By Janice Hardy Emotions are critical in most novels, but writing them can sometimes be a challenge.   Describing outward emotions ...

By Janice Hardy Your novel's conflict—and the antagonist—can come from any number of places.  Conflict is vital to any story, but ...

By Janice Hardy Finding ways to describe your first-person point of view narrator isn't easy — and a few things not to do. Firs...

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 Theme is an often overlooked tool in a writer's toolbox. Here's another look at finding the greater meaning in ...

By Janice Hardy A mental shift in how we think about our writing and process can change our perspective, and thus, help us see the thin...

By Janice Hardy If your first pages don’t grab readers, your problem might not be the writing—it might be where you started. Openings ...

By Janice Hardy It doesn't matter how you hook your reader, as long as you hook them. "You need a strong hook" is advi...

By Janice Hardy Novels don't always have a happy hero at the core — but that doesn't make the character any less "likable....

By Janice Hardy At the heart of every story is a person with a problem, and the more compelling that person is, the better the story will be...

By Janice Hardy The guiding force at the center of a character.  When we’re developing characters, there’s a lot to think about. We need...

By Janice Hardy A first-person narrator has a unique set of challenges, and describing emotions is one of them.  For many readers, emo...

By Janice Hardy To be a great writer, it helps to be a terrible parent (but only to your characters). I have this philosophy for my characte...

By Janice Hardy The primary goal of an opening scene is to make readers want to read the next scene.  You’d be surprised how often w...

By Janice Hardy The premise is the core of the novel. Make sure it's solid. When I first started The Shifter (the first book in my tril...

By Janice Hardy Readers don’t mind backstory—as long as it’s something they want to hear about. The first novel I ever wrote was fantasy, so...

By Janice Hardy Betrayal can come in many forms, and most of them make for great stories. The "unexpected betrayal" has alway...

By Janice Hardy Character archetypes are a useful tool in creating characters for a novel. At some point in your writing journey, you’...

By Janice Hardy Our inner editor is an enemy to our muse—here’s how to shut it up. I think writers would get a lot more written if the...

By Janice Hardy Many readers decide before the end of the first page if they’re going to keep reading. A lot of pressure is put on t...