By Janice Hardy Tension is a valuable tool for getting readers to turn the page — no matter what genre you write in.  Conflict and ...

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, b...

By Janice Hardy If your scene lacks excitement, try making someone squirm. I wrote an interrogation scene for my detective WIP that should ...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Suspense matters in all novels, not just the thrillers and the horror stories. The most memorable experienc...

By Janice Hardy  Three is a magic number in writing, and can help you craft stronger stories. There was a joke in my house growing up, that ...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Want a bestselling novel? Grab your readers and don't let them go until the end. Once in a while, a stor...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Your characters’ world provides opportunities to create mood and raise the tension in your scenes. Universal ...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Sometimes, characters need a little boost to get them moving so the plot doesn’t stall. I tend to procrastina...

By Jodie Renner,  fiction editor , @JodieRennerEd Part of the How They Do It Series JH: Keeping the reader glued to the pages of our n...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Everyone knows how important the first line of a novel is, but in truth, every opening line in the book m...

By Bonnie Randall  Part of the How They Do It Series  The benefits of using unexpected places to create tension in a story. Consi...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Dramatic irony is a fun way to create tension in a story while building a strong plot. Dramatic ir...

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton Part of the How They Do It Series (Contributing Author) Have you ever read a book that you jus...

By Bonnie Randall Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor) As an author I watch shows, and certainly read books, with ...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Tension is one of those writing terms that’s used all the time, but not every writer knows exactly what i...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy I was working on a fun scene yesterday, with two characters having a conversation. Each character’s goal...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Most of the time, ambiguity in our writing is a bad thing. It confuses the scene, makes readers pause to ...

By James R. Tuck, @JamesTuckwriter Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly contributor) Story is about tension. Conflict, its re...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy You hear it all the time. Make it active. Start with the action. Make sure your characters act. But we...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Before we dive in, just a heads up that my monthly post is up over at Publishing Crawl, where I’m talking...