Many writers are confused about whether to use a comma or period. What’s the best way to avoid using “said” all the time. Let’s resolve some of those issues. Dialog...

Plagiarism is a crime. U.S. copyright law protects an author by making it illegal for anyone to copy your work without permission. You don’t even have to file copyright paperwork...

One of the weakest ways to begin a sentence is with “it.” We use it all the time. It means this. It means that. Or it might be anybody’s guess....

You may have heard the saying: “Truth is stranger than fiction.” People sometimes will more readily accept a lie over the truth. How does that happen? Because the lie seems...

Point of View When we refer to “point of view,” we’re talking about the perspective from which the story is told. Unlike what was common in classic literature, readers no...

Some people are offended when pronouns for God aren’t capitalized, but for unbelievers, seekers, and new Christians, capitalization can make the reading more difficult. Many churchgoers grew up under a...

Great stories present a problem in which readers eagerly follow the character’s emotional journey to find out what happens. The problem and solution are the bookends for the pages in...

In your first book or seminar on writing, you probably heard the admonition: Show, don’t tell. Storytellers tell stories, don’t they? How can they show their stories? The distinction lies...

Most writers are familiar with “Point of View” (POV), which is likened to a person holding a movie camera, restricting the narrative perspective to what the lens can see, frame...

Just as an out-of-focus picture doesn’t interest viewers, writing without a clear focus is boring and won’t hold reader attention for long. Focus on the Message As soon as the...