Fiction University

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Setting can play a much bigger role in your story’s conflict that you might realize. No matter what form it takes, conflict is at the core of every story. It...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2024/10/6-ways-your-setting-can-create-conflict.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Strong characters are vital to a strong story, so don't scrimp on their development. Developing characters is one of those things where everyone has their own m...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2009/12/under-development.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy A good action scene starts with the character. Seriously. I love action in my entertainment. Books, movies, TV shows, even games. I also enjoy a great story to...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/11/making-it-happen-tips-on-writing-action.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy  Without objective feedback, it's hard to know if you're improving or just making the same mistakes.  Almost every writer at some point has wondered, "Is my ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/01/talking-about-evolution-how-do-you-know.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Slipping out of your point-of-view-character's head can jar a reader right out of the story. Years ago, I started a book and set it down before I'd finished the ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/05/stepping-out-look-at-pov-shifts.html

BY JANICE HARDY, @JANICE_HARDY A little thinking before you start writing can make a huge difference in how easy that story is to write. For some writers, a blank page is a scary thing to fa...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2024/09/4-must-ask-questions-before-you-start.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Some antagonists can't be fought—they can only be survived. It's common to hear "antagonist" and think "villain," but the two are not synonymous. An antagonis...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/02/you-can-fight-mama-nature-what-to-do.html

BY JANICE HARDY, @JANICE_HARDY A LOOSE PLOT CAN EASILY UNRAVEL, BUT TYING UP THE THREADS STRENGTHENS THE ENTIRE NOVEL. One of my favorite things when writing is when I make an accidental ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/01/an-easy-tip-for-tightening-your-novels.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Choose the right flaws and weaknesses to round out your characters. There's an old saying: "I'm not looking for the perfect man, just one with faults I like." ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2009/07/broken-but-still-good.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Not everything you write needs to be published—or even publishable. A few years after I published my third novel (Darkfall ), I fell into a dark time with my...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2024/08/why-you-should-write-novel-just-for-fun.html

BY JANICE HARDY, @JANICE_HARDY Romances don’t usually have a villain, but there is a strong conflict driving the plot. The romance genre is an odd mix of writing difficulties. On one hand...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/04/why-conflict-is-so-hard-to-create-in.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Your ending is the whole point of your book. This is the last post in my mini-series on common problems in beginnings , middles , and endings. Today, we’ll ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2016/02/5-common-problems-with-endings.html

Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy If you've been struggling with a plot, or you're looking for ways to deepen an existing plot, try looking at how your protagonist's internal conflict is driving her...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2024/07/how-your-characters-internal-conflict.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Don't confuse your readers by mixing up what happens when and why. When one of my nieces was little, she'd tell me stories about her day. They usually made no se...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/02/getting-best-response-from-your.html

BY JANICE HARDY, @JANICE_HARDY Story archetypes are useful tools to develop a novel or story. Although we hear about character archetypes a lot in writing, I’ve found story archetypes muc...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/03/using-story-archetypes-to-find-your-plot.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy It’s hard to plot a novel if you don’t know what problem it’s trying to solve. Creating plots has always been easy for me, but endings are my nemesis. I ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2024/06/writing-your-novel-backward-might-be.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Fatal flaws can sink a story, but don’t lose hope if you find one in your novel. First drafts are all about getting an idea from your head onto the page, but ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2024/06/6-fatal-flaws-that-will-kill-novel.html

BY JANICE HARDY, @JANICE_HARDY THE MIDDLE IS WHERE MOST OF A NOVEL HAPPENS, WHICH IS WHY THEY'RE OFTEN SO DIFFICULT TO WRITE. For a long, long time in my early writing days, middles were ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2016/02/5-common-problems-with-middles.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Just because they're a supporting character doesn't mean they have to do what the protagonist says. Everyone knows the protagonist is the star of the show, but ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/08/sharing-spotlight-how-much-time-do.html

By Angela Ackerman Part of the How They Do It Series JH: Sending a character into an emotional spiral is a great way to add conflict to scene or build more tension in a novel. Angela Ackerman ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2024/05/throw-rocks-at-your-characters-its-good.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy If you don't know who's telling your story, how do you know whose story you're trying to tell? Before I dive in today... A quick reminder that today is the las...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2015/06/do-you-know-who-your-narrator-is.html

BY JANICE HARDY, @JANICE_HARDY A strong plot starts with a compelling question. A lot of writers I speak with struggle with plotting. They can come up with great ideas and wonderful charact...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2017/04/stuck-on-your-plot-change-your-story.html

BY JANICE HARDY, @JANICE_HARDY Just like your plot has layers, consider the emotional layers of your story.  Emotions are like a complex soup, where every sip brings a new experience and yo...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/10/do-you-feel-it-plotting-with-emotional.html

BY JANICE HARDY, @JANICE_HARDY If your beginning isn't working, no one will get to the ending. A novel’s beginning is under a lot of pressure. It has to introduce the protagonist and chara...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2016/02/5-common-problems-with-beginnings.html

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Just because you have a plot, doesn’t mean you have a story. The first novel I ever wrote was all about the plot. This happened, and then that happened, and ...

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2021/01/is-your-plot-going-somewhere-readers.html