Strategies, tools, tips, and techniques to help you master the art of fiction writing

How to Use the Five-Point Finale drafting plotting save the cat

“Wow, I can’t stop thinking about that story! It was so good!” Every writer dreams of hearing this response from their readers. You worked hard on drawing the reader in and keeping them turning pages until the end, but the end — your finale — will be the deciding...

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What is a Beat Sheet? plotting save the cat

You’ve come up with a premise for a novel you can’t wait to explore. You have an idea of the characters, the setting, and even a handful of scenes you definitely want to include. But without a comprehensive plot to string everything together, you can run into problems. Writing...

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5 Tips for Writing Character Backstory character creation drafting save the cat

How can you develop characters that will keep your readers glued to the pages? Their backstory plays a huge part in getting it right—characters don’t come into existence on the first page of your story

But don’t worry, you don’t need to chronicle your...

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