Dialogue writing tips for your novel

You might move your readers with your lyrical prose and bring to life fictional cities, extra-terrestrial life, new worlds and whole landscapes, all through deft narrative description but at some point your characters have to converse. Else, admit it, it is going to be plain boring for them and most importantly for your readers. Dialogue writing is an aspect of the craft that new writers sometimes get completely wrong and bad dialogue can kill the interest in the story.

Read more

How to write an effective novel synopsis

Once you finish writing your potentially best-selling book you realise that you now face the intimidating task of peddling it to literary agents and publishing houses. It’s judgement day; well, almost.
If you look at the Submissions page (perhaps the most visited page) of most literary agents and publishing houses you will notice that you are being asked to submit a few chapters from your novel and (almost always) a Synopsis of your book.

Read more

Writing styles: Are you different from the other authors?

Writing stylesIf you are a relatively new writer in English (or any other language for that matter) you might have been asked, “So, have you found your writing style?
Have you wondered what writing styles really mean? Is style about being an expert words-smith? Is style the garb or is style the garnish? Is style the primary ingredient in the narrative dish or is style the plating?
There are no sacrosanct answers, just some exploratory ideas about what constitutes writing style.

Read more

Ever considered writing non-fiction books?

Some of the biggest writers in the publishing world happen to be fiction authors. Their best-selling novels sell millions of copies. Their success inspires a new generation of writers to the world of story writing. They are the super-stars signing copies, getting million dollar advances (in some cases, for books that haven’t even been conceptualised). Where does that leave authors who are thinking about writing non-fiction books?

Read more