, it certainly is doable. You could even use a incentives or a rewards system top keep you motivated to write. Whatever you decide works for you, just make sure that you are writing regularly and making consistent strides to better your craft and make progress on your projects. Th reason a writing schedule is so crucial to the writing process is because writers will have to learn to push through when the writing process becomes difficult. We can’t always write just when we want to or wait, twiddling our thumbs for the creative spirit to strike us. It is great when we have those moments for sure, but the reality is that most days, writing is hard. There’s going to be so many moments when writing is difficult and you won’t feel like writing, but if you’ve created the schedule and the habit, you’ll write anyway. Writing when it’s hard, or when you don’t feel like it, or when the words just won’t flow is what enables you to push through, finish the book, and accomplish your goals.

On a similar note, don’t try to force yourself into a box or create unrealistic expectations for your writing habits. If you work two jobs and are a mother of three, it might not be realistic to expect yourself to sit down and write for four hours out of the day. Many people recommend writing first thing in the morning, but if you’re not a morning person, this simply will not work for you.

I’m raising my hand over here. I’m actually a night-writer and I prefer to write during the ungodly hours of the night, but I can see how that is an unrealistic schedule for many writers who have day jobs. The point is, just go with what feels right with you and what fits feasibly and realistically into your schedule.

Set realistic goals and a deadline

Of course, this ties in with your writing schedule, finding what works for you, and building the writing habit, but having something to work towards can really help you when you’re first starting out with writing. Having loose, but clear goals can help you plan your writing schedule and celebrate milestones as you encounter them. This will also help you in breaking down the daunting process of writing an entire novel to smaller, more manageable parts. For example, if you want to write a 50,000 word novel, and you want to try and write 500-1000 words a day, then if you wrote every day, you can expect to finish your novel in 100-50 days. Write as much as you can as often as you can but if you find that you really just cannot bring yourself to write 1000+ words a day, that’s okay, do what you can. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon and you don’t want to burn yourself out trying to reach these impossibly unrealistic goals. Likewise, you can reverse-engineer this method by setting a deadline first. Maybe you want to participate in NaNoWriMo? If you’re writing a 50,000-word novel for the National Novel Writing Month Challenge, then you know you’ll have to write an average of 1,667 words a day to meet that goal. Some people like to write one chapter a week while others will write one a day. Some books take a month to write while others take years to write. No matter what this looks like for you, setting deadlines and loose, yet realistic goals can help you stay on track throughout the novel writing process.

Writer feeling stressed. Photo by Energepic.com.

Be kind to yourself throughout the writing process

This is probably one of the most overlooked parts of writing and I believe many writers could stand to practice some self-care throughout the writing process. Remember, writing a book is insanely hard to do and most people never accomplish this feat of strength. It’s not meant to be easy. As mentioned, writing can get really tough sometimes and its important that you exercise patience and kindness with yourself when writing. You will feel like the words just aren’t working or everything you write is an absolute dumpster fire, or you can’t pull yourself to the desk to write because you know these next scene is going to be really hard to bring to life. It’s okay. Breathe. Forgive yourself for writing garbage writing. Forgive yourself for not meeting your daily word count goal for that day. Forgive yourself for struggling because writing is a process.

I have a blog post for When Writing Becomes Difficult that goes more in-depth into this topic, but for the most part, just be kind to yourself and take the process one day at a time. Eventually, if you keep at it, you’ll have yourself a book! Following through and finishing the book is the hardest part of actually writing a book, but trust me, there is no better feeling that finishing a book.

When writing gets tough, check out these articles I wrote for some grace and self care.

• 5 Reasons Most Writers Quit

• When Writing Becomes Difficult

• Self-Care for Writers and Readers

And that’s it for my guide on How To Write A Book! Remember, this is going to be a 20-part in-depth series, so stay tuned for the next one. These blog posts will be coming out every Friday from now on, so make sure to subscribe to my newsletter if you want updates when the next part of this series is out! Good luck to all of you aspiring writers out there! I believe in you! Thanks for reading and don’t forget to write!

Related topics:

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

See all posts in Freelancing. See all posts in Book Writing 101.

Thumbnail photo by Kelly Sikkema.

This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.

Written by Payton Hayes | Last Updated: September 1, 2025

Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

Friends holding each other at sunset. Photo by Helena Lopes.

Hi readers and writerly friends,

Today, I want to talk about how to write and develop compelling, consistent characters. Characters are the beating heart and soul of any story. Books with lackluster writing or major plot holes can get away unscathed (mostly) if they at least have believable, loveable characters—not that writers should cut corners, though. Readers will follow these types of characters anywhere which is why Fanfiction is such a big interest to many readers. Writers can really bring a story to life with vibrant, relatable characters. The first half of this blog post that covers creating compelling characters is geared towards writers who are still in the drafting phase while the second half that covers writing consistent characters is more geared towards writers entering the revising and editing phase, so just keep that in mind as you go.

