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Identify Elements of Good Diction
The most interesting character facing a significant moral decision in a fast-paced plot and exotic setting will appear bland if the words used are wrong. The vocabulary choices and ways they are arranged to create a sense of style is known as diction. Consider the diction in this passage: At first, they thought it was…
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Constructing Your Story’s Main Character
Typically a story is about a single character who overcomes some problem. This player in your story is called the main character. Common examples are Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” John in James Baldwin’s “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and Jessica Fletcher in “Murder, She Wrote.” Main characters usually are the hero of the story. The tale often is…
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How to Properly Punctuate ‘et al.’
One of the most common abbreviation mistakes that new writers make, especially when penning academic papers, is the Latin phrase et al. Part of the problem is that we don’t know Latin; another part is that neither do our computer spell checkers. Et al. means “and others”. Et is Latin for “and” while alii is Latin for “others”. In modern English, we don’t…
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Make Use of Local Dexterity
One of the kindest things writers can do for their readers is employ “local dexterity.” This occurs when images, sentences, paragraphs and scenes are pleasurable to read because of their vividness. To achieve the descriptions, imagery and symbolism in your story must work in concert with all of the other techniques discussed so far in…
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Plotting Your Book: Falling Action and Denouement – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for Aug. 26, 2025
Plotting Your Book: Falling Action and DenouementThough your story may have reached its climax, the tale isn’t over yet. Loose ends must be tied up. This typically occurs int he story’s falling action and denouement. READ MORE Make Sure the First Page of Your Story is the Best it can Be My writing guidebook Write Your Story’s First Page looks…
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Great Writing Quotes by Author Ursula K. Le Guin
A story rises from the springs of creation, from the pure will to be; it tells itself; I takes its own course, finds its own way, its own words; and the writer’s job is to be its medium. Modernist manuals of writing often conflate story with conflict. This reductionism reflects a culture that inflates aggression…
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Ways Your Main Character Can Ultimately Succeed – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for Aug. 19, 2025
Plotting Your Book: Ways Your Main Character Can Ultimately SucceedWhen reaching the climax of the story, the main character usually overcomes the central problem that he set out to solve. Still, this penultimate scene tends to play out differently from story to story so that no two tales that are truly original seem alike. READ MORE…
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What is “The Craft of Writing”?
“Writing is easy. All you do is cross out all the wrong words.” – Mark Twain You’ve written an action-packed plot full of great twists. It’s got fascinating characters who grow and develop. You’ve maintained a consistent point of view, provided incredible descriptions of the setting, and even offered a profound message. Yet, every time…
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Great Writing Quotes by Author Roland Smith
…a good writer should draw the reader in by starting in the middle of the story with a hook… Once you have the reader hooked, you can write whatever you want as you slowly reel them in. When you do your research write down whatever interests you. Whatever stimulates your imagination. Whatever seems important. A…
