FictionPowers, a villain, a saved city: superhero fiction looks easy, and that is the trap. The stories that endure use the extraordinary to dig into ordinary human problems. Here are ten craft decisions, from characters readers actually care about to…
FictionFairy tales are the oldest storytelling technology humans built, and their machinery, tight structure, archetypal characters, a moral spine, will sharpen your writing in any genre. Here are ten techniques for writing fairy tales that hold up on the surface…
FictionYour characters all went to the same finishing school. Speech pattern construction using vocabulary range, sentence length, filler words, and subtext gives each character a distinct voice readers recognize without tags.
FictionMost openings fail because the writer sets the story up instead of starting it. How to write a first page that earns the second.
FictionPoint of view controls what a reader can know, feel, and trust. How to pick the one that serves the story instead of fighting it.
FictionBackstory and psychology do not matter if the character never does anything. Why passive heroes read as flat, and how to make them act.
Fiction“Because he is evil” is a label, not a motivation. How to build an antagonist who believes he is the hero of his own story.
FictionDialogue goes flat when everyone says what they mean. How subtext gives an ordinary exchange a hidden pulse the reader can feel.
FictionGenre is not about topic, it is about psychological need. What each genre promises its reader, and what happens when a book breaks that promise.
FictionPacing is how fast the reader's emotional state changes, not how fast things happen. A 500-word scene can drag. A 5,000-word scene can fly. Stop trimming sentences and start tracking emotional beats.
FictionMost readers who abandon your book do it by chapter three. The problem isn't your writing quality. It's emotional velocity — and you can diagnose it in ten minutes.
FictionPacing isn't word count. It's emotional velocity. Learn why scenes drag despite tight prose, how tension and release create rhythm, and the diagnostic test that reveals where your manuscript stalls.
Professional ghostwriting for executives, founders, coaches, and authors who want to get the book done right. 113+ books authored. 54+ ghostwritten for clients.
Ready to discuss your book?
BOOK YOUR PRIVATE CONSULTATIONNo pitch. No pressure.
© 2026 Richard Lowe. The Writing King. All rights reserved.
Four short, practical guides on writing, publishing, and selling your book, plus the occasional note when there's something worth your time. No fluff, no daily inbox clutter. Drop your email and they're yours.
We use MailerLite to manage our list and send these emails. Your address is used only to send you what you signed up for. We will not sell it, share it, or use it for anything else, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
