What is the Book About? In Praise of Shadows, written by Junichiro Tanizaki, is mainly about the contrast between Western and Eastern...

Many of us have at one point or another wanted to write a book. It’s an interesting and fulfilling goal or hobby. The first question I...

Many people shrink at the idea of reading literature that exceeds 200 or 300 pages. I’m guilty of looking at page count when I’m thinking...

This is the second book I’ve read by Clarice Lispector. I read her debut novel, Near to the Wild Heart, and now her last novel. This was...

There are many character flaws that you can include in your writing if you want to design complete, dynamic characters that your readers...

Writing motivation matters, whether it’s easy to admit or not. For lots of new writers, it can be difficult to find time to write because...

If you’re interested in becoming a fantasy writer, a great place to start would be to look at fantasy writing prompts. These will help...

The top creative writing tips tend to come from successful authors themselves, but there are certain words of wisdom that you can gain...

Background Hila Blum was born and raised in Jerusalem. She has also lived in Hawaii and New York. Her first novel The Visit was...

Many writers will create characters who suffer from various mental health disorders. They may wish to explore heavier topics such as...

Background Fernando Pessoa was a Portuguese poet and writer considered one of the most important literary figures of the 20th century. He...

There are plenty of ways to use a character personality test to create better characters. You don’t necessarily have to plan everything...

Writing a short story before you tackle a full-length manuscript is the advice you will often hear from me. I say this not because it’s...

This probably isn’t the type of post that anyone would expect to see on a blog about writing improvement. But as you may know, I’ve been...

Killing your darlings is an expression to denote the act of getting rid of parts of your writing that aren’t working, despite your liking...

When it comes time for you to submit query letters to agents, you will inevitably receive rejections. Rejections can mean a variety of...

Well, do they? I think so. But there are a lot of interesting things to say about why this is the case. How often have you heard someone...

The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki was published in a serialized format between 1943 and 1948. The novel is about the Makioka...

Knowing how to build tension in writing is an important aspect of executing any novel. I think of tension as a product of a character’s...

If you’ve wanted to write a novel for some time but you don’t know how to get organized, then this is the guide for you. A lot of writers...