Check Out Janice Hardy's Fiction University

By Elaine L. Orr

At least once a week I read about enhancing writing skills. In the "old days" I would read a new book on writing after I finished writing one of my books. There are so many Internet resources that I now go there first.

A site I now go to a lot is Janice Hardy's Fiction University. It's straight forward and indexed well. The site also addresses a broad range of topics rather than focusing on, for example, character development or structure. Sites with a narrower focus can be quite good, but I like being able to browse diverse subjects. 

Though there are topics such as marketing and the writing life, these are samples of those that deal with writing itself.

Developing Your Novel

Ideas and Brainstorming

Story Development and Theme

Character Development

Structure and Outlining

Plotting

Goals, Conflict, Tension, and Stakes

Setting

World Building

Genre

Word Count

Series and Trilogies

Writing Your Novel

Voice and Style

Dialogue and Internalization

Point of View (POV)

Description

Pacing

Foreshadowing

Flashbacks

Tone and Mood

 Common Writing Problems

Show vs. Tell

Backstory

Infodumps

Hooks

Lack of Conflict

Lack of Action

Lack of Goals

Lack of Tension

Lack of Motivation

Lack of Stakes

Stalled Stories

Editing Your Novel

First Drafts

Revision and Editing

Word Choice

Trimming Words

Critiques and Feedback

Click on any of the topics (when you're at the blog itself) and you'll see many articles. In a sign of how much people benefit from the posts, you'll see dozes of comments.

I generally want my characters to solve problems, and that's not always the most interesting reading. At the moment, I'm reading articles on lack of tension in stories, especially the one about adding tension during revisions. 

                                                                 *     *     *     *     *

To learn more about Elaine, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter.