LAURENCE MACNAUGHTON

Tag: for writers

  • 7 Keys to Creating Bloodcurdling Monsters

    Science fiction, fantasy and horror stories are full of monsters. But one of the toughest jobs a writer has is coming up with creatures that are new and interesting. When I sat down to write my urban fantasy novel A Kiss Before Doomsday, I knew that the bad guys would be undead creatures. But today’s…

  • 5 Books That Will Inspire You to Be a Writer

    Are you planning to write a book in 2020? Want some writing inspiration and wisdom from authors who have written dozens or even hundreds of stories and books? Check out my list of the five most inspiring books about writing over at Civilian Reader. P.S. Do you love free stuff . . . like books,…

  • 9 Surprising Things I Love about Writing (and One Thing I Hate)

    True story: When I was 17, I met an African storyteller. He traveled to distant parts of the world, collecting oral stories and writing them down for posterity. He was my first real-life writing teacher. His feedback helped me get started as a writer. Within a couple of years, I had sold my first magazine…

  • Making Fascinating Monsters on The Bibliosanctum

    How do writers create fascinating monsters? For me, it’s a many-layered process that involves thinking about where a monster came from, what it’s after, how it thinks, and what happens when it encounters the heroes. I actually got the chance to dive deep into the monster-creation process and explain how to do it step-by-step, thanks…

  • 4 Ways to Handle Foreign Languages in Fiction

    When a character in your story speaks a foreign language, should you write it out in that language, or in English? How can you make the dialogue sound exotic without confusing the reader? These are tricky questions. Foreign languages can lend your characters and locations a more exotic flair, and even increase the dramatic tension…

  • What Every Writer Should Know About Theme

    Theme seems to be one of those angst-triggering bogeymen that writers constantly wrestle with. But when you examine it closely, there’s really nothing complicated about it. Theme is simply the lesson the main character learns over the course of the story. (Or, in the case of a tragic ending, the lesson they failed to learn.)…

  • How to Create Characters in 60 Seconds

    When you create great characters, they walk onto the page and make your story unforgettable. They can bring every scene to life. But creating characters takes tons of time and effort, doesn’t it? Not necessarily. I’m here to show you how you can create an impressively good character in 60 seconds or less.   Sound…

  • Introducing the Six-Figure Master Fiction Plot

    Ever wish you could write a novel in just a matter of weeks . . . and then sell it for good money? Lester Dent did exactly that. In fact, he wrote his first novel in just thirteen days. You read that right. Thirteen days. Over the course of his career, he wrote nearly 200…

  • Answered: Your Most Burning Questions About Editors

    For every brilliant manuscript that grows into a best-selling novel, untold thousands of others get dumped into the recycle bin. What’s the crucial difference between them? Ask Jamie. Over the years, James Persichetti has seen more unpublished manuscripts cross his desk than most people could read in a lifetime. He started out at the incomparable…

  • Writers: Outline Your Novel the Incredibly Easy Way

    Every day, I’m thankful to have the opportunity to write for a living. Seriously. Every single day. That’s why I share my tips and techniques to help aspiring writers navigate the pitfalls of the writing craft. One of my favorites is a method for outlining novels that is super simple, quick, and (dare I say) fun. Here…