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How to Develop a Daily Writing Habit: 10 Daily Writing Tips

Here’s a few ideas not only on how to make time to hit your writing goals, but how to build habits that will make you a better writer.

First, set up a writing space. It’s easier to stick to your daily writing habit when you want to spend time in the place where you write. You don’t have to have a beautiful view and an expensive desk. Privacy and intention are more important than the quality of your surroundings. Maybe it’s a desk, a table, or a comfortable chair at home, or the library. Some writers prefer to stand while they work. Do whatever you prefer and refine it as you go along. Keep your inspiration, books, and research materials close at hand. Tape favorite quotes to your computer or a nearby wall. Keeping your space clean can have a powerful effect on your determination. Work at this space at the same time every day for seven days in a row and pay attention to any changes you experience as you progress. You may find that habituating yourself with a ritual time and place makes it easier to get into the zone when you start writing each day, and, while you’re there, will make it easier to stay inspired and fresh.

Start each day by journaling. Many writers have turned to the routines to build self-confidence and harness creative potential. The Morning Pages exercise—in which you write three pages every morning, by hand—is particularly useful for developing a solid writing habit. No one has to read it, and it doesn’t have to be beautiful. By giving yourself something to write every day, you warm up those creative muscles and clear space for all the good stuff.

Set a word count goal. Maybe you decide to write 500 words a day. Or 50. 1000. When you’re actively working on something like a novel, don’t worry if your word count isn’t what it needs to be. You can be gentle with yourself about the amount you produce, but continue to be tough with yourself about the consistency of your practice. Just try to get the words on the page. Think of it like carving a sculpture from a block of marble—for a long time it just looks like a shapeless blob. Try carving the whole form first, and then go back to the finer details once you’ve got the overall shape.

Set aside writing time every single day, without exception. Holidays, weekends, vacations—they’re all fair game. Find time. Does it need to be a full eight hours every time? Definitely not. But if you can, stick to a consistent time of day and duration of time. If you need to, create a dedicated space without distractions like email, internet, or your phone. While you’re writing, don’t stop—not even to do quick research. Make notes in the text at the places where you need to go online to do research, and follow up on it later. Be firm with yourself (and others) about your routine: the world will try its hardest to tempt you away.

Don’t start with a blank page if you can help it. At the end of your work period, prepare for your work on the following day—consider it “setting the table for breakfast”—by writing a paragraph or a note to yourself about what to keep working on the next day. It’s a good way to remind yourself of where you left off and what ideas you may have for continuing a scene. You can include some writing prompts to jumpstart the next day’s writing.

Include brainstorming sessions in your writing process. Allow yourself to come up with bad ideas. Every once in a while, you may stumble on a good one.

Don’t discount thinking and planning. Writing is not just sitting at your desk. It can be talking into a recorder, creating lists of bullet points, even writing snippets of scenes on scraps of paper. It’s also helpful to stay physically active. Move around frequently, and set a timer to remind yourself to get up from your desk. Movement can stimulate fresh ideas. Sometimes engaging in a mundane activity can do the same. Record audio notes and jot down quick thoughts in one place.

Gamify your creative writing ritual. Track unbroken streaks. Give yourself gold stars for every day you meet your goal, or download an app that holds you accountable.

Time your writing sessions. Decide on what you would like to write. This can be a scene, a chapter of your novel, or simply a page of freewriting that will help stimulate an idea. Set a timer for 25 minutes and write until the timer rings. Take a five-minute break and repeat these three steps, sticking carefully to the clock.

Group goals and deadlines. Projects like NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), in which you complete a 50,000-word first draft of a novel in the month of November, are a great motivator. Plenty of successful writers have gotten their start this way, and gone on to publish their NaNoWriMo projects as bestsellers. No matter how lousy the daily sessions feel, your fellow writers will push you to keep writing until the last minute on the very last day.

3 Tips for Creating Mood for Your Story

Here are a few tips to help you while you’re creating mood for your stories.

Use a holistic approach to mood. Since mood is made up of a combination of setting, tone, word choice, and theme, it’s important that you as a writer think about all four while you work. If you try to use only one of these tools, you’re severely limiting your ability to create a believable and pervasive mood for your story. A good rule of thumb is to shoot for at least three of these tools to establish your mood.

Brainstorm mood words. If you’re drawing a blank when it comes to how to create a particular mood, it can help to brainstorm a list of mood words. For instance, if you know you want your story to have a creepy mood, then try making a list of different words that feel creepy to you, like these: gloomy, creak, tiptoe, moonlight, skittering, shadow, rattling. Once you’ve got a good list, pick a few of your favorites and include them in the scene.

Subvert expectations. While it’s easy to go with the “expected” mood for your stories (for instance, that a story about a wedding will have a lighthearted, celebratory mood), remember that it’s not always the best choice. When you push yourself to subvert readers’ expectations, you can come up with creative and exciting combinations—for example, a wedding story with a foreboding mood, or a ghost story with a funny mood. Innovating with mood can help you create memorable, lasting writing.

