Writing Tips & Techniques

FAQ: Creating a Memorable Title for Your Book

What makes for a great title? How do we come up with evocative titles? What role do publishers and editors play in title selection? Should you hold out for your original title, even in the face of editorial requests that you change it? What if you are doing a trilogy or series of books, how will that influence your titles? Can titles be copyrighted?

Video Quickie: How to See the World Through the Eyes of a Writer

Jon's here with some tips on how to view the world in a way that will make you a better and more successful writer.

VIDEO – Using Real People in Fictional Stories

VIDEO: Writing Coach Teresa on the 5 Things You Need to Know About Your Characters

Before your readers get to know your characters, you need to understand them inside and out. Here's how!

Teresa, our Expert Guide At-Large, is the owner of Teresa Funke & Company and Victory House Press, which offer products, programs, and resources for readers, writers, teachers, and

PODCAST – Follow This Fightin’ Bookworm to Grammar Perfection!

You’ve got a thrilling plot, quirky characters and riveting dialogue. Will anyone care or even notice if your participles dangle or if you’re stumped by which pronoun to use?

Actually, yes.

Editors are looking for reasons to whittle down their slush pile, and if your manuscript shouts “bad grammar” from

Interview with Middle Grade Author Tom Angleberger

Editor’s Note: Beginning in March 2012 with The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda, and continuing through Darth Paper Strikes Back; The Secret of the Fortune Wookie; Fake Mustache: Or, How Jodie O’Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (and Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad

Watch Our Expert Guide Webinar!

On October 9, Fightin' Bookworms from across the globe joined us live as we answered some of your most pressing questions. We recorded the webinar…and here it is!

(quick note — we lost video near the very beginning and about halfway through. It's just a minute or two, and the

Crafting the Female Protagonist

Bart Heird via Compfight

Those of us of a certain age cut our reading teeth on Nancy Drew, the Dana Girls, and other books starring teenage heroines. They were great. I wanted to be just like Nancy. I wanted to solve mysteries with her. Mostly, I wanted to look

Writing a YA Fantasy Series: an Interview with Karyn Henley

From the Harry Potter books to Christopher Paolini’s Eragon novels, fantasy series have long been teen favorites. I asked author Karyn Henley, author of the Angelaeon Circle novels, to give you some tips about writing in this popular genre.

The Angelaeon novels center on a young priestess who is drawn

Here’s What’s (Probably) Wrong With Your Story…

I've critiqued nearly 2500 manuscripts in the last 20 years, and I've seen the following patterns in my comments to writers and in the rejection letters they've gotten from editors:

The story is too slight: This most often applies to picture books. What it means is that the story doesn't

A Few Minutes with Author Linda Urban

This month I am so pleased that Linda Urban granted my request for an interview. I became a huge fan of her work with her first novel, A Crooked Kind of Perfect , and my appreciation only grew after reading her second novel, Hound Dog True . Two things

Ask the Author: Dian Curtis Regan

One of the most versatile and accomplished writers in children’s literature shares her advice!

Over the years, we’ve given readers, aspiring authors and lovers of children’s literature the opportunity to interact directly with some of their favorite writers. The result: a number of revealing conversations with some remarkable authors. We’re proud to present a few of the best

VIDEO: Interview with Debbie Dadey on Promotion, Publishing & the Writing Process

Debbie Dadey is the author of over 150 children’s books, including The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series. Debbie was a first grade teacher and librarian before becoming a full-time writer.

Her award-winning “books for reluctant readers” have been published by Scholastic, Tor/Starscape Publishing, Hyperion Press, Bloomsbury USA,

Author Linda Arms White on Writing From Historical Events

In this informative podcast, Laura chats with picture book author Linda Arms White about writing biographies and books based on actual historical events.

Plot Guidelines for Writing in Different Fiction Genres

From mysteries to thrillers to historical fiction – learn the rules of the road for developing your plot.

Genre writing requires particular attention to plot, as each genre has its own unique plot structure. When creating your characters and determining your story’s catalyst, keep in mind where the overall

Developing Your Book Idea

Is your story idea ready to be turned into a book?

Ordinary Characters, Extraordinary Feats

I admit it. I love superheroes. I love their super strength, super powers, super intelligence, and super good looks. However, I don’t write about superheroes. I write about ordinary people doing extraordinary things despite insurmountable odds. Is that not the measure of true greatness?

PODCAST – Maggie Stiefvater’s Writing & Promotion Tips

The wildly popular author of Shiver, Linger and Forever shares some wonderful advice just for Insiders!