So, first, let’s discuss how to develop characters.

Character development

This is always the fun part, right, dreaming up your ideal characters, giving them names and backstories and building a fictional life for them? But this is also where a lot of key, fundamental, foundational work goes into your story and the characters within it. This part of story-building is crucial. There are so many more factors that come into play that will make your characters seem realistic and yet enchanting or cause them to be one-dimensional, forgettable, and poorly thought out. There are many things you’ll want to consider when developing characters that make sense.

Character backgrounds and worldview

What racial background do your characters come from? What gender background, religious background or economic background do they come from? What kind of upbringing did they experience? What kinds of views were they raised with? What kind of experiences did they face during their most critical stages of development as children and teenagers? What familial background do they have? What kind of education levels do they have?

Consider yourself for a moment. You are the culmination of all of your experiences, memories, backgrounds, and external and internal influences, up to this very moment. This is called your worldview. Everything you’ve ever experienced has come together to bring you to this moment in space and time. And that even started before you were born. Think about how your parents factor into this or even your grandparents. Everything that happened to your grandparents brought them together so they could bring your parents into this world, and thus, you. So not only does your upbringing influence your story much like the characters’ upbringing influences their stories, but you literally might not be here now if things hadn’t worked out just the way they did. This worldview is a critical element of each of your characters whether or not they ever make it onto the page. Consider your characters parent’s worldviews and goals and how they might influence your characters.

For example, if your character’s mother wanted to be a ballet dancer as a young girl, but her mother never let her, maybe she might push your character into ballet other extracurricular activities to make up for the lack of experience with such things in her life. Another example, if your characters grandparents were insanely rich and the character’s parents realized how all the money could corrupt people, they might chose to cut themselves off from the rest of the family and struggle through life instead of allowing themselves to succumb to wealth and the vapid nature of the parent’s family.

Consider character goals

Piggybacking on that last point, you want to consider your characters goals both internally and externally. Consider what goals they might have and how the interact with plot points. Consider what kind of self-imposed and external expectations might come attached to these goals. Consider what is at stake for failing to complete these goals and how that failure might make your character feel. Consider how one character’s goals conflict with the goals of another character in your story. Basically, determine what are your characters greatest desires and deepest fears and what lengths will they go to, to achieve the former and avoid the latter?

Perfect characters are boring

There is no such thing as perfect—not in real life and not in fiction. One of the biggest selling points of vibrant characters is the level of relatability the reader has with those characters. Characters should have both good and bad qualities as well as character-specific, unique quirks that set them apart from each other. Think about the things that make us human and figure out how you can weave that into your characters. Perfect characters are unrelatable and boring so leave those unrealistic expectations out of your writing. A fun way to figure out character personality traits is to write as many of them down as you can. Then close your eyes and point to a random one. Do this a couple of times to see what kind of character trait combinations you get. Then see how you can write these traits into your characters.

Icarus and The Sun artwork by Gabriel Picolo.

Strengths and weaknesses

Branching off from writing perfect characters, we need to talk about character strengths and weaknesses because it’s quite closely related. Since we know there is no such thing as a perfect character, then surely your characters must have some flaws you can work with. See how their strengths interact as well as how their weaknesses interact. Is one character really insecure but another has enough self-confidence to cover for the both of them? Are two characters toxic people towards one another but madly in love with each other and unstoppable when they’re together?

I like to think of Gabriel Picolo’s (@_picolo on instagram) Icarus and The Sun comics, where the sun is a radiant woman with so much passion and love to give, but her flaw is that she’s selfish and she will treat Icarus poorly until he leaves her and she starts the cycle again. And Icarus is so painfully lonely that he welcomes the toxic relationship back into his life again and again even though it is literally and figuratively killing him every time.

Consider the characters’ strengths and weaknesses and how these traits can either be steppingstones or roadblocks for completing their individual goals. Additionally, many times, a character’s greatest weakness can also double as their greatest strength. Much like in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, where Percy has struggled all his life to read and focus and chalked it up to dyslexia, but that weakness proved invaluable when it turned out he could read fluent Greek without and previous practice and it eventually saved his life. So, as you’re writing your characters, consider how their strengths and weaknesses can interact and either help them with or keep them from reaching their goals.

Character interaction

Now that you’re thinking about character strengths and weaknesses, you can start to figure out how characters interact with one another and how all of these character traits interact as well. If you start with your main character, how can you cast characters that play off the strengths and weaknesses of him/her? What kind of traits do they need to have to make a believable, relatable, and irresistible relationship between one another? Consider writing Foil characters, or characters that exists solely to frustrate and derail the protagonist’s goals. What kind of strengths would a foil character have if he/she existed purely to stop your main protagonist from completing his or her mission? In addition to character strengths and weaknesses interacting with one another, writers should consider what quirks, hobbies, interests, activities, and preferences their characters might have.

