In Writing Fiction: Scene, Part 1, I discussed what each scene requires: goal, conflict, and disaster. Now for Part 2.

Understanding a character’s backstory will have a dramatic impact on your novel. If you don’t understand, or take the time to investigate, your character’s backstory, your story will suffer and your characters will feel more like cardboard stereotypes than living, …

Writing is a solitary art. Generally, we spend time alone at the keyboard trying to put on paper what’s so easily flowing through our minds. However, it’s important to involve others in your writing in the form of a critique …

A cover letter is different from a query letter.