Oct 2, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Writing
Dialogue tags can make or break a reader’s immersion in your dialogue. Great use of dialogue tags can result in clear, engaging, and memorable dialogue, but getting it wrong can make your characters’ conversations feel flat and lifeless. Today, I’m going to...
#dialogue, #grammar, #writing tips
read moreSep 28, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr
Worried that everything you read is bleeding into your own book? Here's why that's less of a problem than it feels like, and what stepping away from...
#reading, #writing tips, #writing inspiration
read moreSep 25, 2026 | by Nimrod Cortés | Writing
Trauma in storytelling is a powerful force that can shape a character’s life and experiences. Depending on the type of story you’re telling, writing...
#character development, #writing tips
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Sep 21, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
Torn between several writing projects and can't decide where to focus? Here's how to work out why each one feels stuck, figure out what you actually...
#writing tips, #motivation, #productivity, #writers' routines
read moreSep 18, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Writing
We don’t always write when the mood of our surroundings matches the mood of what we’re writing. It’s hard to write about a group of friends having...
#playlists, #writing inspiration
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Sep 14, 2026 | by Walt Kessler | Ask Novlr, Writing
What actually happens to a defendant during a murder trial, from arraignment through the verdict, and how to capture it on the page.
#research, #genre, #writing tips
read moreSep 11, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Editing
"Kill your darlings" survives because it sounds brutal, not because it's accurate. Here's why the real skill isn't cutting your best work, it's...
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Sep 7, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
Struggling to turn a great horror premise into an actual plot? This post breaks down why horror lets you coast on atmosphere longer than other...
#plotting, #genre, #fiction, #writing tips
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Sep 4, 2026 | by Kim Montgomery | Writing
Chapters across the top, plot lines down the side: how a plotting grid keeps your novel on track, and how Novlr's new Planning tool builds one...
read moreAug 31, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Publishing
You know all those pages before chapter one: the title page, the copyright notice, maybe a dedication? That's front matter, and here's what actually...
read moreAug 28, 2026 | by Kim Montgomery | Publishing
You've written a picture book, now what? A step-by-step, no-nonsense guide to editing, querying agents, and landing a traditional publishing deal.
read moreAug 24, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
Drowning in contradictory search results while researching a historical period? Here's where to actually find sources worth trusting, from free...
read moreAug 21, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Writing
There is nothing quite like the feeling of finishing off a chapter that you’re really happy with. You’ve hit all the beats just right, the pacing is...
read moreAug 17, 2026 | by Jess McKenna | Ask Novlr, Writing
A slow burn where the hero's still grieving his "perfect" dead love interest is a melodrama trap waiting to spring. Jess McKenna breaks down why...
read moreAug 14, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Publishing
Hybrid and vanity publishing aren't the same thing, but the word "hybrid" gets borrowed by enough vanity presses that it's genuinely hard to tell...
read moreAug 10, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr
Not sure what in medias res is? Here's what the term actually means, where it comes from, and how to tell whether your story needs it (or whether...
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Aug 6, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Writing
Six imagined worlds, six soundtracks; from a Southern Gothic swamp to a dead-eyed dystopia, these are the playlists to queue up before you open your...
#playlists, #writing inspiration
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Aug 3, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
Got a story with history that matters, but explaining it keeps turning into a lecture? Here's how to let readers discover your world's backstory...
read moreJul 31, 2026 | by Andrea Moran | Publishing
You’ve likely heard that as a self-published author, it’s important to generate as many reviews of your book as possible. But has anyone actually...
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Jul 27, 2026 | by Ravi Ahmed | Ask Novlr, Writing
A software developer and amateur sci-fi writer debugs why his platonic hugs kept reading as romantic and finds the real fix isn't the touch itself,...
#character development, #writing tips
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Jul 24, 2026 | by Crystal Kamm | Writing
Writing a novel is arguably one of the most gruelling of endurance sports. We write and write and write, only to scrap what we wrote and write it,...
#productivity, #writing events
read moreJul 20, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
Robotic third person narration and boring scenes usually share one cause: information being stated instead of experienced. Here's how to close that...
#character development, #voice
read moreJul 17, 2026 | by Arthur Franz IV | Publishing
When I was pursuing an MFA in Fiction Writing, every time I got a rejection letter from a publication, I would tape it to my bedroom wall. By the...
read moreJul 13, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
Learn how to write vivid smell descriptions even without a strong sense of smell yourself, using borrowed language, taste connections, and character...
read moreJul 10, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Books
Beach reads are built to be devoured fast, which is exactly why their craft goes unnoticed. Here are six that are secretly small masterclasses in...
#genre, #writing tips, #reading, #book recommendations
read moreNovlr is a writer-owned writing workspace built for, and by writers. We are the home for creative writing, here to support you at every stage of your writing journey, no matter what that looks like.