The Question You Should Ask for Every Scene

By Janice Hardy

If you can’t explain why a scene exists, you probably shouldn’t write it

Writers ask a lot of questions while drafting a novel—who are the characters, how does the worldbuilding work, what are the goals, motivations, and plot twists? And readers have their own questions driving them forward. Will the hero win? Will the lovebirds fall in love? Will the hockey team survive?

But we don’t always ask the question that can save us a ton of time and frustration.

What’s the point of this scene?

This question isn’t about the story's theme or the protagonist's goals—it’s about why you decided to put this scene into your story in the first place.

If you can’t answer why a scene is in your novel, it's a huge red flag that the scene might not be serving the story.

Why "Start With the Action" Messes Up So Many Writers

By Janice Hardy

Sometimes really great advice is anything but helpful.

If I took a poll for the most common writing advice, “start with the action” would make the list. 

Which it should, as it’s great advice. But it’s also like saying, “show, don’t tell.” You know you ought to do it, but you don’t always know how, and those four words don’t really help you write the beginning of your novel.

This can be especially hard on new writers, because they might think they’re doing everything right, but still get negative feedback or even rejections on their manuscripts. “I do start with action,” they cry. “Can’t you see that car barreling off that cliff there? What do I have to do, blow up a planet?”

Well, no. And that's where the problem lies.

If you don’t know what “action” means in fiction, you can easily misunderstand how to use it.

Do You Suffer From NWS?: Living With Nice Writer Syndrome

By Janice Hardy

Are you too nice to your characters? 

Do you love your characters?

Do you wish nothing bad would ever happen to them?

Then you might suffer from Nice Writer Syndrome.

This is a common malady. We spend hours and hours creating our characters, interviewing them, filling out complicated character sheets, determining which personality they are on the Myers-Briggs Scale. They become like family, and we can't bear the thought of doing anything bad to them.

We don't throw them into conflict. We don't let them get hurt. We don't make them work for their rewards at the end of the novel (those slackers).

It can get so bad, we stop letting them leave the house, so nothing ever happens to them.

The Best Advice on Plotting I've Ever Heard: Two Tips That Make Plotting Your Novel Way Easier

By Janice Hardy

A good story is more than a series of things that happen. It's all about the cause and effect.

Way back in 2012, I read a few pieces of plotting advice that are just as good today as they were then. They're nothing new, nothing ground-breaking, and things countless writers have said before (including me), but the way they're said is sheer genius. They're probably the most applicable and easiest plotting tips I've ever heard.

The advice refers to full scenes, but I quickly realized it was just as effective on diagnosing the action in an individual scene as well as the big picture of the novel's plot. It's an incredibly useful tool for pinpointing problems in a scene you know has issues, but can't figure out what they are.

The Recipe for Writing a Great Scene

By Janice Hardy

A great scene is a lot like a great meal. 

Maybe it's because I'm married to a guy who loves to cook, but I think of scenes like I think of food. Meals with one item on the plate might be tasty while you eat it, but once it's done, you kinda forget about it. And it's rarely as satisfying. 

But the meals with multiple items and layers of flavors going on? I still talk about some of those meals.  

Due to nature of writing and storytelling, it's easy for writers to think of scenes as "one item meals." We even describe them that way sometimes, such as, "This is the scene where Bob finds the body in the trunk.” "This is the scene where they finally kiss." "This scene is where it all goes wrong."

There's nothing wrong with this, as scenes do tend to have a main point to them. But the best scenes typically have multiple things going on, too. Plot things, character things, backstory things. A common rule of thumb here...

Give every scene at least three reasons for being in your novel. 

5 Ways Repetition Hurts Your Novel

By Janice Hardy

How to spot and fix those sneaky repetitions that weaken your prose.

Aside from a great one liner, a declaration of love, or a juicy piece of gossip, most people don’t like to hear the same thing over and over. This is doubly true for readers, and repeating yourself in a novel can make your story feel redundant, stale, or even poorly edited.

When you consider a typical novel runs between 80,000 and 100,000 words, it’s no wonder words (and even ideas) get repeated. Some of those words readers don’t notice (such as said) and others stand out even if you only used them once or twice (like antidisestablishmentarianism). 

Repetition drags down your pacing and makes even strong prose feel clunky.

Is That You? Developing Voices for Different Point of View Characters

By Janice Hardy

Unique, stand-out characters have unique, stand-out voices, so it's important to consider how every character in your book sounds. 

I'm the kind of writer who doesn't do a lot of character work before I start a novel, but one of the first things I figure out is voice. For me, what a character sounds like is how I learn who they are and what their backstory is. I usually know a few details going in, but the bulk of my characters get revealed as I write them.

The more distinct your character voices are, the easier it is for readers (and you, honestly) to keep track of who’s who. If your witty rogue, your brooding warrior, and your quiet scholar all speak and think in identical ways, readers won’t just get confused—they’ll stop believing in the characters as people. 

4 Signs You Might Be Confusing, Not Intriguing, in Your Opening Scene

By Janice Hardy

The opening scene of a novel walks a fine line between piquing curiosity and confusing the reader. 

Opening scenes are under a lot of pressure. They need to pique reader interest, set the scene, introduce characters, and give just enough information to intrigue, but not overload or confuse the reader. 

That’s a lot to ask of 250 words.

While trying to hook readers and not give everything away, it’s common for an opening scene to be less than forthcoming with information. We hold back details to sound mysterious, we hide clues we think will reveal too much, and sometimes, we even bend over backward not to provide the exact details readers need to get sucked into the story.

The fastest way to lose a reader isn’t boredom—it’s confusion.

Whoa, That’s Tense. 3 Ways to Raise the Tension in Your Scenes

By Janice Hardy

Tension isn’t about what’s happening—it’s about what might happen next.

Great stories keep us on the edge of our seats, but they aren’t always packed with nonstop explosions or fight scenes. Sometimes, it’s a drip-drip-drip of water that plays on your nerves, a heavy silence before someone drops a secret that will change everything, or a glance that lingers too long and means so much. What makes us tense is the anticipation—that nagging sense that something bad could happen any second.

The movie Sanctum is a fantastic example of how to take advantage of tension. Set in a labyrinth of underwater caves where one wrong move means death, it layers danger, dread, and impossible choices until viewers are holding their breath right alongside the characters. Even though I’ve never been cave diving, I have dived wrecks with tight, confined spaces, and I know how quickly “this is fine” can shift into “this can kill me.” One wrong turn, one bad decision, and you’re in real trouble.

Where Does Your Novel's Conflict Come From?

By Janice Hardy

One of the more common reasons why a story isn't working is the lack of a strong conflict.

Without conflict there is no story. No matter what the story is, you can boil it down to “The protagonist wants something and someone or something is standing in the way.” The novel is about getting past that person or thing to resolve the conflict and earn the protagonist their goal.

As simple as that sounds, it’s not always so clear when you’re looking at your idea. Ideas are often more concept than plot, a great premise without a solid story yet, and the conflict at the core of that idea is fuzzy. Your instinct tells you it’s there, but critique partners or even agents just aren’t seeing it.

In most cases, the conflict isn’t strong enough yet, or it’s not clear what the actual conflict (and problem) is.