What I Learned: Writing Course for Authors (Lesson 3)
Apr 19
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I have only gone through three lessons so far, and I have already learned a lot. The exercises and examples have helped a lot in showing how things should be done. It's not overwhelming, and it's perfect for those who want to learn in a step-by-step process.
Writing Courses for Authors:
Building an Author Blog
Novel 101
Writing YA Novels
Writing Short Stories
Writing Dialogue for Plot and Character Development
Point of View
Turn Up The Heat in Romance
Show Don't Tell
Writing Poetry
Writing a Children's Book
Character Development
How to Plot a Novel
Writing Romance
Writing YA Novels that Sell
How to Build an Author Blog
Once you know what your brand is, start looking for your Content Management System (CMS). This is where you will be hosting your blog. There are many for you to choose from, each with their own pros and cons list, but let me just suggest the following:
Great if you want to monetize your blog
Provides full ownership and unlimited customization
Better for SEO (helps you rank higher on Google)
Requires purchasing separate website hosting (usually a few dollars per month).
A free and simple version of WordPress.org
Good if you aren't ready to pay the big bucks
Limited customization and no plugin support
The free plan from WordPress is useless. You will basically just jump to the first plan they offer.
Wix: This is the one I am using and I am loving it.
Easy to use and offers both free and paid plans.
Allows you to create a professional-looking site quickly.
Fewer customization and theme options compared to WordPress.org.
I tried WordPress and it was great for a while, but I wanted a different look. I wanted something simple, minimalistic, and user-friendly, which I found Wix to be exactly that.
Take a look at what you want out of your blog, out of your website, and see which CMS is better for what you want to achieve.
Novel 101
How does one start a novel? The first and simplest answer is to start small. You can start with a character, a plot, or a theme. Another option is to play around with ideas. Some might be too short-sighted, but others have the potential for more. What better way to keep those ideas, those notes, than in a journal? Good writers collect these ideas, notes, thoughts, and later look through them for something to write. That inspiration might happen straight away, or that idea might lie dormant on the page for months, even years, before being returned to.
Not every idea you write down will end up as a book, but the more you have, the more options you’ll have to play with and be able to develop one, in the future.
Writing YA Novels
Rule #3: Your protagonists (and most other characters) must be teens
This is very important if you are thinking or want to publish traditionally - agents and editors like when the main characters in YA novels fit nicely in the 16-18 year old range.
A YA novel isn't just any book a teen can read. A YA novel is a story with teen protagonists who throughout the book face themes consistent with teen experience, like school, friendships, and romantic relationships. Anything that you can think of as being teen experience, include it in a YA novel.
However, this doesn't mean that the teen needs to be human and boring, it just means to be aware of the age. YA stands for Young Adult, and it's not a genre. It's more to do with your target audience. And as your target audience is teenagers between 14 and 18 years of age, understand that they would rather see characters of that age as well. So, try to reduce the number of adults in your novel.
Short Story
You already know about the Iceberg Theory. If you don't, then read Day 2. When writing a short story, you need to have this theory in mind. Because short stories do have a word count limit, we are not able to just write long, explicit scenes. So, how can you ensure that your characters have depth?
Create a character bible > a series of questions about your character's personality, history, and goals. Think of it as an all-knowing being for each character in your story.
Distinguishing your characters on the page > this is easier if you have a character bible. Characters are different by two ways: in speech and in gesture.
The amount of work you spend on your character bible is up to you, but do not feel like the details are set in stone. For example, if you discover something interesting about the character while writing your first draft, your bible will help you maintain consistency in your rewrites.
Writing Dialogue for Plot & Character Development
Dialogue doesn't always have to shift the plot or develop characters through literal means. You can be subtle and bring subtext into the mix. Subtext is all about the underlying themes or emotions in a conversation that are not explicitly stated or shown. It allows you to hint at unspoken truths or future events. You can use subtext to build up plot reveals or reveal emotions and concerns between characters.
POV
Day 2, I mentioned Traditional First Person; today is all about the Peripheral First Person.
Unlike the former, the narrator is still a character in the story, just not the main character.
Since the narrator is not the main character, the story must be told primarily within the intersection between the protagonists and the narrator's field of knowledge. You can only work within what they know.
If you're uncertain about this type of First-Person POV, consider "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Jay Gatsby is the protagonist, yet Nick Carraway tells the story.
This POV lets you enter the mind of the narrating character (supporting character). However, this means you can only enter the scenes in which the narrator is present. If something happens to the protagonist but the narrator is not there, you can't show that scene in your story. The narrator has to be present.
A writer would use this POV only if it benefits the protagonist. If the main protagonist is unlikable, using the mother, friends, and girlfriend as the narrator will help soften the reader. You are seeing the protagonist through their eyes.
Turn Up The Heat
Sexual tension. That immediate connection you have with someone you are attracted to, but are fighting it for some reason or another. Is that look you have that you so want to get into bed with them, but can't because it wouldn't be considered polite, or dare say "ladylike" given that you just met each other.
Let's say you start dating each other and now are a couple with a few months under your belt, and that sexual tension evolves into chemistry and where everybody else can see the connection you two have.
Sexual tension is very important, more so if you are writing erotic romance or erotica. Sexual tension is the foreplay in your writing. You want to tease your readers, make them squirm and pant for the main event. Quick and dirty is not the answer, at least not when you want your readers to care about the characters or what happens next.
Sexual tension is subtle and sometimes hard to describe, but here is where the "show don't tell" skill comes very handy.
