Category: Craft

First drafts are… as I like to warn every new author, messy. But hey – they’re supposed to be! That’s part of the creative process – the regurgitation of ideas into one big pile of words on a page.

First drafts are loveably troublesome, and it’s easy to miss some of their weaknesses and problems. That’s where a great editor is worth their weight in gold. Editors are accustomed to dirty first drafts, and how to mold them into beautiful and intriguing works of art. In this post, editor Tex Thompson will share the 10 most common first draft problems that she sees.

As writers, our words are the building blocks and material of our novels – so we have to choose them carefully! The word choices you make create the flavor and tone of your book, and as important as having impactful strong words are, it is just as important to avoid “bad words” in your novel.

Strong dialogue can be crucial in creating compelling scenes, unveiling your characters, and progressing your novel’s plot. In a 2020 Inkers Con workshop, Mitali Perkins taught attendees how to spot and fix seven common mistakes authors make and demystified the process of delivering great dialogue.

Bestselling authors K.A. Linde and Alessandra Torre gave an Inkers Con presentation in 2019 called Outlining for Pantsers. They shared their outlining tools, best practices, and productivity tips. 

In 2019, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst gave an Inkers Con presentation called “Five Ways to Improve Your Story.” One of the concepts that she covered in this presentation was how to plant quick jabs in each chapter to keep the storytelling sharp, and compel readers to continue, tease the reader with a secret, or drop a fascinating revelation about a character.