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4 Ways to Create a Believable Mood in a Story

The four most common elements are included in the following examples:

Setting. The setting is the physical location of the story, and it can heavily inform a story’s mood. For instance, a story set during a sunny day will be predisposed to a happy or carefree mood, while a story set in a haunted house will be predisposed to a sense of tension or fear.

Tone. Tone and mood can be easily mistaken for another, but they’re slightly different things. While mood has to do with the feelings evoked in the reader, tone has nothing to do with the reader and everything to do with the point-of-view character (either first person or third person) of the story. In short, tone is the narrator’s attitude toward the events taking place. Tone can contribute to the mood of a story by helping evoke feelings in readers—for instance, a rude narrator may create a funny tone for a story.

Word choice. The choice of words for a story can help establish its mood. If a writer wants to create a jarring or frustrating mood, they can choose specific words that are harsh and staccato-sounding; if they want to create a dark mood, they can use words with negative connotations to conjure brooding feelings.

Theme. Mood isn’t established only by the way a writer writes—it is also determined by the subject matter the author uses. For instance, a story that talks a lot about death may be trying to create a sad mood, while a story whose theme centers around birthdays may have a more positive and upbeat mood.

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How to Find a Writing Group: 6 Benefits of Joining a Writing Group

What Is a Writing Group?

A writing group is a circle of people who meet regularly to read, discuss, and critique one another’s work. Group members offer constructive feedback to help their peers shape their stories. A writing group can be an in-person gathering, or participants might convene online.

6 Benefits of Joining a Writing Group

Going to your first meeting and reading your work aloud to a group of people might seem intimidating at first. But once you overcome your fear and get more comfortable, you’ll quickly realize the benefits of joining a writing group. When you join a writing group, you’re able to:

Get valuable feedback. As a writer, your goal is to eventually get a story published for other people to read. As you craft your story, a writing group is a safe place to share your own writing and get authentic feedback so you know which elements are working and which ones are not. Critiquing someone else’s writing can even show you ways to improve your own work.

Be accountable to your group. When you set writing goals for yourself, share them with your group. It’s easier to stave off procrastination when other people are counting on you.

Receive encouragement from other members. When you get stuck, it’s easy to quit writing. When you find the writing group that works for you, other members will be supportive of your endeavor, offering words of encouragement and advice to help keep you going.

Find beta readers. When you finish the first draft of your short story or novel, choose writing friends from your group to be your beta readers. These are people who do a read-through of your story and give feedback before you submit it for publishing. As writers, your writing peers will have good insight into the literary elements that make a great story, like structure and character development.

Get help with your story. When writer’s block hits you and you don’t know where to take your story next, run your problem past your writing group. Navigate through slow writing times by bouncing ideas off your group of peers.

Refine your writing process. A regular writing group can help you become a better writer. Members will be at all different levels and can share their experiences and give advice on the writing process. Some members will know how to write a great opening line while others might know about self-publishing. A writing group is a support group where members can exchange ideas on the finer points of the craft.

6 Tips for Finding a Writing Group

Find a local writing group near you. Visit a nearby community center. They offer different types of gatherings and courses and might have a writing workshop or group that’s taking new members. Also, check the listings at your local library where people often gather for literary talks or groups. In general, writing groups have a set time and day that they meet.

Go on a writing retreat. Unlike most other writing groups, going on a writer’s retreat will cost money and is usually a destination event. It’s a writing-intensive place where people go to dedicate all of their time to writing and to connect with other writers. If you have some time to get away, find a writing retreat where you can dedicate a week or more to just writing.

Join different writers’ associations. There are a variety of writer’s associations with local chapters. Connect with an association like National Novel Writing Month—NaNoWriMo—which has group meet-ups at local libraries. You can also find a writing group by genre, like Romance Writers of America or Mystery Writers of America. Whether you’re in New York City or Milwaukee, you can also find indie writing groups by location. For example, in Los Angeles, there is the Independent Writers of Southern California, which offers workshops, classes, lectures, and writing groups.

Look online. In this day and age, finding a writing group is as easy as searching online. Search for a meet-up group near you with other area writers. Narrow your search by genre if you want to commune with writers who have a similar passion. There are groups for authors of every genre, including groups for science fiction, romance, crime, and fantasy writers.

Find online writing groups. If you’d rather find a virtual group of writers to work with, look online. Explore Facebook groups to connect with people over chat or video. Check out online critique groups on websites like Scribophile or Critique Circle.

Start your own writer’s group. If you’re having a hard time finding a community, start your own creative writing group. Recruit other local writers by posting a note at a coffee shop or library, asking members of your book club to join, or posting on social media. One advantage of starting your own group is you can make it what you want. For example, you can start a general writing group that welcomes all writers, like screenwriters, sci-fi writers, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers, or you can keep it to a specific genre. Build your own community, pick a day, find a location, and start realizing the benefits of being a part of a writing group.

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How to Create a Style Guide: 5 Components of a Style Guide

A style guide is a document that details a company’s set of standards for writing, editing, formatting, and designing documents. Also known as a writing style guide, this manual establishes the standard requirements for grammar, punctuation, tense, tone, wording, and writing best practices.

What Is the Purpose of a Style Guide?

