Cowritten by Akshaya Raman One of the toughest things about writing multiple POVs is figuring out how to structure your book. If you’re adhering to basic story structure, then you know you need a few key plot elements — an inciting incident, a dark moment, a climax. But with multiple POVs, each character’s storyline has… Continue reading Pacing with Multiple POVs
Recently I had a conversation with a fellow writer (hi Meg!) about how we’d both gone back and forth on whether our books worked better as YA or adult, and it got me thinking about how exactly those kinds of things are determined. There are lots of books on adult shelves I could easily see… Continue reading YA or Adult: Finding the Emotional Core of Your Book
Some writers listen to nothing as they work on their books, and others will go from one album to the next. Here at Writer’s Block Party we’ve got no music, sometimes music, and always music writers. For the end of May, we’ve got some of music recommendations based on what we’ve been listening to as… Continue reading What We’re Listening To: May Edition
There is a common refrain out there, in every corner of the internet, on panels and interviews galore, where authors talk about how hard it is to write their second published book. It’s so common, in fact, that it has a variety of names–the sophomore slump, second book syndrome, the tenth circle of hell, etc… Continue reading Why is it So Hard to Write a Second Published Book? Reflections on the Sophomore Slump
Timelines in a book are hard enough to keep track of, but when you start throwing in additional POVs, they can quickly become giant tangled messes of woe. Maybe your first POV’s chapter take place in the afternoon, but the next POV needs to take place at midnight, but oh no–the next one has to… Continue reading Timelines with Multiple POVs
Welcome to our quick guide for word count! If you’re about to query or submit your work, word count is something you should include in your query letter. Word count is a general rubric to show that you’re putting in the work to make sure you’re developing your story enough without being overly wordy or… Continue reading Word Count Guide
Note: This post is done in a roundtable style where members of Writer’s Block Party discuss a topic together. Moderator & Editor: Melody Simpson QUESTION ONE: What does an ensemble cast mean to you? Ashley: I think an ensemble cast is a group of characters–maybe four or more? Or three or more?–who have equal… Continue reading Roundtable: Ensemble Casts
