It was in the nineteenth century that mass-market paperbacks swarmed the population, inspiring writers like H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Buffalo Bill. Romance novels became wildly popular and from them, eventually, came some of the greatest characters of all time: Sam Spade, Dr. Frankenstein, Tommy and Tuppence, Miss Jane Marple and Charlie Chan.

Writing about ‘just something’ is a difficult thing to do because the idea of ‘something’ as against a particular thing is not just vague, but also sounds rather confused and foggy, which it might often be. But then one is more likely to find thinking about something a little more rewarding than thinking about a particular thing simply because there are so many things in the world that thinking about something particular is tedious and boring whereas thinking about something keeps the variety going for one. After all, there can always…

The best way to publish your novel is to do research first. This is done to understand what the market for ebooks is and learning what sells best.

An overview of five plot devices used in adventure and science fiction, and examples of their use in literature and film. These five plot devices are the McGuffin, the Supernatural, The Scientist of the Scholar, the Robinsonade, and the Leviathan.

Most often Action Scenes need work. This will take you through and show the different steps to taking your action scenes to the next level.

You know something’s wrong with your book, you just can’t figure out what. Grammar’s correct, spelling is good. But it just doesn’t quite seem to come alive in your mind. It’s probably passive voice. In this article you’ll learn how to find an eliminate that pesky passive voice from your manuscript as well as get rid of words that TELL instead of SHOW.

While you don’t have to be a member of the Spanish Inquisition, it is your job, as an author, to torture your characters. Of course, torture can take many forms. You don’t have to tie your characters to the rack or have them drawn and quartered. But as a writer, you do have to complicate their lives.

Every writer needs to learn to self-edit. This doesn’t mean you don’t need an editor, but it will help you get more for your editing dollar because your editor can focus on the big issues instead of the small ones.

Writing short stories is fast and fun. Making money writing short stories is even better. The problem though, is that different publications have different submission processes and they all want different lengths of stories. So how to you find out what to submit and where?

Writers often fall into the habit of using the same descriptive words over and over again. The thesaurus is a useful tool, but be sure and use it for the right reasons.

This was written close to four years ago. I had lost my father, mother and then a colleague at work passed away. I was gutted and didn’t know anyway to else to turn to than the screen of my computer. My mind was flooded with so much memories of all of them and it was tough. I ended it encouraging people to live their lives for it can be fleeting sometimes and we should endeavor to make everyday count.

Words capture the resonance of our lives. They are the connective tissue of language and thought. Words make us mortal and give us the means to capture and hold the beautiful. This is a salute to the splendor and versatility of words and an acknowledgement of their changing role in the digital world.