A good style guide serves two main purposes:

Keeps writers within guidelines. A copywriter has to adhere to an organization’s tone and style when crafting copy for public-facing marketing materials. A style guide lays out these rules for writers, offering them a well-organized set of guidelines to reference as they work. Style guides are especially useful for contract or freelance copywriters who are not familiar with the company’s particular house style.

Helps editors maintain brand consistency. A comprehensive style guide provides editors will all the rules and guidelines they need to follow to keep your company’s communications error-free, consistent, and on-brand—from long-form copy to design.

What to Include in a Style Guide?

If you want to build a style guide for your company, you’ll need to know the most common components of a style guide, such as:

The Chicago Manual of Style and The Associated Press Stylebook

Official style guidelines. To create a company style guide, you need to choose an official style guide to follow. Official style guides contain rules for comma usage, capitalization, hyphens, sentence structure, and even graphic design. Each style guide has different rules for punctuation and grammar based on different goals—for example, the Chicago style was originally developed for a university press, and many of its style preferences are based on best practices in literary and historical print publishing. Conversely, AP style was developed for news reporting, so many of its preferences are based on brevity and space-saving in journalism columns.

Important divergences from the official style. In addition to the official style your brand will use, you’ll want to include any specific rules that you want to diverge from. For example, if you want to capitalize “customer” in your public-facing communications, you can make it an in-house rule in your style guide, overriding the official Chicago recommendation.

Unique brand words or phrases. You will likely have a set of words or phrases that you’ve created around your product or service. You must include these brand words and phrases in your style guide since writers and editors won’t be able to look up how to spell, capitalize, or hyphenate these words. By including brand words in your style guide, you’ll ensure that those words and phrases are treated consistently throughout all of your written communications. You should also include your mission statement in your style guide so editors can ensure that it’s consistent across all channels.

Your brand voice. When crafting your style guide, include the overall brand voice and tone for all of your communications. For your brand voice, define your ideal messaging tone of voice in a few words (Is your brand friendly? Scientific? Minimalist? Humorous?). Give examples of communications that you think perfectly match your desired tone. That way, both writers and editors can ensure that the copy they’re working on fits with your ideal image.

Design guidelines. While you can feature more comprehensive brand guidelines in your official brand guide, it’s also a good idea to include some of the particular design guidelines. Editors can use these guidelines to avoid making design mistakes that violate brand identity. Design guidelines can consist of typography rules (from spacing to specific typefaces), brand color palettes, and iconography rules. To give writers and editors a better understanding of your brand identity, consider giving them a copy of your brand book. This book should include more of your brand story and detailed brand assets (like CMYK colors, RGB values, and hex codes).

What Is the Difference Between a Style Guide and a Brand Guide?

A style guide is often confused with a similar document called a brand guide. While both documents lay out the guidelines of your company’s identity, a style guide focuses more on writing and editing copy. A brand guide focuses on the overall look, feel and visual identity of your business. Many people refer to a brand guide as a “brand style guide,” but a brand guide is a more global and design-focused document than a true style guide.

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How to Create Atmosphere and Mood in Writing

What Is Mood in Literature?

Mood in literature is another word for the atmosphere or ambience of a piece of writing, be it a short story, novel, poem, or essay. The mood is the feeling that the writer is trying to evoke in their readers—feelings like calm, anxiety, joy, or anger.

Short stories or poems often have only one or two moods, since there’s not a lot of space for writers to juggle multiple different moods. Novels have the space to deal in multiple moods, but even with several distinct moods in a novel, there’s usually an overarching feel to the book that readers can identify and remember afterward.

Why Is Creating Mood in Stories Important?

Knowing how to establish mood in your stories is vital to good writing. A story with a cohesive and well-thought-out mood will create an emotional response in your readers, which acts as a hook that draws them into your story. Once your readers experience real feelings during your story, they’re more willing to pay attention to your message and remember your story long after they’ve finished and put it down.

On the other hand, if you haven’t worked to create a good mood for your type of story, you run the risk of your story not building up enough of a mood—or even bouncing too quickly between several moods and leaving the readers with a kind of mood-whiplash. Stories on either end of this spectrum will struggle to be emotionally resonant for their readers.

What Is the Difference Between Mood and Tone?

Mood and tone can be easily confused for one another, but they’re slightly different ideas. Mood refers to the emotions evoked in the readers, while the author’s tone refers not to the readers but to the attitude of a narrator. In this way, a story can have very different tone and mood: for instance, stories with comedic moods often follow very frustrated narrators with irritated or angry tones

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Literary Devices Similar to Foreshadowing

There are a number of literary techniques and practices that have some overlap with foreshadowing. Here are a few to keep in mind.

Chekhov’s gun: is a writing best practice often confused with foreshadowing. Russian playwright Anton Chekhov famously said, “If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off.” The refers to the idea that every element in a story should contribute to the whole, and that every detail that “sets up” an outcome should “pay off” in some way. In the example of Chekhov’s gun, that could mean one character shooting another, but an author may also choose to defy that expectation—say, by filling the gun with blanks.

Red herring: Unlike foreshadowing, which is designed to hint at something that will happen in your story, a red herring is a literary device that is designed to mislead the reader, distracting them from the eventual twist. Red herrings are often used in mystery novels, with characters suspected of a crime turning out innocent. (Learn more about red herrings here.)

