The Chopping Blog

The author’s first job, whether they are writing fiction or narrative nonfiction, is to transport readers into their characters’ world.

Comments are supportive and personable and warm; it truly does feel as though we’re all in a giant MFA cohort together, and remarkably, I often fall into thinking Saunders is speaking directly to me.

Getting your book professionally edited is crucial if you want to be able to compete with other titles in the market, but it can also be daunting when you’re doing it for the first time.

We’ve all read novels that swallow us whole. Hours pass, and we suddenly realize it’s lunchtime and we still haven’t showered.

Writing description is like wielding a zoom lens. You, the author, need to decide what’s worth zooming in on and what can be left to blend into the background.

Yes, we’re creators, storytellers, fabricators extraordinaire, and hopefully, empaths, but we’re not body snatchers—or soul snatchers for that matter.

What snags and red flags will land your work in the bin rather than on the shortlist?

First, Google yourself. If anyone even semi-famous is already dominating the search results, you may want to consider a pen name.

Characters have arcs as they learn, adapt, and change over the course of a narrative. The same goes for relationships.

Join Darling Axe senior editors Michelle Barker and David Brown for a free 90-minute webinar on the importance of setting in fiction. 

By emotionally moving the reader, we compel them to want more—the difficult and elusive goal for any writer—just to get the reader to keep turning the damn page.

The short story is a race car, it’s a snapshot, it’s a bird.