There are 3 main ways to develop sexual tension:
Body Language > A visual picture of the characters’ body language, like biting their lips, can illustrate their attraction.
Awareness of each other's physical attributes > blatantly mention when one character notices the other (their broad shoulders, piercing eyes)
Sensual details > smells, tastes, how deep a voice is, if they have rough hands,
Show Don't Tell
Let's talk about atmosphere and setting. Remember, show, don't tell, is all about sensory details, and don't get stuck on the obvious ones.
When using words like dark to describe the night, go into more detail. How does the dark affect the character? Filtering settings through the emotions of the characters, after all, their mood shapes the atmosphere. Another way to work on atmsophere and setting is to show through action, by weaving details naturally into what the character does. To add a show and a little bit of subtext, use specific visuals like wet pavement or pine trees to imply location and weather.
Mystery novels are great at showing don't tell when it comes to location and weather, since clues are in the details.
Writing Poetry
When feeling stuck, constraints can actually free your creativity. Blackout poetry provides one of the most defined constraints—use only the words already on the page to create a poem. This is what you are going to do:
Pick Your Source Text
Anything works: flyers, emails, articles, manuals, receipts.
For added meaning, try choosing a text that contrasts with the theme you want to create.
Scan for Words
Ignore the overall meaning at first.
Circle or underline words that jump out or emotionally resonate.
Choose a theme like freedom, shame, desire, etc.—or let one emerge naturally.
Build a Narrative
Use your anchor words as a foundation.
Find connections using conjunctions, prepositions, and fragments.
Allow space and ambiguity. Short, standalone words = poetic energy.
Less is More
Don’t worry about full sentences.
Embrace open-ended phrases.
Let the silence between words do some of the talking.
Children's Book
So by age five, kids are starting to read on their own—but they’re not quite there yet. That’s where Early Readers come in. They’re like a gentle bridge between picture books and full-on novels. Think short chapters, simple plots, and enough support for little minds still figuring it all out.
If your story is light, fun, and works best in bite-sized episodes, it might be a perfect Early Reader. Basically, it’s the baby version of a novel—adorable and functional.
Word count? Somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 words, depending on where they fall on the scale.
What do they like to read?
Secrets
Magic
Cuteness
Rebellion & Naughtiness
If you have a series then you are set. If a kid falls for a character, they’ll want more—a lot more. That’s why Early Reader hits are usually long-running series.
When writing:
Keep the structure simple > Beginning → Middle → End.
Familiarity is your friend > Kids are learning how stories work, so give them patterns they can identify and trust.
Illustrations > Think clear scenes, expressive characters.
Build for a series—but don’t write them all yet > One strong book + a killer list of future ideas = smart submission.
Character Development
Before you create your characters’ backstories, personalities, and looks, you might wonder: What comes first, character or plot?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It totally depends on your process and how inspiration strikes. But to help you decide, here’s a quick breakdown:
Plot-First Method
Pro: You can tailor the perfect characters to fit the world and events of your story—especially useful in sci-fi or fantasy settings.
Con: The characters might seem like a bundle of traits slapped together to serve the plot. Readers might question their realism or decisions.
Character-First Method
Pro: Motivations and personalities drive the story organically. You’ll discover conflicts and twists based on how your characters think and feel.
Con: Without a more fleshed-out plot, it might be tough to define exactly who your characters are and what they've been through.
Bottom Line: Whether you lead with plot or character, flesh out both before starting your first draft. They go hand-in-hand.
How to Plot a Novel
Now that we know what The Hook is, it’s time to jump into the next step of Act One: The Inciting Incident.
The Inciting Incident is the moment something disrupts your protagonist’s status quo. Whether it offers a chance to solve a lingering dissatisfaction or poses a danger in their path, it pushes them toward the journey ahead.
This beat sits between The Hook and the First Plot Point. There may be a few setup scenes in between, but the Inciting Incident is the first real hint of what comes next, the first plot point.
To build your Inciting Incident, ask:
What is my protagonist dissatisfied with?
What would bring them satisfaction?
What are their biggest fears/flaws?
How would the journey challenge those fears/flaws?
How to Write Romance
Every great love story needs a heroine who can hold her own. She’s not just the romantic interest — she’s half the heart of the story. If she’s underdeveloped, the whole narrative falls flat, no matter how swoony the hero is.
What makes her relatable? She needs more than a pretty face and a sassy line — she needs layers. Think: a rich backstory, real relationships, a passion, a struggle. Why is she the way she is? Is she guarded because of past heartbreak? Is she driven by proving herself in a male-dominated field? Let readers see themselves in her, or want to be her best friend.
Tension ≠ unlikeable. Yes, your heroine should clash with the hero, but don’t let that make her cold or petty. Motivation is everything. Her resistance or flaws should feel earned — something we empathize with, not something we judge. Readers will be rooting for her if they understand her.
She has a journey, too. Like your hero, she has to grow. Maybe it’s learning to trust again. Maybe it’s realizing she can be loved and ambitious. Whatever her change is, it should only be possible because she fell in love. That’s what makes the romance meaningful.
How to Write YA Novels That Sell
Let's get something straight, YA is not a genre. YA is a category based on character age and target audience. The actual genre still matters (fantasy, romance, thriller, etc.). When editors pitch to acquisitions, they need to be specific. A book can’t just be “sort of sci-fi with romance and magic. So, before you write your book, before you sell it to agents, know your genre!
The top YA genres in today's market are: contemporary and fantasy.
Writing Courses for Authors
