10 key questions about your novel, a kindle book cover with teal background and black typewriter with trees instead of paper in it

Lay the foundation for your novel

Story Allegiance

Blog

Click a category to reduce the number of blog posts

A wooden silhouette of a man carrying a crumpled yellow ball of paper up a drawn slope against a black background

Three tools for resilience

Rejection and self-doubt are part of a writer’s journey. Discover three powerful tools to build resilience, overcome impostor syndrome, and keep writing with confidence.

Storytelling, Tools, Fiction

A close shot of a road with a sunny forrest in the back

A Story Promise

What is a story promise and how to fulfil it.

Storytelling, Fiction

Brown-grayish 3D letters scattered on a while surface with the word 'Novel' spelled out at the bottom

Ways to Write a Novel

Ever wondered how to write a novel? Try out these three approaches.

Storytelling, Fiction

A portrait of a White person with a red question mark in place of the head.

Who is driving your story?

Are you sure you've chosen the right protagonist for your story? Here's how to check.

Storytelling, Fiction

A desk with a computer in the background and a set of headphones in the foreground

Writer's toolkit #3: Podcasts for Writers

Here are my recommended podcasts for authors.

Storytelling

Two miniature people sitting on top of books. The woman has a ponytail and a yellow dress and is facing the man who is turned away. He has shot brown hair and a blue vest.

Don't Sabotage Your Hero: Common Protagonist-Crafting Errors

Avoid sabotaging your protagonist. Here's how.

Storytelling, Fiction

A red pencil with a red eraser erasing an error on a piece of paper

5 common manuscript mistakes

How to avoid making 5 most common manuscript mistakes.

Storytelling, Fiction

A yellow traffic sign with an encircled letter 'i' against a green-blue abstract background

How to avoid info dumps

Info dumps can stifle your prose and take the reader out of the story. Here's how to tackle them.

Storytelling, Tools, Fiction

A woman in a pink dress holding a pink speech bubble in front of her face, against a green nature background

Don't make these 5 common mistakes in dialogue

To craft great dialogue, avoid making these 5 common mistakes.

Storytelling, Tools, Fiction

Two white speech bubbles against a turquise background - the left bubble is disintegrating

Dialogue in storytelling

Dialogue can make or break your story. Here's why it matters.

Storytelling, Tools, Fiction