The Just Write Blog
Practical craft advice for fiction writers — scenes, structure, characters, and the occasional update on what’s new in Just Write.
Foreshadowing Techniques That Don’t Spoil the Ending
A practical guide to foreshadowing techniques that plant real clues without tipping your hand, using plant-and-payoff spacing and fair misdirection.
Prologues: When They Work, When to Cut Them
A working method for deciding whether your prologue is doing real work or just delaying chapter one, with the four jobs prologues actually do.
Character Motivation: The Engine Your Plot Is Missing
Readers calling your plot "slow" usually mean they can't feel character motivation. Learn the want/need method and a scene audit that fixes it.
How to Write a Chase Scene With Real Momentum
Learn how to write a chase scene with real momentum using clear geography, escalating obstacles, and sentence rhythm that controls pace.
Should You Use a Pen Name? A Practical Guide
Should you use a pen name? A practical breakdown of genre-switching, privacy, discoverability trade-offs, and how to choose one if you do.
How to Write a Morally Gray Character Without Losing the Reader
A practical guide to writing morally gray characters using sympathy levers—shared goals, firm lines, real costs—so readers stay hooked, not confused.
How Many Words Is a Novel? Word Counts by Genre in 2026
How many words is a novel? Word count ranges by genre for 2026, plus a reference table, debut author guidance, and a free tool to track your draft.
Subtext in Dialogue: Making Characters Say One Thing and Mean Another
Learn to write subtext in dialogue by hiding what characters really mean beneath what they say, with exercises to convert flat lines into scenes.
How to Write a Book Blurb That Sells (With a Fill-in Template)
Learn how to write a book blurb using a hook-setup-stakes template, with genre examples, a fill-in-the-blanks version, and a fast trim checklist.
First Person vs Third Person: How to Choose for Your Story
A practical decision framework for choosing first person vs third person, based on cast size, genre convention, and narrative distance.
How to Describe a Setting Without Boring Your Readers
Learn how to describe setting without losing readers — use the three-detail rule and POV filtering to make description do narrative work.
The NaNoWriMo Prep Checklist: October Done Right
A week-by-week NaNoWriMo prep checklist for October: lock your premise, build a light outline, prep characters, set your writing system.
How to Write a Plot Twist Readers Don’t See Coming (But Should Have)
Learn how to write a plot twist that's fair to readers, using clue types, misdirection tactics, and a reread test to check your reveal actually holds up.
Character Flaws: 40 Ideas and How to Use Them
A working character flaws list that separates decoration from plot fuel, with 40 examples and a method for turning any flaw into an arc.
How to Title a Book: A Working Method
A practical, pattern-based method for how to title a book, with real genre examples and a step-by-step process for picking your final title.
Feature Friday: Timeline
Timeline is live in Just Write today — a chronology panel that tracks your story's events, catches out-of-order scenes, and syncs with AI drafting.
How to Write a Villain Readers Secretly Love
Learn how to write a villain readers secretly root for, using motivation, competence, and the mirror principle instead of mustache-twirling clichés.
9 Writer’s Block Exercises That Actually Work
Nine specific 10-minute writer's block exercises, sorted by what's actually stuck — the blank page, a flat scene, or a lost plot thread.
How to Outline a Novel in One Afternoon
Learn how to outline a novel in one afternoon with an 8-beat method built for pantsers who want structure without losing spontaneity.
Show, Don’t Tell — Actually Explained for Once
A clear breakdown of show don't tell examples, when telling actually works better, and a five-sentence drill to convert flat narration into real scenes.
How to Start a Story: What Great First Lines Actually Do
Learn how to start a story with 8 proven first-line patterns you can copy today, from the ticking clock to the perfect contradiction opener.
How to Name Fantasy Characters (Without Sounding Like a Keyboard Smash)
A practical guide to writing fantasy character names that feel invented but real, with rules for cultures, species, and testing names out loud.
Story Structure for Beginners: Three Acts Without the Jargon
A jargon-free guide to story structure for beginners, explaining three-act structure through one running example you can follow start to finish.
How to Write Dialogue That Sounds Real
Learn how to write dialogue that feels authentic by mastering rhythm, subtext, and voice—with before-and-after examples.
How to Write a Fight Scene That Readers Can't Put Down
Practical techniques for writing fight scenes with real stakes — pacing, sentence rhythm, choreography, and the mistakes that make action feel weightless.
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