Book Club Recap: Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
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Book Club Recap: Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

Small Pleasures is one of those books that catches you by surprise. It builds slowly, but ultimately, it leaves you completely destroyed. Writing-wise, it’s an homage to Historical Fiction, writing passive protagonists, effective narrative drive, and more.

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How To Create Narrative Drive—The Driving Force of Your Novel
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How To Create Narrative Drive—The Driving Force of Your Novel

What is narrative drive and how do you create one? What information should you give to your reader, and what should you withhold for later reveals? How can you use voice to get your reader to feel invested in your story? This article offers a full overview of narrative drive, with examples.

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Book Club Recap: The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
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Book Club Recap: The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

This beautifully crafted family saga is a deep exploration of the very fabric of a family, parenting, and sibling rivalry. With six different POVs and dual timelines that are seamlessly and smartly woven together, it’s a great example of masterful storytelling.

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Book Club Recap: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
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Book Club Recap: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Transcendent Kingdom is a tough book to analyze. But we did our best to distill how the author used POV, fragmented narrative, and multiple social themes to deliver a story about an immigrant family worth remembering.

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Book Club Recap: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
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Book Club Recap: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

The Dutch House is a fantastic achievement—an ode to sibling love, and a story of grief, loss, forgiveness, and the consequences of parental abandonment; a masterpiece every writer can learn from.

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Book Club Recap: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
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Book Club Recap: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

Dear Edward is a wonderful, resonant book any reader would love, but for writers, it’s a well of best writing practices. From almost flawlessly executed omniscient POV, to layered characterization, to deft and innovative showing of the grieving process… This novel is a masterwork of modern storytelling.

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How to Know When to Shelve Your WIP
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How to Know When to Shelve Your WIP

There is no harder thing for a writer than shelving a project after years of working on it. It’s like quitting, defeat, and humiliation, all in one. But working on the same WIP after multiple revisions can be harmful to you as a writer. When is it okay to quit?

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