For instance, it might make sense that the bully in a YA boarding school fiction is a bit stronger than the main protagonist because she has played lacrosse for as long as she can remember and the main protagonist is more of a reader. But that might also make sense as to why the main protagonist is smarter or more cunning in a tight situation because she’s spent all her time reading and quickly formulate a plan for escape. This example is from Gillian Shield’s Immortal series and its just one of  millions of examples of how to write character trait interaction and it really does boil down to just what worldview, interests, background, and strengths/weaknesses your characters might have.

Of course, you want to limit these traits to only a few per character and make sure they truly do make sense. Characters with too many dislikes, talents, hobbies, quirks, or what have you, are just not dynamic or believable—instead they are just too much. Pick a handful of traits that make sense for your characters and the plot and go with those. Additionally, it would be better to sprinkle these things in throughout the story instead of info-dumping on your readers all at once. Keep in mind that some hobbies are passive and might not make sense for your character or story as a whole—such as with reading. It made sense for Evelyn Johnson in Immortal, but it might not make sense for your story, so really consider how each character’s hobby fits in against the backdrop of your story, specifically.

Character hobbies and setting

Consider what your characters enjoy doing in their spare time and how that hobby reflects the world around them. Some settings/stories are easier to develop hobbies in such as Contemporary because anyone in that genre could just as easily (and believably) be doing the same activities any of us do, such as reading or playing video games or anything else we do in 2020. However, designing character hobbies for a futuristic story set in 3059 might be harder to do because you have to think about what people might actually be doing in that setting.  The same thing goes for historical fictions, where you absolutely wouldn’t be reading about characters playing World of Warcraft or making videos for Tik Tok (rip Vine) because it just wouldn’t make sense for the setting and story. Likewise for Fantasy where many things that exist in our world might not make sense for a fantasy story, especially not high fantasy. The list goes on and on. Just think about how your character’s hobbies reflect the world about them and how they fit in with your setting.

Character relationships

Another element of compelling character design that ties into everything we’ve already discussed is how characters interact with others and what kind of relationships are present in the story. Something has to drive the plot forward and that is usually likes, dislikes, talents, hobbies, or relationships. Relationships are often the driving motivation for a character and can really move the plot along in an inconspicuous way to the reader. Such as, in Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush where on the first day of school, Nora’s coach and Sex Ed professor assigns a seating chart and forces Nora to be partners with the new transfer student, thus putting her in an awkward position and potentially jeopardizing her grades if she can’t get her partner to cooperate on assignments. There’s all kinds of tension here from Nora missing sitting next to her best friend Vee, to her reluctance to engage with the intimidating transfer student, Patch, and to the stubborn teacher who refuses to change the seating chart at Nora’s request. This immediately creates some kind of relationship between Nora and Patch whether they want it or not and that’s exactly what drives the plot along until the real plot points are revealed.

There are many tropes in which something happens to a characters relationship with another character that drives a plot forward. For one, the trope of the character who must save their sibling (or a lover) from a terrible fate so they go on their quest. For two, there’s the trope of a character’s family member dying and the angst, rage, and confusion propelling them into their quest. Character relationships directly impact character motivations. For example, why does the villain always capture the superheroes’ love interest? Answer: because they know the hero will come running to the rescue of said love interest. That’s one of the most blatant uses of character relationships as plot devices.

When you’re crafting characters think about all of the characters in your story as an entire cast and plan them out as a whole. When you’re developing a cast, consider each relationship and how everyone relates to one another, what function they serve, and whether or not its dynamic. However, much like the issue of having too many hobbies or talents, steer clear of having too many characters. You really only need enough characters to drive the plot and then have a few extras here and there to make your world seem bigger/believable as needed. Try to avoid veering into Martin territory where there are just so many characters that all of them are disposable and even the readers know not to get their hopes up since they will all die anyways. Some stories warrant a large cast of characters such as with Tolkien, Martin, or Riordan where there are complex subplots and worldbuilding at play. As you can probably gather from these examples, massive casts of characters are best left to fantasy and mythological fiction. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but air on the side of caution and avoid creating a character soup, where there’s just so many characters that their details get muddied and confusing. 

Character names

This very well might be the single most fun items on the list, yet but I implore you dear writer, to take time and care with choosing your character’s names. There is so much readers can learn from a character’s name. Names truly do inform a large part of a person’s identity—they serve as markers of racial or cultural backgrounds, family names carry centuries of history, certain names carry with them certain connotations and ultimately names can impact how people are treated, so select your characters names with care. Consider why the character’s parents might have picked that name for them, what it says about them, how other characters might treat them because of it, and so on.

