A World to Remember: More Lessons from the Harry Potter Series Principle Four: Create a world the reader will remember

This blog is part of the Storytelling lessons from Harry Potter series. For part one, click here. For part two, click here. For part three, click here.

Diagon Alley. The Quidditch World Cup.The Chamber of Secrets. The Cupboard Under the Stairs. Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

These were not places […]

By |2025-02-12T22:35:38+00:00|The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on A World to Remember: More Lessons from the Harry Potter Series Principle Four: Create a world the reader will remember

Heroes Have Hormones: More Lessons from the Harry Potter Series Principle Three: perfect heroes are uninteresting ones

This blog is part of the Storytelling lessons from Harry Potter series. For part one, click here. For part two, click here.

It’s Harry Potter time here at The Editorial Department, and in honor of the release of the newest addition to the series, Harry Potter and The […]

By |2025-02-12T22:35:26+00:00|The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on Heroes Have Hormones: More Lessons from the Harry Potter Series Principle Three: perfect heroes are uninteresting ones

Chekov’s Gun: More Lessons from the Harry Potter Series Principle Two: Chekov had a gun; Trelawney had a prophecy

This blog is part of a series. For part one, click here.

This week we’re talking about Harry Potter. No, not the much-anticipated book that’s releasing next week (although I, for one, already preordered it.) We’re talking about the books that started it all, and the lessons that authors can apply in their own Works In Progress.

Principle […]

By |2025-02-12T22:35:13+00:00|The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on Chekov’s Gun: More Lessons from the Harry Potter Series Principle Two: Chekov had a gun; Trelawney had a prophecy

Five Great Storytelling Lessons from Harry Potter Principle One: Plant the seeds early, but plant them loosely and let them grow

It wasn’t so long ago that everyone was talking about The Boy Who Lived and his son, Albus, the main protagonist of the 2016 addition to the Harry Potter series. In anticipation of the (unexpected) new addition, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, we decided to re-read the entire series, all 3407 pages […]

By |2025-02-12T22:30:35+00:00|The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on Five Great Storytelling Lessons from Harry Potter Principle One: Plant the seeds early, but plant them loosely and let them grow

Book Titles: Trends to Avoid Self-Publishing expert Morgana Gallaway tells us what to be wary of when naming our novel

There are three important elements of a novel. The story is only one of them. The other two are about connecting readers to that story: the cover, and the title.

Just as in fashion, book titles have trends.

Titles are a contentious subject for fiction writers; most publishing contracts have a clause stipulating that the author’s wishes will be […]

By |2024-01-06T21:47:59+00:00November 9th, 2016|Industry Insights|Comments Off on Book Titles: Trends to Avoid Self-Publishing expert Morgana Gallaway tells us what to be wary of when naming our novel

A History of the Great Divide: Literature vs. Genre Fiction Breathing life into a post-modern Prometheus

literary coffeeI was once involved in a near knockdown drag-out fight that began with my assertion that John Irving’s The World According to Garp was a great piece of “literature.” The wine-swilling MFA fiction writer seated across from me at the bar took […]

By |2024-01-06T22:47:23+00:00|The Writer’s Craft|Comments Off on A History of the Great Divide: Literature vs. Genre Fiction Breathing life into a post-modern Prometheus
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