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Book Review & Contest Insights from Real Reviews and Submissions

What separates great books from the rest? Below are articles with insights from real reviews and contest submissions—what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve your book. Below that are hundreds of articles on topics all authors face in today’s literary landscape. Get help and advice on Writing, Marketing, Publishing, Social Networking and more. Each article has a Comments section so you can read advice from other authors and leave your own.

Why Some Books Win Awards (And Most Don’t) — Insights From Real Contest Submissions New!

What separates award-winning books from the rest? After evaluating contest submissions across a wide range of genres, certain patterns become clear. Some books consistently rise to the top. Others, even with strong ideas and clear effort behind them, fall short. The difference is rarely dramatic—it...

What We’ve Learned From Reviewing Hundreds of Thousands of Books (And Why Most Don’t Stand Out) New!

After reviewing and evaluating books across thousands of submissions over the past two decades, certain patterns become impossible to ignore. Some books immediately stand out to reviewers. Others—even well-intentioned ones—fade into the middle or fall short. The difference is rarely luck. It comes down to...

Character-Building and Other Characters

Character building is a lot like world-building and the advice for it is very similar. We need certain types of characters for certain stories. We need a couple of them to make a story really work. I am not just talking about our main character...

World-Building and Detail

There are certain things that you can do when you are world-building. First, what do we mean by world-building? It means that we look at the world we are creating for our characters to live in. When is our story set? The 1940s? Future? Dystopian?...

Understanding Antanaclasis: Definition, Functions and Examples

Antanaclasis is a literary device that can make your writing more humorous and compelling. Its effect is evident in memorable quotes and slogans. And in literature, they can create striking and funny statements that make an idea remarkable. In this article, we examine the definition...

Reviewing Poetry

Reviewing poetry is a form of therapy, as much as reading. As readers, we are transported to another world and we carry with us the torch to reveal a story to new readers. We trace our eyes like fingertips across the pages of literature in...

What is Anadiplosis? Meaning, Functions and Examples

Anadiplosis employs repetition in creating impressive effects in writing. This literary device makes your prose sound more conversational and engaging. It also makes speeches and poetry powerful, evocative and rhythmic. In this article, we examine the meaning of anadiplosis and how it creates remarkable effects...

Jungian Archetypes

Novelists, poets, music artists, artists, and writers involved in the world of literature and art all have one thing in common. They create content that imitates life. Or I could also simply say they make content about life. One remarkable thing about this is that...

Platonic Archetypes

Archetypes are an essential item in the literary world. Archetypes provide writers with the luxury to entertain and even educate their audiences. Archetypes are among the few literary tools whose major use is in fiction. We are going to learn about a particular type of...

All About Archetype

Think about the characters you love in your favorite sequels, series, or novels. What did you love most about them? I can tell you were quick to say “their roles in the story.” These roles are the same reasons why we have heroes, villains, and...

Understanding Anacoluthon: Meaning, Usage and Examples

Some rhetorical devices appear unfamiliar but are frequent in everyday language. Anacoluthon is one of them, a stylistic device that interrupts a grammatical sequence. In literary writing, this device displays language style employed in streams of consciousness and depicts thoughts and regular conversations. In this...

What is Adynaton? Meaning, Usage and Examples

Adynaton is common in everyday conversation. We use it to create humor or show how serious we are. In literature, this literary device helps writers express intense emotions and emphasize an idea. In this article, we analyze adynaton, its usage, and examples. What is adynaton? Adynaton is...