Flashforward: The opposite of a flashback, a flash forward (also known as flash-forward or prolepsis) brings your reader forward in time for a glimpse at the future. This is different from foreshadowing, as you’re explicitly showing your readers what is to come. Stories that employ flash forwards derive their suspense not from readers wondering what will happen, but rather how it will happen.

11 Tips for New Writers

Keep a daily writing habit. The first rule of being a professional writer is to start writing on a regular basis, ideally every day. Writing is hard work, and it’s difficult to tangibly improve your writing if you aren’t writing daily. The best writers know that they can’t possibly produce their best work day in and day out, but even so, they force themselves to get through the tough days. Once you’re in the habit of writing every day, you’ll find that those tough days come around less frequently, and you’ll start to build more confidence in your writing skills. Don’t let feelings of inadequacy or discouragement stop you from sitting down at your desk and doing the work on a daily basis.

Read diligently. The best way to develop your writing style is to read everything you can get your hands on. You’d be hard-pressed to meet a good writer who isn’t also a voracious reader, and that’s because so much of a writer’s style is informed by great writers they admire. Keep your favorite books on hand for reference. Bookmark and underline your favorite passages and seek out new books to expand your base of knowledge.

Take writing classes. Many new writers haven’t taken a writing course since high school, but the good news is there are so many options available for aspiring authors looking to continue their creative writing education. Seek out extension courses through a local college’s writing program, or look for online courses that focus on your area of interest.

Join a writing group. Finding a group of peers who you can exchange writing with is a great way to make connections in the literary world and learn from diverse voices. Writers groups are usually free to join and a great resource to get additional sets of eyes on a piece of writing you are working on. Getting feedback from someone you know and trust can vastly improve your work and help you take stock of the progress you make as a writer.

Keep reference books handy. Even the best writers make mistakes now and again. Keeping a thesaurus and style guide on hand can help you avoid common mistakes and vary your word choice. If you feel shaky on English grammar or spelling, there are plenty of books and online resources you can consult to make sure that your writing is professional and error-free.

Write in a variety of forms. Just because you gravitate toward one area of writing doesn’t mean you should stop exploring. Writing in a form or medium that you don’t have much experience with can be a great way to develop your voice and strengthen parts of your writing that you might usually neglect. Switching between projects can also be a great way to break out of writer’s block and avoid staring at the dreaded blank page. If you’re working on a short story, consider blogging about something totally unrelated. If you’re stuck on your first novel, write a nonfiction piece about a seminal event from your past. Experimenting with different forms will also make you a more versatile and marketable professional writer.

Learn the rules. As a freelance writer, you have to make sure they know the ins and outs of grammar, spelling, and style. Many young writers haven’t brushed up on formal writing rules since they were in school. If you’re a new writer, take some time to refresh your knowledge of basic writing rules, especially if you plan on writing professionally.

Outline before you write. It’s incredibly useful for young writers to make an outline or roadmap for a new piece of writing before they jump headfirst into the writing process. You might remember your English teachers hounding you to make a detailed outline from introduction to conclusion before you started writing a critical essay. Professional writers can use the same basic outline structure for their work. Without an outline it’s easy to start strong but quickly find yourself stuck after you finish the first page or chapter. If this is your first time doing professional freelance writing, make a detailed outline before you sit down to write.

Keep a journal. Great writers find inspiration all around them. If you’re new to writing, make sure to carry a journal with you everywhere you go. You never know when inspiration will strike and what aspects of your real-life will inform parts of your writing. If you see something interesting or an idea strikes you, it’s vital that you have a place to write it down and record it for future writing projects.

Edit carefully. Your best writing will be the product of numerous rewrites. Editing and rewriting are arguably the most important parts of the writing process, especially for professional writers. In order to become a better writer and develop your writing skills, it’s vital that you put in the time editing and revising your first draft. Not only does editing ensure that you’re producing a quality piece of writing, but it also helps clue you in on bad habits you might have or common mistakes you find yourself making.

Remember why you love writing. If you’re transitioning into full-time, professional writing, don’t let yourself lose the love for writing that made you want to do the work in the first place. Writing well depends on you maintaining your passion. If you ever feel overwhelmed by your work, take a second to do some journaling or work on a short piece that’s just for you. Taking a break to reconnect with your love of writing can help reinvigorate your passion for the craft.

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How to Write an Introduction: 3 Tips for Writing an Introductory Paragraph

An introductory paragraph summarizes the main points of an academic paper or essay, preparing readers for what’s to come. Read on for tips on how to write an introduction that hooks your readers.

What Is an Introduction? An introduction is the beginning section of a paper. It can range from a brief introductory paragraph to an extensive multi-page overview, but a good introduction will have the following elements:

An attention-getter: Introduction paragraphs should start out with something attention-getting, ideally in the first sentence. This could be an anecdote, a surprising fact, a question, or an interesting quote. Try to avoid dictionary definitions, clichés, or sweeping generalizations. A brief overview of the academic landscape: An introduction should give readers context for the paper’s relevance within a particular field of study, including a brief history of important shifts in thought. An explanation of how your argument fits into its academic context: Introductions should transition from the background information to the paper’s particular argument—how is your paper related to the academic work that came before it, and what new perspective is it bringing to the table. A thesis statement and road map for the paper: Introductions should culminate in a thesis statement—a brief statement of the paper’s main argument or research question—and a quick overview of how the paper will defend the thesis. Think of it as a mini version of your paper to prime readers for your argument before you jump in to the analysis in the main body paragraphs. This is arguably the most important part of the introduction, because it lets readers know what the paper is really going to be about

What Is the Purpose of an Introduction?

