Developmental Editing: What to Look For and How to Find the Right Editor
Enthusiastic writers often pour out their whole life and soul into their work, and when their manuscript is finally finished, you might see them clutching it tightly and whispering, "My precious!" like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. But no matter how good the...
How to Write a Mystery: 9 Tips for an Exciting Page-Turner
A good mystery novel keeps readers at the edge of their seats, turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning, desperate to know whodunnit. Reading a mystery novel can be exciting, but writing one can be just as thrilling! This article will help you pen a...
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs: Definitions, Uses, and Examples
Verbs are the life soul of a sentence because they convey action and tell you what the subject actually does. In grammar, verbs can be transitive or intransitive. This refers to whether or not the verb needs an object on which to perform the action in order to...
First Line Generator Tools to Help You Start Your Story
Imagine this with me: you get up bright and early, excited to start writing. You know that a story, a very important, life-changing tale, is brewing, bubbling, burning inside you. You sit at your desk, a cup of steaming, fragrant coffee beside you, your fingers poised...
10 Best Ernest Hemingway Books: The Champ’s Greatest Works
If you look at any list of the greatest books in American Literature, you're pretty much guaranteed to see at least one book by Ernest Hemingway on the list. Though famous for his tales—both personal and fictional—of hunting, bullfighting, and fishing, most of...
The Great HEA Debate: Can Romance Be Romance Without a Happily Ever After?
Open to the last page of any children's fairy tale, and you're likely to see words and images describing the protagonists, who have likely just overcome unimaginable odds, going on to live together "happily ever after." Often, you'll see those exact words on the page,...
22 Best Historical Romance Novels: When Love Meets History
The historical romance genre is a category of fiction wherein the plot is set in a historical time. Popularized by Walter Scott in the early nineteenth century, the genre is packed full of dukes and duchesses, extravagant dresses, and of course, charm and...
12 Best Adult Coloring Books: Express Your Creativity While Relieving Stress
Coloring is an activity that kids love practicing anywhere, from restaurant menus, to coloring books, and sometimes even their bedroom walls (much to mom and dad's horror!). But who says coloring is just for kids? In recent years, adult coloring books have exploded in...
How to Write Footnotes: When to Use Them and How to Add Them in Word
When reading a book or article, you've probably noticed small numbers placed at the end of a sentence, which correspond to a note at the bottom of the page. These are called footnotes, and they can add value for your readers by providing information about your...
How to Avoid Purple Prose and Create More Powerful Descriptions in Your Writing
One mistake that many new writers make is overwriting, or decorating their prose with overly ornate language when just a few, simpler words would have a greater impact. This type of overwriting is known as purple prose. Often, this mistake stems from the misconception...