Newton’s third law says every action will have an equal but opposite reaction. This is true in stories, too … or at least it should be. How do we get to know characters, even as they flit from one conflict-ridden chase scene to the next? Through reaction beats.

Stories are memorable because of how they make us feel. Writing memoir means remembering and possibly reliving the emotions tied to the experience. I’ve come to think of it as a two-step process.

Your voice is unique to you. It’s how you talk; the combination of sounds, the words you choose, your sarcasm or humor, etc. Those same idiosyncrasies factor into writing voice. It’s a writer’s stylistic choices, the POV character’s personality, and the audience you’re telling the story to. So, what’s picture book voice?

Writing dialogue is tricky. It seems like it should be the simplest part of the process, because we’re all familiar with what conversations sound like. There’s a difference, though, between a conversation you might have and how to write active dialogue in your story.

A series of things happening doesn’t make a story. Without a clear premise, readers have no idea what to expect from the story or why they should keep reading. Here's how to establish your premise from the start.

Picture book ideas can be hard to generate. Sometimes it seems like everything has been done! How can you come up with a good idea?

You want to include as little backstory in your opening as possible, yet sometimes you feel you need to explain certain elements to the reader up front, so a prologue seems like an obvious solution. So why do so many people advise against them?

Everyone has a story to tell. But what if you’ve only ever written fiction? Maybe it’s time to try something new. Writing your life stories is a great way to expand your writer’s craft toolbox and will add creative nonfiction to your writing portfolio.

Populating your world with interesting people can make readers care about your story, and writing relationships between characters can inspire them to ship, daydream, and root for your characters. Here’s how to help them come alive on the page as real, believable people.

Premise is the short summary of your story, also known as the hook or logline, that informs the reader’s expectations of where the story will go. Stay on track and learn how to structure your personal story with strong premise in memoir.

If you’re struggling to figure out how to write your memoir or can’t seem to find the right words, here are three writing practices to make you a better memoir writer and help your memories, reflections, and musings shine bright and clear.

To outline or not? Writing projects start with a spark—a character, a scene, a what-if moment. But what happens from there?

Many aspiring memoirists wonder: how true does my memoir have to be? It can be daunting to think about the holes in our memory, the times we disagree with others about what really happened, or the way time has altered our perception. No one wants to become the latest scandal for lying in a memoir!

Regardless of who I’m talking to—an audience of kid readers, or a group of teachers at a workshop, the most common question I receive is: how to cure writer’s block?

Writers are often cautioned away from flashbacks, but they can connect the dots between the past and who the characters are now. Read on for tips on writing flashbacks that function well.

When done well, rhyming picture books are snappy, quotable, and fun to read. Children retain the words more easily and begin to identify patterns and sounds: a real treat. The problem? Writing a good rhyming picture book is much trickier than it looks.

You’ve probably written a plot outline for your story, but have you written a character development outline? Here are some tips for developing character arc so your character development is as tight as your plot.

Your first line must grab the reader’s attention and make them not want to put your book down until they get to the last page. So, what makes a great first line? Here are some tips on how to make your novel’s first line zing!

We want our readers to connect emotionally to our characters and to feel their pains and struggles—but it can be tricky to know how to describe emotion to create that connection. Here are some effective ways to describe emotion.

Reactions go beyond what a character’s body does in the moment. Check this list for ideas for digging your characters out of their physical clichés and moving your story forward.