Do you have a certain story vibe in your head, or some characters or scenes that you want to write but don't have a full plot for? Here are some tips to help flesh out your idea into a story!

A lot of siblings in novels...aren't very realistic. There are exceptions, such as the March sisters in Little Women and the Weasley family from Harry Potter. Here are a few tips to keep your siblings realistic.

1. Give them a goal Everyone wants something, and it's especially true for characters. Why else would the reader want to stick with them for an entire novel (or short story)?

A lot of character descriptions in short stories and novels will include basic things like a character's height, eye color, hair color, and age. And even though these can tell readers more about the character, people are more complex than what they look like. Here are a few ideas for including more interesting character descriptions. … Continue reading Writing Character Descriptions That Aren’t Boring

A lot of articles and blog posts will tell you that one of the most important parts of a novel is the character motivation. In most books, the character's goals are what drives the storyline. These kinds of books are often called character-driven stories, where the main plot is a supporter of the character's development. So: how important is character motivation in a character-driven novel?