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Tag Archives: J.R.R. Tolkien

What Is “Hidden Story,” and Why Do You Need One?

Today we’re going to discuss a part of your novel you might not even be aware exists. This elusive element of your writing is called the “hidden story,” and it’s essential to delivering a tale that will keep your readers up way past their bedtimes.

Prewriting: Turn It Upside Down and Inside Out

Today we’re going to discuss how to make a map work in your favor — or, how you can use your prewriting material in a way that doesn’t tie you down to structure.

The Benefits of Prewriting

Tweet In last week’s intro post, I posited that not prewriting your novel is like not taking a map on a quest (which happens to end with facing down a fire-breathing dragon). Today we’re going to take a look at that metaphorical map and figure out just what it really is. Caveat Caveat emptor: Let […]

Dragons, and Something to Blow Your Nose On

Tweet Author with Penchants Greetings, fellow writerly one! I’m Courtney Cantrell. You might know me from the column I used to write here at Unstressed Syllables, What I Learned About Writing This Week. Or you might have followed me over here from my own site, Court Can Write. In either case, you already know that […]