As with many of the topics we have already discussed, the decision of having a prologue or not is entirely up to you. Whether it is necessary for your story or not is sometimes another matter entirely. Let’s look at the definition of prologue before we continue. Prologue (Noun): a separate introductory section of a literary or musical … Continue reading To Prologue or Not to Prologue?

You've started writing your book. When writing our stories, we can sometimes get carried away with ourselves. We overcompensate in some areas and completely skimp over others. This is something that can be fixed with lots of practice and constructive criticism. You have the main character set in your mind, you’ve added in their cohorts, … Continue reading How Many Characters Are Too Many?

When you first open a book, you more often than naught find a Chapter List shoved in between the pages before the first official page. The list of chapter names gives you an idea of what is going to happen within the book. Some people prefer this; some people believe it isn’t necessary since the … Continue reading Do I Need Chapter Titles?

A common debate amongst authors is how long should a chapter be? James Patterson has chapters literally one page in length while J.R.R. Tolkien’s are dozens. Both are great authors. Both are infamous. But in the matter of chapter lengths, which one is right? The answer is they both are. Let’s look at the definition of a … Continue reading How Long Should a Chapter Be?