Welcome to the Reading Room
Join us with a cuppa and settle in for expert writing advice, writing and publishing tips, book reviews, and your questions answered!
How to Craft the Perfect Story Setting (With Downloadable Template)
Your setting is fundamental to your story. It’s the backbone of your plot and is essential to providing narrative context, establishing the mood and tone for your scenes, and even acting as a plot device in its own right. The best settings are the ones that readers...
How do you choose between multiple story options?
"I'm stuck on my story and I don't know how to continue. I have a few continuations in mind and don't know which one to pick. Every continuation works. I am a writer of a kind where if I write something, in my mind I'd be thinking 'why didn't I go with the other...
8 Mistakes to Avoid to Write the Perfect Novel Opening
Is there a single perfect novel opening? No. Is there a single winning formula to your perfect novel opening? No. There are, however, very common pitfalls new writers can fall into that lead to your opening being sub-par. You want to have your reader care about the...
Got a Question? Ask Novlr!
Want to know more about a certain aspect of writing or need more general advice or inspiration? We’re here to help!
How do you fix plot holes?
"Hello, I was writing my book and I realised that I had two plot holes that need fixing. I am not good at fixing plot holes so I tried to find something in the reading room about it but there was nothing there yet. Can you help?" Plot holes are a natural part of the...
How do you research an unfamiliar industry?
"How to do research for a story set in a field you know very little about (the film, music industry, sports like basketball...)?" The adage “write what you know” is often bandied about like it’s something deeply meaningful. It’s the one piece of writing advice I’ve...
How do you write epistolary fiction?
"So I want to write a story that's told through letters and texts and stuff? Like, I've seen books that are all emails or diary entries and I think it's really cool, but I have no idea how to actually do it." There's something irresistibly intimate about stories told...
