The links have been piling up. I’ve been hoarding tabs like a dragon sitting on gold, telling myself I’d get to them next week—and then next week kept arriving with more resources. So here we are: a full-on link dump, sorted into tidy categories (because I cannot in good conscience just fling them at you).
Kettle’s on. Let’s clear the queue.
It’s here! Tomorrow—Tuesday, April 21 at 12:00 p.m. US Central—is our monthly live call exclusively for premium subscribers. Join me and my guest Beth Hill for a quick and lively brown bag call to talk about the craft of writing fiction.
Why Brown Bag calls are brilliant: There are no slides, no agenda, and no performative teaching. Just Q&A and real conversation about writing, every third Tuesday of the month.
If you’ve been wanting a space where you can talk about writing without feeling lost in the crowd, this is it. I don’t have many premium subscribers, so our meeting feels warm and personal, and there’s room for everyone to chime in. It might just be one of the internet’s best-kept secrets for writers serious about growing their craft.
📌 The meeting link will be posted and emailed to premium subscribers on Monday. I’ll see you at lunch!
The complaint “my editor made me” is a sign that a writer has handed over a decision that was theirs to make. Evaluating and implementing feedback is a critical writing skill—take control of your manuscript’s development and evolution.
The earliest scenes you imagined for your story often turn out to be relatively ineffective at moving the story forward for readers. If nothing changes during a scene, it creates no story.
Short stories are great for developing your writing chops, but short stories are not short novels.
Weird grammar and syntax tics aren’t what create writing voice. You can’t impose “voice” on your writing; it develops organically from more writing. Finish more manuscripts!
Don’t treat your book title like a label.
There’s a reason that modern storytelling feels hollow. This smart article also reminds you how to recapture your story’s soul.
Subplots should be integral to the fabric of your story, not the trim dangling off the cuffs.
Not every book needs a high-concept premise to succeed, but every writer should know what high concept is and why it matters. (And now you’ll understand why Twilight works.)
Dig into reader and publisher expectations about truth in fiction, memoir, and autobiography.
The point of your story will remain murky until you can put your finger on whether it’s about the plot, character, or situation.
Fresh genre observations for writers working in literary romance or the overlap between women’s fiction with historical fiction and upmarket, literary, and commercial fiction.
The grossness of SEO-stuffed book titles. (Please don’t do this.)
Book awards are one of the best ways to help your indie book stand out from the field.
Why effectively reaching readers with your book may mean launching three times.
If you use social media to connect with readers and promote your books, please stay up to date with current social media trends and best practices.
Upmarket fiction is my sweet spot for coaching and editing, so I have a particular interest in making sure writers know what it is and what it isn’t.
What editors are actually weighing when deciding whether to acquire your manuscript—and it’s not just about gatekeeping and quality.
Finding comp titles is one of the earliest steps in helping your readers find your book.
Framed as a guide for explaining publishing to non-writer friends, this article is just as useful as a grounded intro to publishing realities for newer writers.
One author digs into her rejection letters and shares what she actually took away from them.
Still pecking away on your laptop? Here are 10 reasons to write on a big monitor.
If this project is one of your first few completed manuscripts, you’re still deep in the learning curve—so lean in.
Speaking of early manuscripts, would you delete your first novel?
I wouldn’t DNF a novel with these issues—I’d take notes and learn from it.
Even so, it’s probably best to avoid low-quality junk content on the whole.
Over at Writers Helping Writers, where I’m a resident writing coach, I’ve been covering these areas:
Action beats are only one type of beat. A beat isn’t a dialogue tag with ambition. It’s a window into two worlds at once: the character’s inner life and the scene unfolding around them. Strip them out and the scene doesn’t just feel thin—it falls apart, because beats anchor readers inside the experience, not just the exchange.
Structural secret: Character arc emerges organically from story structure. The throughline of character arc follows not the plot of your book but its structure—the process of moving from one side of the story problem to the other.
Make yourself the most useful member of your writing group. The process itself is straightforward: Say what you see, name what’s landing, and ask open questions that let writers find their own way to the places that need work. Nobody gets pushed out of the driver’s seat—and as a bonus, the analytical muscle you build doing this transfers directly to your own pages.
A quick note: More than a few of the pieces I’d saved to share in this mega-dump didn’t make the cut because they’ve since moved behind paywalls. It did get me thinking, though—and I’ve gone ahead and removed the paywalls from older articles here at The Writes of Fiction.
Paywalling older posts is a pretty common practice on Substack, but I felt like taking down the paywall for older posts here felt like the right call. It’s part of why The Writes of Fiction is set up the way it is. The newsletter itself is free to read, with the paywall reserved only for premium subscriber offerings. Good ideas should get around.
I’d love to know what you think of this format—does a categorized mega-dump work for you, or do you prefer the usual handful of links with excerpts? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Onward,
Lisa
P.S. I’d love to work with you on your book, and I still have availability for coaching and developmental editing this summer. Drop me a message and let’s plan your manuscript’s next steps.
This is The Writes of Fiction, a slow-simmered concoction of old and new thinking about writing fiction—the bits I find most helpful to writers finding their way. I hope they help you too.
And this is Rémy, girded against spring thunderstorms in the War with Thor.
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