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Learn to write stories

Tips, tricks, and articles about learning to write stories and books.

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By Jill Steves

A book's genre is a way of categorizing it based on its content. This content could be its style, themes, and conventions. For example, romance novels will have themes around relationships, where as mystery novels will have conventions around revealing clues and making multiple characters viable suspects. These things all help readers figure out what kinds of books they want to read, and helps writers create stories that will appeal to certain audiences. For example, a fantasy book may involve magic and mythical creatures, while a sci-fi book might have robots or space ships. Understanding book genres can make it easier for you to find books that you will enjoy.

Here is a brief list of some popular book genres and their definitions.

Posted in Learn to write stories on 2022-12-04 -
By Jill Steves

A beat sheet is an outline for a novel or screenplay that helps writers to structure the story and ensure that important plot points are included. A beat sheet can be used to identify key moments in the story, map out the character arcs, and ensure that all elements of the narrative are in place. Beat sheets vary from one format to another, but they all provide a basic framework for writing a compelling story. In this article, we'll look at some of the more popular beat sheets and provide examples of how they can be used to create novel outlines.

Posted in Learn to write stories on 2022-11-30 -
By Jill Steves

Beat sheets are a useful tool for writers looking to outline their novels. A beat sheet is a type of outline that breaks the story into beats or sections, allowing the writer to track characters, plot points, and other elements of their story. Beat sheets are a great way to quickly plot out a novel and keep track of the story’s progress.

Posted in Learn to write stories on 2022-11-30 -
By Jill Steves

Dan Harmon is a well-known writer, director, and producer, best known for his work on the popular TV show Community. He has also written for other shows such as The Sarah Silverman Program and Rick and Morty. In addition to his work in television, Harmon has also gained notoriety for his unique approach to story structure, which he calls the "Story Circle."

Posted in Learn to write stories on 2022-11-01 -
By Jill Steves

As an author that's about to self-publish their book, there are a lot of things to think about. One of the most important - believe it or not - is your book cover. Even though you'll (most likely) only be selling your book digitally as an epub, mobi, or PDF, a book cover is the first thing potential readers will see as they browse your website or Amazon Kindle listing. It's what will make them decide whether or not to pick up your book and give it a chance. We're not supposed to judge books by their covers, but the average reader and book-buyer definitely does!

Posted in Learn to write stories on 2022-10-18 -
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