To capture the reader’s attention: The opening paragraph is the most crucial part of your paper because it’s the reader’s first impression and the best clue as to whether the paper will be worth the reader’s time. The best introductions will not only be informative but also include a hook to keep readers reading. To give vital background information: You should assume that not all of your readers are experts in your specific field, especially when you’re zeroing in on a particular concept within that field. To make sure that readers can follow your argument, you’ll need to equip them with important contextual information—that way, they’ll be prepared to understand your main points without being distracted by terms and trends they aren’t familiar with. To serve as a road map for the paper: Beginning writers may save their results or main points for the body of the paper—but that’s a mistake. By leaving out the overview of the paper, writers rob readers of a vital road map and make it significantly harder for readers to understand their argument’s progression. A strong introduction will always give a brief sketch of each of the main points to show readers where the paper’s headed.

3 Tips for Writing a Good Introduction Paragraph

Here are a few tips to make your introductions shine:

Start general, then go specific. Think of your essay introduction as a funnel; it starts with the most general information—including information about the academic landscape and your research—and then it slowly narrows the focus until it brings readers to the thesis. Build upon the more general knowledge to get to your more specific topics.

Follow the formula. You may feel like sticking to an introduction formula will make your essay writing boring and stiff. However, readers will benefit much more from an introduction that’s built upon the traditional format because they can anticipate the organization and follow your argument more easily.

State your interest. If you’re having a difficult time coming up with a good hook for your introduction, ask yourself what interests you about writing the paper. Chances are, your interests will align with the interests of your readers. Centering your introduction around your own interest in the topic can serve as a great opening attention-getter.

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How Malcolm Gladwell Creates Suspense in His Writing?

What makes a good story? According to celebrated journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell, a good story is built on a structure that sets up a problem—then solves it in unexpected ways.

Lets see how we can use his advice.

Gladwell’s writing style depends on an excellent sense of pacing, paired with the deliberate and calculated withholding of information to keep the reader guessing until the very last word. This is a literary technique known as suspense.

What Is Suspense?

In storytelling, suspense is the technique of keeping readers in a state of uncertainty in order to draw them into the story. Another definition of suspense is the feeling of positive tension a reader experiences when they are not sure what is going to happen.

Suspense that unfolds over the course of an entire story is called “narrative suspense.” Suspense can also unfold within a single scene or chapter. All great storytellers use suspense to draw readers or viewers into their work.

What Is the Difference Between Suspense and Surprise?

There’s a subtle but important difference between suspense and surprise.

With suspense writing, an author is playing with readers’ expectations of time. They know that the information they want (the identity of the killer, the hero’s means of escape, etc.) will come eventually, but they don’t know when it will happen. Surprise, on the other hand, is a story technique of delivering information that the reader had no idea was coming.

Whether you’re writing a mystery novel, a short story, or a thriller movie, both of these literary techniques can be fun and effective.

5 Tips for Creating Suspense in Your Writing

Ask “why.” While writers often focus on the plot and events of their story (the “what” of their story), the “why” is often far more interesting. This is true of suspense writing as well. Gladwell often uses the “why” to create suspense in his essays by posing a question without an obvious answer. The question can be big and general, or small and specific, as long as it’s intriguing,

Set expectations, then subvert them. Adding the element of surprise into the mix can help you create even more suspense in your writing. By figuring out what readers expect, you can surprise them with information that contradicts or complicates those expectations, leaving them wondering what will happen next.

Employ foreshadowing. One of the most essential literary devices, foreshadowing is the technique of hinting at what will happen later in the story. You can use plot to create foreshadowing (e.g., the protagonist receives a mysterious phone call) or character development (e.g., a character detests garlic and refuses to go outside). By giving away a small glimpse of what is to come, you’ll grab readers’ attention and keep them in suspense about how the events in your story will play out.

Use cliffhangers. If you’ve watched TV, you’re probably seen an episode of a show that left its main character in the middle of the action, ending with the words “to be continued.” This is an example of a cliffhanger, a plot device in which a story (or a section of a story) ends abruptly, without resolving its conflict. Cliffhangers can happen at the end of a book, between chapters, or even within a story or essay.

Make the reader wait. Writers are often tempted to rush to the climax of their story—after all, that’s the most exciting part. When creating suspense, however, it’s important to keep readers waiting as long as possible before your big reveal. The longer the wait, the greater the build up, and the more thrilling your conclusion will be.

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James Patterson’s 3 Tips for Writing a Great Villain

According to bestselling author James Patterson, the best literary villains are complex bad guys whom readers simultaneously love and hate. Here, James reveals three key writing techniques for creating a memorable villain.

