​Want to write a better book? I’ve collected some of the best advice and examples for authors to be found on the web. There’s no fluff here, only articles with tips, examples, and sometimes even exercises to help you turn that dream into reality.

Before we get into different topic areas, let's start with opening lines. A great opening line can make or break your book. Hooking readers (and agents and publishers) as early as possible gets them to keep reading. Here are 4 styles of opening lines for novels or nonfiction, with examples.
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Below, you'll find sections on:
Outlines
POV
Dialogue
Exposition
Character development
Plot
Self-editing
Sci-fi/fantasy
Nonfiction

There are also links to a couple of complete guides.

 

Outlines

11 Steps for Outlining

Outlining Fiction

If you’re a pantser, this article isn’t for you. If you want to organize your thoughts ahead of time, you’ll want to go ahead and read these 11 steps for outlining a book. There are tips for both fiction and nonfiction writers, examples, and different options for different writers.

Here’s an alternative approach to outlining your fiction book. Rather than different approaches, this article gives you a specific process to go through. I particularly like steps 3 and 4, interview your characters and explore your settings. Context can turn a good story into a great one.

 

Point of View

Understanding POV

POV: Pros and Cons

Here’s a handy guide to understanding point of view, with examples. If you’re just starting out and trying to figure out all this POV stuff, start with this article.

Another good guide to point of view, this article gives examples and pros and cons of each option. If you’re trying to decide what POV you want to use, read this one.

Third-Person POV

Choosing a point of view is only the first step. If you’ve chosen third person, there are additional choices to be made. Omniscient? Limited? Don’t worry about those labels just yet. First, read this explanation of third-person narrative so you understand the difference between the author, the narrator, the viewpoint character, and the protagonist.

Third-Person Limited POV

Any guide to POV will tell you that this style is about telling the story from the perspective of a character in the story. It limits authors, but also allows for deeper character development, and it’s not always easy to understand. This article on deep POV (which is what the author calls third-person limited) will give you tips to execute it well.

Omniscient POV

Omniscient point of view is no longer as popular as it once was, but it does give the author certain freedoms. As this article explains, “an omniscient narrator’s voice can be far from neutral, and they can be as visible and as in-your-face to the readers as they like.”

First-Person POV

“Writing in the first person voice is one of those areas of novel writing that seems simple at first glance, but is a little more complicated if you want to write like a professional.” That pretty much sums it up. Read this article’s worked example of first-person POV to understand some of the nuances of this choice.

Second-Person POV (examples)

People may tell you not to do it, but you want to anyway. It’s worked for Jay McInerney, William Faulkner, N.K. Jemisin, Italo Calvino, and others, so why not you? If  you’re going to try it, read these examples of how to do second person well.

Guide to Second-Person POV

This guide starts with a breakdown of narrative technique and continues on styles of second-person POV and relevant types of narrative voice. If you’re ready to jump in with this POV, you’ll find some helpful guidance here.

 

Dialogue

Using Dialogue

Good dialogue is not just a good conversation; it moves the story forward. Read these 7 tips for writing good dialogue, along with examples.

Writing Better Dialogue

Here are 19 more tips for writing good dialogue from an author who started by avoiding dialogue altogether before learning how to do it well. I particularly like tip 4: “People don't always say what they mean.”

Effective Dialogue

If you’ve read enough tips and want to see how it works in practice, it’s time to read this article with extended examples of different types of dialogue. You’ll also find good guidance on dialogue tags (hint: don’t be afraid of “said”) and punctuation.

 

Exposition

Rules for Exposition

This guide presents 4 rules and 3 examples to help writers understand how to incorporate exposition into a story. The author leaves you with the key question: “What is the absolute bare minimum the reader needs to know for this scene to make sense?”

Avoiding the Info Dump

Exposition is a challenge for many writers. How to do it without the dreaded info dump? Here are 6 examples of effective exposition, including dialogue, conflict, and narration.

Direct and Indirect Exposition

Another good read with techniques and examples, this article also makes the distinction between direct and indirect exposition.

 

Characters

Character Profile Template

One way to develop your characters is to create a profile for each one. Here’s a fairly comprehensive character profile template. This article also offers a list of tests you can use to quiz your characters and get to know them better, such as the Proust Questionnaire.

Character Arcs

Beyond giving your characters three-dimensional personalities, you need to give them stories. This series of articles on character arcs helps you understand some options and choose the right arc for your characters. As they say, character arc is as important as plot.

Five Steps to Character Development

Here’s another take that offers 5 steps on character development, including exercises to help you understand the advice.

Developing Voices

Every character needs their own voice. These 5 exercises will help you identify and develop the voices of your characters.

