For thousands of years, travellers have written about their experiences exploring the furthest reaches of the world, both to record their journeys for personal reasons and as a guide for those who might follow. Before the internet age, even as far back as Ancient Greece, stories of distant lands were popular because many people would never have had an opportunity to visit themselves. But what is travel writing like today? With the internet, sharing experiences of our travels has never before been so easy, and arguably travel writing in one form or another is more popular ever. Definition of tr ..read more

On average, 3,000 words is equivalent to 6 pages of A4 single-spaced or 12 pages if double-spaced. This takes into account a font size of 12pt using a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Ariel, as well as normal page margins of around 1 inch. Knowing roughly how many pages 3,000 words is can be useful, especially if you’re writing an essay or other assignment with a strict page count or word limit. It’s also important to bear in mind that the actual number of pages can be impacted significantly by other elements. What impacts the number of pages? Word count is only one factor that influe ..read more

Writing an essay and completing it before a deadline is an important skill for any student, but even those experienced in time management might find it a challenge to consistently turn in assignments during a busy schedule. This is where it can be useful to know how long it takes to write a 3,000-word essay. 3,000 words is a common length for essay assignments at school or university, so it’s a helpful benchmark to get a sense of the expected time requirements.  A quick Google suggests that it takes roughly an hour and a half to write 3,000 words, but an essay will take considerably longe ..read more

Whether you’ve self-published a book or gone down a more traditional publication route, it can be useful to know how to promote a book yourself. After all, publishing a book is only the first step in getting people to read it. Developing an effective marketing strategy is necessary to just make people aware of what you’ve published, let alone spend money on it. Part of the book promotion process is intrinsically linked with self-promotion. As an author, you can’t just focus on marketing your book, but also on yourself. By getting your name known in the right circles, your current novel as well ..read more

Experimental fiction generally refers to works of literary fiction that play with typical literary and genres by using new and innovative stylistic choices. There is no set standard for what makes experimental fiction because any texts that falls within this bracket can appear wholly different from each other. A piece of experimental fiction can be any form, i.e. prose, poetry, or a combination of the two. It can range in length from long-form novels to flash fiction. Experimental fiction definition Experimental fiction is any piece of writing, including prose fiction, verse, and even elements ..read more

All stories have unique plotlines and characters that make them stand out from the crowd, but at the heart of many narratives is a common dramatic structure which many utilise. Throughout all forms of storytelling, from novels and flash fiction to movies and videogames, you’re likely familiar with Freytag’s pyramid, a general structure which can be applied in one way or another to almost all, besides more experimental fiction. In any literature or creative writing class, Freytag’s pyramid is commonly taught as a way for readers to dissect texts and for writers to outline their stories. Freytag ..read more

Circular narratives are used across all forms of storytelling – from TV, film, literature, and even music. This popular style of structuring a narrative can provide a satisfying conclusion to a story and wrap everything up neatly. Circular narrative definition A circular narrative is a technique where a story ends where it began. Despite the beginning and end points appearing very similar, the main character(s) typically undergo a transformation caused by the events of the story, so they have changed compared to the beginning of the story. Note that circular narratives are not the same as flat ..read more

In most stories – whether they are novels, plays, or films – the audience or reader is introduced to the most important characters and setting at the beginning. Only at the end are the plotlines and character arcs resolved. The bulk of the story, however, is in the middle. This is where the twists and turns of the plot create a forward momentum, driven both by the characters’ actions and external forces. This chain of incidents that stack one on top of the other compose the rising action. Rising action definition Rising action refers to the series of events within a plot where tensions rise, s ..read more

The plot in any story don’t simply exist as a series of events, moving from point A to B to C and so on, without consideration for the bigger picture. Whether a narrative exists within a novel, short story, poem, film, or TV show, the dramatic structure is how each element of the plot fits into the overall story. There are conventions that are often followed that provide a natural sense of flow to the reader. A dramatic structure is like the architecture of a story, the blueprint that helps a writer decide how each plot point will work in correspondence with the rest. Dramatic structure defini ..read more

Everybody is driven by something, even characters in fiction. You may be aware of character motivations and how important these are for defining the way they act, think, and behave, there are other elements to their story that direct their journey throughout the narrative. To help you create well-developed characters, it’s also important to consider what they want vs what they need. A character’s wants and needs are vital aspects of their character arc and should be decided on as part of your planning process. In this article, I’ll explain the difference between character wants and needs, give ..read more