1. Create a Three-Dimensional Villain

When you’re writing a villain, you have to make them three dimensional—and James knows that readers’ feelings about villains are complex. On one hand, we don’t like them. They are, after all, the driving negative force in any narrative. But on the other hand, when they are given interesting back stories, personal traumas, and motivations that drive them (whether we agree with those or not), James say that “the ethics and morals of readers” fade away if they really love characters.

Take, for example, Hannibal Lecter—the evil villain in Thomas Harris’s book Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal is, of course, a cannibal. Yet he’s one of the most well-known villains of all time, a villain that audience members cheer for and that readers root on. That’s because Thomas Harris revealed both the dark side of the character as well as another, unexpected side that readers could empathise with.

2. Humanize the Villain

When you’re writing villains, you have to humanize them if you’re going to get your audience on board. James wrote a bad guy serial killer once, whose family thought he was “a neat guy.” On the surface, he was this great, supportive husband and father. But in his secret life, he was murdering people. Another famous example of a main character with a double life is the murderous antihero Dexter of the television series Dexter, who killed in the name of vengeance. Whether you’re adding a layer of justice or creating a veil of secrecy around your character, try infusing them with some elements of humanity to help the reader connect to the character even more.

3. Equip the Villain With Smarts

Have you ever noticed villains seem to be some of the smartest characters? They’re witty and wry, clever as can be. They go on long-winded rants about super-specific topics that the average person wouldn’t know about. Is that realistic? Probably not. But James suggests giving up realism for a good story, any day.

Pick a few topics that your villain might be interested in and research them in-depth. Weave those bits through your story, both in plot and in dialogue. Research makes for a more thrilling narrative, and a smarter-than-average villain is always interesting, since it begs the question: if they’re so intelligent, why would they embark on this life of crime?

When you’re sitting down to draft your villain, give them depth. Give them complexity. Give them humanity. And maybe you’ll have audiences cheering when your villain commits acts of cannibalism, too.

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I am in a need of a little break. My mental health is not good.

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What Are the Pros and Cons of Creating an Outline?

The benefits of creating an outline:

Helps visualize the big picture

Keeps the story on track

Logs which scenes go where

Clearly presents character arcs

Acts as a guide to ease writer’s block when you’re stuck

Clarifies the middle, to avoid the “muddle”

The drawbacks of creating an outline:

Can create a stilted narrative

If followed too closely, can feel formulaic

May lead to more showing rather than telling in the actual writing

Characters may seem to make inauthentic choices, solely based on plot points instead of natural results from narrative action

Bestselling author Stephen King supposedly swears by putting interesting characters in difficult situations and just seeing what happens. He famously said: “Outlines are the last resource of bad fiction writers who wish to God they were writing masters’ theses.”

That aside, both plotters and pantsers agree on one thing: there is no correct way when it comes to novel writing. It simply depends on what kind of writer you are, and what works for you.

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How to Outline Your Novel in 5 Steps: Master Novel Template

What Is a Novel Outline?

A novel outline is a document that includes important planning information about your novel’s structure, plot, characters, scenes, and more. It is the skeleton of your novel.

An outline can be anything from a one-page written document to a comprehensive visual mindmap that uses diagrams to represent the link between information and ideas. If you have the space, you can write your sentences on index cards and post them on a wall to make it easier to view and manipulate the parts. Each event should be a single, short sentence (e.g. Danny gets shot in the leg).

The 3 Basic Questions Every Outline Should Answer

Besides listing characters and plot points for story structure, your outline should give you a general sense of the direction of your story as well as the primary conflicts and tensions that will make it intriguing for readers. Keep the following questions in mind while creating your outline:

What is the main contract of the story? You must resolve the promises you made to your reader by the end of the novel.

What sort of time pressure is working on your characters?

What is at stake for the protagonist of the novel? Does the pressure on the main characters grow more intense as the story progresses?

How to Create a Novel Outline

Now that you know what needs to go into an outline, grab your notebook (or index cards) and follow these simple steps:

1. Craft your premiseThis is the underlying idea for your story. A good way to find the premise is to ask yourself, “What would happen if…?” For example: What would happen if a young man who survives a shipwreck spends months in a lifeboat with a large Bengal tiger? (Life of Pi, 2001) Or: What would happen if four strangers met in an Italian villa during World War II? (The English Patient, 1992).Next, it might help to try and answer a few key questions to help expand on the premise and generate new ideas. Things like:

Who is the main protagonist?

What is the situation?

How will the protagonist change from the beginning of the novel to the end?

What is her/her objective?

What does he/she want?

How does he/she get or not get what they want?

Is there an opposing force that is stopping the protagonist from achieving this objective?

What is the central conflict of the novel?

What about the central theme—what are you trying to say? Once you’ve worked out the answers to these questions, write a one-paragraph summary of the novel. Think of it as an elevator pitch.

2. Determine your setting. In a novel, the setting (time, place) can be just as important as the characters. Readers need to feel a sense of where things are happening, just as much as why they’re happening.

Planning setting can depend on a number of things, depending on what kind of novel you’re writing. Get to know your setting intimately. Do as much research as you can. If your novel is set in the real world, find photos, descriptions, and other materials to inform your ideas.

