- 2 min
How do you know when a piece is finished?
Often you don’t. Even published works change from one edition to the next. This is a frustrating answer, I know. But determining whether your work is complete is a personal decision. And your readers/critics might not agree with you. As satisfying as it is to know when your work is done, it can be tempting to revise and revise and revise. You want your work to fulfill its great potential. As if it’s waiting for that one small tweak that will turn it into a masterpiece, and yo
- 2 min
First or third person? How do I choose a narrative voice?
This is a great question, because the narrative voice you choose informs so much of your story. One way to determine the most appropriate voice is to ask yourself a few questions about narrative distance. How closely do you want to enter the thoughts of your characters? If you were to turn your story into a movie, how closely would the camera situate itself in the scene? Would it focus mostly on one character’s experience, or would it travel from one character to another? It’
- 2 min
How to navigate the complexities of drawing inspiration from real-life people in works of fiction.
Gathering the parts of a fictional character is an exciting process. While doing so, you may have one real-life person in mind or your character might be a conglomeration of people from all walks of life. Drawing inspiration from the people in your personal life can be a challenge. On the one hand, you know how their body language and inflections communicate more than their words. On the other hand, you may be too close to them to realize the most effective details to focus o
- 2 min
I’ve finished my first manuscript and I need an editor. What should I look for in an editor?
It’s all about clear communication from the start, and it’s important that the writer and the editor get along. Sounds simple, and it is. You will want to check the editor’s background. If you’ve written a literary novel and the editor has mostly edited medical textbooks, it might be best to find someone else. Find out if the editor has experience working directly with authors, as opposed to working with publishers or other companies. Having the buffer of a middleman between