Pro tip: One of the easiest ways to get started with believable names is to look up a culture your character might be based on and try to find names that might have been popular during the time you’re writing your story. Obviously, this might be difficult with fantasy or futuristic stories, but for those, you can get extra creative by adding in vowels or consonants, changing spellings, and weaving elements of different languages into the name. Such as with some of the names/words in my fictional language in the world of Avyiien which pulls inspiration from Xhosa, a Nguni Bantu language that uses tongue clicking, and French which uses a lot of excess letters.

Ultimately characters are like icebergs—this is an analogy we see used a lot for plot and it works well there, but it works well for characters too. The visible tip of the iceberg is the written information about your character that is present in the book and the other 80% below the surface is what you use to inform the way you write your characters, but doesn’t necessarily always make it on the page. This is exactly how you write vibrant, rich, compelling characters that readers just can’t get enough of. These are the kinds of characters that find themselves in fanfiction and beyond.

And now, lets talk about how to maintain a consistency among your character’s their unique voices, worldviews, quirks, hobbies, strengths, weaknesses, goals, and relationships. If you’ve spent all this time designing rich, deep, believable characters, you want to ensure their actions throughout the story align with them as people and make sense to the reader. This is typically a revisions/editing issue so if you’re still working on that first draft, don’t get too bogged down by inconsistencies early on—simply write and go back to iron out the details later.

However, these are all important points you should take into consideration if you’re looking to write consistent characters across chapters and/or multiple books. In order to avoid giving readers emotional whiplash, it’s the writers job to ensure a character’s actions align with their personality. Failing to do this can result in confusion and distraction for the reader, which we of course, want to steer clear of. Its perfectly okay for characters to do things that are our-of-character for them as long as it makes sense for the story and has the proper set up beforehand, thus it no longer becomes out of character for them. Potential Spoiler: Such as with my short story, the Sieka of Sahn’Jatar, where one character has plans to kill another for profit, but after a series of events, changes their mind and decides to work with the person they’d initially planned to kill. This shift in character makes sense because of the shift in events leading up to this conflict. As a writer, you can choose to keep the plot points that conflict with the personality of your character so long as you’re willing to tie them together and make it make sense. Otherwise, it might just be a better move to cut it out and change directions altogether.

Inconsistent main characters are the worst

Of course, all that has previously been mentioned concerning inconsistent characters thus far, has pretty much only had to do with supporting characters or antagonists but if you’re finding inconsistencies with your main protagonist, you have some fundamental discrepancies with your book that will absolutely need to be worked out for you to achieve believable, relatable characters. Inconsistent main characters can potentially create a lot of distance between the characters and the reader. This can end up causing some serious issues for your story because it deprives the reader of that emotional reading experience, and since the characters are the vehicles by which the story is told, having that disconnect can really break a story. That being the greatest of your worries, having inconsistent main characters or POV or what have you, can cause frustration, confusion, and anger in your reader. All of these issues are just distractions for your readers and ultimately something you as the writer, should be trying to avoid.

So, how do you solve an inconsistent character? Well, you have to bring it back to the basics. Consider what that character’s fundamental motives are. Think back to everything we’ve covered in the first half of this blog post. What goals does he or she have and how do their (inconsistent) actions fit in to those goals? If they don’t fit, how can you write them so that they do? What other background information and characterization can you supply that will make these actions not so far fetched for your character? If these actions aren’t necessary for that character, can you write them for another character? Can you cut them out entirely? If they are necessary to the plot, how can you change your characters to fit around these inconsistencies? Consider how your characters would organically respond and react to the actions of the other characters and how they all fit together.

This is where you have to do some serious soul searching and determine whether or not these character actions are integral to your plot and story as a whole. Like I said, if it’s a deal breaker, you might have to recast that character or sprinkle breadcrumbs throughout your story, so their inconsistent actions don’t seem so out of character for them. If it’s not a deal breaker, how can you change those actions to fit your carefully crafted characters and make their actions and reactions believable? As you can probably tell, this is why its critical to make sure you have your first draft completed before digging into inconsistencies and rewriting because you just get stuck in a vicious rewriting cycle and it’s just not pretty. If there’s discrepancies throughout your writing, a finished draft will allow you to make decisions on how you can solve those issues, but if you’re just rewriting, it can quickly get confusing and hard to know where your story will even end up.

Characters are incredibly important and should serve the plot just as much as the plot serves them. Characters must be well-rounded and balanced and everything they do should make sense within the framework of your story. Compelling, consistent, and loveable characters are the backbone of any great story and can often carry a sub-par plot if they are believable and relatable enough and if their actions match their personalities. However, writing enchanting characters is easier said than done and it’s why a lot of writers struggle with character development.

And that’s it for my extensive blog post on writing and developing compelling and consistent characters. What are your favorite and least favorite parts of character development? What do you think about character backstories and names? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Related Topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

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— Payton