Is your novel set in a boarding school? During a particular period in time? Find as much information, both written and visual, about boarding schools in that time. Picture your settings in your mind, and write down as much detail as you can: everything from how something looks and sounds to how it might smell, taste, or feel.

3. Get to know your characters. Write character profiles. Visualize them. Pretend you’re introducing these characters to your friends. What would you say about them? What details would you include, and what details would you omit—and why? What kind of journey will each character undertake in the novel? Where will they start, and where will they end up? Who will be central to the novel’s plot, and who will just serve as color and background?

Develop character backstories. Think of the moments in each character’s life that have led them to the point where they are introduced in the novel. What elements have shaped their personality and progression as characters? Do they have unresolved issues crucial to the plot?

One method is to conduct a Q&A with the most important characters, as a way of finding out more about them. Ask your characters a series of questions (get as personal as you want) and have him/her answer in his/her own words.

4. Construct your plot. Construct a timeline of events. Write down everything that happens in the novel, from the beginning to the end. Include details where you can, such as where the events take place, and who is involved. If you know the outcome of the events, and how they will impact the novel’s overall plot, include this as well (these can help form the foundation of additional subplots).

Beginning: The beginning of your novel has to accomplish a lot. It must introduce the hero, the villain, and the world of the story, as well as the story’s sole dramatic question, and it must do this with enough energy to grab your reader’s interest right away. A prologue can be useful for seizing the reader’s attention. Middle: Often, tension evaporates in the middle of a novel, so it’s a good idea to figure out your ending first. It may not be perfect, and you can always change it later, but it’s useful to know the climax to which your characters are headed. Having that destination will help you stay focused during the “middle muddle.” Write as many short sentences as you need to describe the pathway your characters will take to reach the climax. End: While it may seem daunting to figure out the ending so early, just return to your sole dramatic question, which already has your ending hidden within it. For example, if your question is: Will Ahab catch the whale? Then your story’s finale will be the moment when he does.

5. Write your scenes. Once your plot outline is in place, you’ll have a better idea of what scenes will need to be placed where. Add them to the outline. Flesh them out as much as you want—everything from where the action takes place to who is involved, even dialogue if you already know what you want your characters to say. Don’t worry about things making sense at this point, you’ll have time later to go back and highlight anything that feels out of place. Just focus on getting everything down so you can see it in front of you.

Once your outline is complete, you’ll be free to start writing your first draft with the knowledge that if you falter, you can always turn back to the outline to see the big picture. As you begin the writing process, watch out for gaps in logic. Refer back to the outline, and update storylines, plot points, and the timeline as you go along.

While it’s necessary to have a basic grasp of your characters and your world when you start writing, it’s not essential to know everything up front. In fact, even with the most meticulous outlines, you may still find that your characters do things to upset your plans. When this happens, follow your instincts. Don’t be afraid to toss your outline or significantly revise it mid-way through your novel.

A good rule to remember is that outlines involve plotting what will happen to your characters, but in the end, your characters should determine your plot.

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How to Write Faster: 13 Tips for Becoming a Faster Writer

Write every single day. Writing is like a muscle—the more you exercise your craft, the stronger, leaner, and more efficient it will be. Setting aside daily writing time is important even if you aren’t on a deadline. Work a writing session into your routine—make it a habit—and consider building ritual around it, like relocating to a special location or making a cup of tea.

Give yourself a topic. You may already have an assignment or personal writing goal that you’re working towards (like the rough draft of that novel), but if you don’t, zero in on a single area of interest that will kick off the writing process. It’s commonly assumed that writer’s block comes when you’re out of ideas, but it can also hit when you’ve got too many to sift through.

Create an outline. It may seem counter-intuitive, but spending time getting set up before you start writing can save time in the end. Make a plan, plotting out the main points of your writing project and getting a sense for word count. You’ll not only always know what comes next, but also exactly where the finish line is and how hard you need to push to get there.

Gather information. Writing fast is all about removing impediments to the writing flow. Do any necessary research in advance and drop relevant facts, quotes, anecdotes, or ideas into your outline for quick reference later. This will decrease the amount of time you spend staring at a blank page trying to recall what it was you meant to say and how you meant to say it.

Get rid of distractions. Close browser windows, email programs, and chat apps. Unplug your computer or even your router. Turn your phone to silent and place it out of view. Even if only for an hour or two at a time, do whatever it takes to nurture a healthy writing habit.

Set a challenge. Can you write 1,000 words in an hour? How about 500? First-time writers or people with busy schedules might start out with an easily achievable goal like 50 words per day, while professional writers will benefit from hourly or minute-based objectives. Either way, incrementally increasing your target words per minute (WPM) can improve your writing speed.

Start a timer. Whether you’ve got the kind that you twist, a digital device with buttons, or an app that you load, starting a timer at the beginning of a writing session can help a great deal. Not only can you track your progress as you meet new writing challenges, but you’ll be less likely to procrastinate—it’s hard to waste time when you’re aware of each passing second.

