Sep 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 learning to prune it with love.
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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
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Jul 5, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
“Is it possible to get back to writing after over 3 years? At that time was the last time i was able to finish something but i was already unhappy...
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Jul 3, 2026 | by Char | Writing
Everyone has 24 hours in a day, but those 24 hours look different for each person. It can be difficult to find time for your writing, especially if...
#productivity, #writers' routines, #writing tips
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Jun 29, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
“Hiii just a question do you have an advice on how to write a ‘mean girl’ without having like the hollywood stereotypes? I’m currently writing one of...
#character development, #tropes, #writing tips
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Jun 25, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Publishing
While there are many paths you can take to get your book out into the world, there are three main routes to publishing. Traditional publishing is the...
#publishing platforms, #self-publishing, #traditional publishing
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Jun 22, 2026 | by Pamela Koehne-Drube | Ask Novlr, Writing
“Hi! I’m writing my novel in a small town from US as a non-US citizen and as someone who never visited the country. I’m doing my research as much as...
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Jun 19, 2026 | by Arthur Franz IV | Writing
As writers, we like to think we’re in complete control of our characters. It can be tempting to think that, because your name is in the byline,...
#character development, #writing tips
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.