4 Tips to write the climax of a story

In the simplest of words the climax is the point of maximum tension in your story. Throughout this series, we have been using The Emperor’s New Clothes, a popular children’s story as an example.  Until now, we know that the emperor is obsessed with new clothes and that he has appointed two weavers who are actually swindlers. The swindlers have promised to weave the finest cloth for the Emperor but the ‘finest cloth’ cannot be seen by incompetent or stupid people.

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7 Writing Mistakes to avoid in fiction

That readers’ attention span is dwindling is no secret. It has been said that an average reader takes less than a minute to abandon a book or a piece of writing. Reason? Not captivating enough. Writing mistakes take on many forms. There are instances of fiction that start off on a very ‘promising’ note and leave the reader feeling cheated at the end of what can sometimes be a long tedious read.
Our guest writer Preeti Milind More, a voracious reader herself, has compiled a list of what she calls Super Bloopers (ahem!) that generally ticks her off when she is reading fiction. So whether you are writing a short story or something longer, avoid these writing mistakes like the dengue

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How to show the passage of time while writing novels

In two of our earlier posts we briefly spoke about the element of time in writing. While working on the plot of a story, for instance, it is important to consider when things are happening.
While writing about the setting of a novel too, we’d mentioned how it is important to demonstrate to readers when the book is set.
In this post we bring to you how you can demonstrate the passage of time effectively.

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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.

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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.

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How to write and develop the plot of a story

So, you’ve written that stellar opening line putting, “Call me Ishmael,” (Moby Dick) to shame. You’ve also introduced your character – a sturdy guy with those brooding eyes and you have hinted at a past that you want your reader to unravel later on and say, “Wow!” Right there, you have all the right intentions and a few paragraphs of great writing. Your exposition* is done. So what happens next

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