Writing Techniques for Characters

Once you’ve laid out your characters’ backgrounds and personality traits, this article, with examples, will help you build those characters using different mechanisms in your writing.

 

Plot

Character-Driven Plot

Targeted toward literary fiction writers, this article explains why plot is so important and offers four steps to creating plot driven by your characters. Start here before choosing a plot structure and outlining.

Plot Outlining

Once you have a handle on your characters, this 8-step outline will help you develop a strong plot. Sneak peek: It starts with your story goal and ends with preconditions.

Plot Structures

There’s more than one way to plot a novel. Here are 3 ideas for plot structures that create bestsellers.

 

Self-Editing

The Framework

Self-editing is hard, but it’s also necessary unless you want to pay for an extensive developmental and line edit (which is sometimes a good idea, as this article reminds us). Here are some general ideas for how to approach self-editing, as well as a couple of instances in which it’s not a good idea.

21 Tips for Self-Editing

Once you know how to go about it, start collecting advice like the 21 tips found in this checklist.

25 More Tips

Another excellent list of tips to frame your self-editing process. This article also touches on mistakes to avoid.

Words & Phrases to Avoid

This article on filter words and phrases to avoid is heavy on examples that show you how exactly to replace filter words, particularly those associated with the senses.

Words to Cut

Search your manuscript for these words to cut from your writing. In addition to explanations as to why they aren’t worth it, you’ll find directions for using search and replace.

 

Online Guides

A Quick Outline

This brief guide to writing a novel is a good starting place for new writers. But you may need to seek out additional resources for each of the steps (many of which you can find on this page!).

In-Depth Guide

Looking for a complete guide to writing a book? This writing guide from Rachel Simon, in addition to topics like characters, plot, and point of view, includes guidance on common traps, transitions, and showing vs. telling.

Writing & Selling Your Novel

Janice Hardy’s online resources for writers give you advice for planning, writing, and editing your novel. But she doesn’t stop there. You’ll also find articles on selling your novel and recommended writing blogs to follow.

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Background Information

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction offers entries sorted by author, theme, media, and culture. This is a go-to resource for any writer looking to learn more about the genre or brush up on topics from eschatology to absurdist sci-fi to weather control. Just don’t get lost.

Exposition Practices

When writing about unfamiliar concepts, exposition becomes an even bigger challenge. This article talks about 3 principles for exposition in science fiction: abeyance, implication, and literalism.

More Exposition Practices

Here are some more criteria for effective exposition in sci-fi, because the topic warrants a lot of attention. As the article says, there are many ways to do it well and just as many to get it wrong. Do your research first.

Worldbuilding

A good introduction to the topic of worldbuilding, this article offers 6 tips for the process, including a sense of place, principles of society, and how the process of social adaptation happens.

Steps to Creating a Magic System

Here are 6 sets of questions about your magic system to answer as you develop it for your world. The list includes things like how it's summoned, where it comes from, what limitations it has, and how magic was created.

30 Days of Worldbuilding

Here’s a more in-depth guide to worldbuilding that asks you to devote just 15 minutes a day for one month to topics like climate, language, education, and recent history.

Types of Magic Systems

Learn about rational and not rational magic systems. Find out how to create a framework for your own magic system that includes source, access, and constraints. Get tips on how to add depth and find further reading on magic systems.  

Nonfiction

Simple Nonfiction Outlining

Here’s a basic process for outlining your book. This article encourages you to dump the school-style outline and instead find a relaxing location in which to spontaneously write down the related ideas for each of your main topics.

How to Write a Nonfiction Book

For writers who know they want to write a nonfiction book but are stuck there, here’s a guide that starts with deciding on your topic and goes all the way through designing a funnel for sales.

A Complete Guide

This in-depth guide walks you through market research, identifying your target audience, getting through the writing process, and choosing an editor and publisher.

Writing on a Deadline

On a deadline? Here are 19 tips from successful authors on getting through a first draft, whether you’re doing NaNonFiWriMo or just trying to keep to a tight schedule.

Multiple Structure Levels

This article walks you through the big-picture and chapter-level structures of a successful nonfiction book.

Research Techniques

Good research makes or breaks a nonfiction book. This article shares 7 techniques for research, including interviews and government agencies.

Research Tools

You know you need to research, but you don’t know how? Here are 14 research tools to check out, such as Ancestry.com, the National Archives and Records Administration, and OnThisDay.

Writing the Conclusion

You might be tired by the time you get there, but the end of your book is as important as the beginning. Here are 5 types of concluding chapters that will leave your readers satisfied (and more likely to recommend your book and buy the next one).