By Janice Hardy Sometimes the best fix isn’t changing what characters say—it’s changing where they say it. Before I dive in, I did a gue...

By Janice Hardy Does your protagonist really need to do that? Many writers struggle with plotting because they add “stuff” to a scene w...

By Janice Hardy It’s not the big, flashy moments that make characters unforgettable—it’s the subtle differences and distinctions. One of...

By Janice Hardy A re-read might be the right path to find your story and fall in love with it all over again. Many writers shudder at th...

By Janice Hardy Figure out your word count without losing your mind. You’ve finally finished the novel you’ve been working on for oh-so-...

By Janice Hardy Should you clue readers in or keep them guessing? It’s one of those sneaky little questions that pops up mid-draft, usually ...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Tiny tweaks in a story can cause a tidal wave of changes. Maybe I’m a writing freak, but I actually love revi...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy A little thinking before you start writing can make a huge difference in how easy that story is to write. F...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Not everything you write needs to be published—or even publishable. A few years after I published my third no...

Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy If you've been struggling with a plot, or you're looking for ways to deepen an existing plot, try lookin...

By Angela Ackerman Part of the How They Do It Series JH: Sending a character into an emotional spiral is a great way to add conflict to scen...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy The first words you write aren’t always the right words to use. Tuesday, I spent at least a half hour writing...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Sometimes the answer to making a scene work is inside the scene itself. I’ve been struggling with a major tur...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Told prose can steal the oompf from your story and make readers want to skim. As a science fiction and fantas...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Transform your story by mining its hidden gems. One of the many reasons I adore my critique groups is that th...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Sucks readers in…of course. A novel is a series of smaller story arcs all leading toward “an exciting conclus...