Revise later. Great writing rarely arrives fully formed as a first draft. Give yourself a break. Let typos slide, ignore the spell-checker, steer away from perfectionism. If you get stuck on a particular phrasing, write it plainly and come back to it later. You can lose a lot of time editing as you go, so rather than re-reading every step of the way, save the revisions for the end.

Use placeholders. Even if you’ve filled your outline with well-researched points, the act of writing will take you places you hadn’t planned. If you stop your flow to look up a fact or idea, you risk wasting time going down research rabbit holes. Instead, use a placeholder like “TK” (which means “to come”) and replace it when you’re done writing.

Stop while you’re ahead. If your timer goes off and you’re mid-sentence, that’s actually great news. Rather than rush to finish the thought, leave it for the next day. This means that when you return to the page, instead of staring at a period and a flashing cursor you can jump back into the flow. Sometimes becoming a better writer is just a matter of forming new habits.

Find your best time. For all of the practical tips and writing skills you can learn, improving your speed can also come down to your own biology or psychology. You may be an early riser who writes better and faster in the morning. Or you may be a night owl whose mind feels most fluid in the wee hours. Experiment to find out what time of day is most productive for you.

Seek good posture. Similarly, the way your body is positioned can affect your work. Sit with a straight back and your elbows at right angles to the keyboard. Slouching or having your arms in the wrong position can lead to fatigue and cramping—enemies of fast writing. Some writers prefer standing desks, which have been shown to increase blood flow and energy.

Play typing games. Even if you’ve internalized all of these writing tips, it’s possible that your fingers simply won’t be able to keep up with your mind. There are various free online typing tests and games designed to help you improve your typing speed. In the process, you can work on getting your fingers in the right position to maintain a flow free of interruption.

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The Hero’s Journey In Literature: Two Case Studies

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)

1. The ordinary world. Frodo lives in the Shire, enjoying a nice, peaceful life with his friends. 2. The call to adventure. Following Gandalf’s discovery of the ring of power, he asks Frodo to undertake a journey and keep the ring with him. 3. Refusal of the call. Frodo is unsure of leaving the Shire, as he has no experience with the world outside. 4. The mentor. Gandalf convinces Frodo that he has a pure heart and he is the one who must “bear this burden”. 5. Crossing the threshold. Frodo and Sam leave the Shire behind, a moment that Frodo has mixed feelings about. 6. The ordeal. Characterized by the many challenges Frodo faces along the way with the Fellowship, including the fight with the Balrog. 7. The return. Frodo realizes that he can no longer be part of the Fellowship and must continue on the journey alone. He sets out for Mount Doom.

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1997)

1. The ordinary world. Harry lives with his aunt and uncle, who make him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs. 2. The call to adventure. Harry receives a letter from Hogwarts, asking him to attend. 3. Refusal of the call. Harry is unsure of what is real and what isn’t and has trouble accepting he is a real wizard. As far as he knows, his parents were killed in a car crash—and not by an evil wizard. 4. The mentor. In the first book, Hagrid serves as Harry’s mentor, but later in the series, it’s Albus Dumbledore who guides and advises Harry. Hagrid convinces Harry he is a wizard and takes him to Hogwarts. 5. Crossing the threshold. Harry crosses a literal barrier—platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross station, leaving the normal world behind and crossing into the magical one. 6. The ordeal. Harry’s many trials and tribulations during his first year at Hogwarts, culminating in his first meeting with—and the temporary defeat of—Voldemort at the end of the first book. 7. The return. Harry returns to his aunt and uncle’s house for the summer, happy and safe in the knowledge that he has a new home at Hogwarts.

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Examples of the Hero’s Journey In Film: Two Case Studies

Star Wars (1977)

1. The ordinary world. Luke lives with his aunt and uncle on a farm on Tatooine. He likes to stare at the sunset and dream of “teleporting off this rock”. 2. The call to adventure. R2-D2 plays Luke a message of distress from Princess Leia, who needs someone to transport the droid to Alderaan. 3. Refusal of the call. Luke isn’t thrilled about leaving his home planet and getting in trouble from his uncle to go on a wild goose chase. 4. The mentor. Obi-Wan Kenobi convinces Luke to follow his heart by showing him his father’s lightsaber. 5. Crossing the threshold. Luke and Obi-Wan leave Mos Eisley for Alderaan. 6. The ordeal. Leia’s rescue from the Death Star, and later, Luke using the Force to destroy the Death Star. 7. The return. Luke joins the rebels and decides to become a Jedi.

The Matrix (1999)

1. The ordinary world. Thomas Anderson is a bored computer programmer by day and the hacker “Neo” by night. 2. The call to adventure. Neo receives a message promising him that everything is not as it seems. He is told to “follow the white rabbit”. 3. Refusal of the call. Neo isn’t sure if Trinity is telling him the truth. He allows himself to be captured. 4. Mentor. Morpheus gives Neo a choice: the blue pill if he wants to return to his old life, or the red pill, if he wants to know the truth. 5. Crossing the threshold. Neo chooses the red pill and is shown what the Matrix is. 6. The ordeal. Neo struggles to accept his new role but ultimately learns to become who he was meant to be, defeating Agent Smith inside the Matrix and saving Morpheus. 7. The return. Neo tells the machines he will defeat them and save humanity.

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