PODCAST – Writing YA for Dummies

Listen to Deborah Halverson, an award-winning young adult author and former Harcourt editor, talk about her newest book Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies. In this podcast, Deborah gives tips for writing teen dialogue and knowing if your book has the all-important “hook” that editors want. Check out

PODCAST – Steve Swinburne on Writing Humor, Nonfiction, Mysteries & More!

Listen in as Laura chats with multitalented children’s author and photographer Steve Swinburne.

Steve is the author of more than 25 books, including Wiff and Dirty George – The Z.E.B.R.A. Incident (wiffanddirtygeorge.com), Ocean Soup: Tide Pool Poems
(oceansoupbook.com) A Butterfly Trail and Saving

Ask The Author: Lois Lowry

Legendary author Lois Lowry discusses her writing process, and the one change she would make to The Giver.

Show Don’t Tell — A New Take on an Old Chestnut

Writers have heard the axiom “Show, don’t tell” repeatedly. We know the importance of including sensory detail; we know to keep long passages of narrative summaries to a minimum.

Okay. What if you’ve done all that and an editor writes back in a rejection letter, “Too much telling, not enough

Find Your Strengths as a Writer

Does your critique group laugh in all the right places when you read your humorous picture book out loud? Do they ask for more at the end of a pivotal chapter in your middle grade mystery? As you continue to work on your manuscript and get feedback, you’ll learn where

Creating Realistic, Well-Rounded Primary Characters

If you’ve studied fiction writing you know that characters rule. Above all, your protagonist must leap off the page as a living, breathing being. Your antagonist (the force working against your main character) must be similarly real. But if you’re writing an adventure story, or a thriller with a breakneck

PODCAST – Middle Grade Author Donna Gephart on Reaching Young Readers

Laura chats with award-winning author Donna Gephart about writing humorous middle grade fiction, tapping into the concerns of that age group, and reaching her market. Visit www.donnagephart.com to see the trailer for her newest novel, How to Survive Middle School.

Listen now:

[audio:http://cbiclubhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Interview-Donna-Gephart.mp3]

Or right click and

The Ultimate Editing Checklist – A Free Chapter From Our Best Selling eBook!

If we had a nickel for every time we've been asked "I've written a story, what do I do now?" we'd have, well, a heck of a lot of nickels.

That's why we wrote the eBook titled, of course, I've Written a Story. What Do I Do Now? in which

Exercise: Point of View & Character Depth

Place the main character from your story in a setting that’s not in your plot (the mall, a classroom, your own home, etc.) Write a scene in the First Person Viewpoint with your main character narrating his/her reaction to the setting.

Then write the same scene in Third Person Limited.

Working with Point of View

Choosing a point of view is one of the decisions you’ll need to make before you can tell your story. Most children’s books are written in one of three common viewpoints, defined in the sidebar to the right. The viewpoint is often dictated by your story and your skills as

A Quick Visit with Author & Editor Diane Muldrow

Diane Muldrow is an established editor and children’s author of many books for all ages.

Her books include the Dish Series, Groovy Girls Series, Mama, Where are You? and Mama, What’s in There? She was interviewed for The CBI Clubhouse by Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff

As an author who has a

How to “Show, Don’t Tell”

“Show, Don’t Tell” is shorthand for writing in a way that draws the reader into the story and keeps the author in the background. Here are some pointers for learning this important writing technique.

Let’s being with a definition. “Telling” uses abstract, general terms (The dog was big and scary.

Exercise, Brainstorm: Where’s Your Story Heading?

Now it’s time to take a good hard look at your own work….

Review your own catalyst, and brainstorm on different ways the plot can end. Go beyond the obvious. If you’re already into writing the middle of your book, examine the route your plot is taking. Answer these

Endings That Deliver

Have you ever gotten to the end of a book and thought “So what?” Did it make you want to read more by that author, or recommend the book to a friend? Satisfying endings go hand in hand with strong beginnings in framing the reader’s experience. No matter how masterfully written the rest of the story, if the ending is a letdown it overshadows everything that came before.

Exercise, Creating an Outline

Once you’ve brainstormed on your important characters, your story’s catalyst, and the general arc of the plot, you’re ready to outline.

Create a rough outline of your main storyline. Use any outline format that works for you. (If you’re stuck, here’s a nice guide to help you with

How to Develop a Sub-Plot

If you’re writing a book that’s longer than an easy reader or early chapter book, you’re going to need sub-plots. Sub-plots give heft to longer fiction and allow you to introduce more characters and other aspects of your protagonist’s life. Well-crafted sub-plots are related to the main action plot