Discover the role of conflict in a story, different types of story conflict, and the steps to creating meaningful conflict in your story.

By Julie Tyler Ruiz

CONTENTS:

• What is conflict in a story?
• Types of story conflict
• The purpose of story conflict 
• Story conflict examples
• How to create conflict in your story: 6 steps

What is conflict in a story?

Story conflict is the central problem, challenge, or dilemma that the main character must confront to reach their goal. It’s the force that drives the character’s journey and keeps readers engaged. Conflict creates obstacles, stakes, and tension as the character navigates difficult situations that stand in the way of their desires.

Often, the conflict and the character’s goal are intertwined. For example, imagine a commoner and a prince in love, hoping to marry, only to be blocked by a disapproving royal family. The story unfolds as they strive to convince the royals to bless their union—or consider...

Discover a simple process for outlining a novel, explore popular outlining tools, and get additional outlining tips to use throughout your writing journey.  

By Julie Tyler Ruiz

CONTENTS:

• What is an outline?
• How to outline a novel: 5 steps
• Additional tips for outlining a novel

What is an outline?

An outline is a document that describes and organizes all the components of a writing project. For writing a novel, an outline would show the framework of the plot and the events in chronological order. 

The main purpose of a novel outline is to streamline the work you do to write a book-length story. In the early stages of the process, an outline can help orient you to the storyline. Who are the characters and what is their predicament? Later in the process, you can use an outline to refine and tighten the plot. Where do you see opportunities to add or delete scenes, improve the pacing, or put characters in more dynamic situations?

As we'll explore...

Is writing a novel outline for you? Review the purpose and benefits of an outline, as well as common challenges and frustrations writers experience, to decide. 

By Julie Tyler Ruiz

In going about the process of writing a novel, you come to a point when it's time to consider creating an outline. How do you write one? Should you create one? Do you need one? Will it actually help? How far can you get without one?

The answers to these questions aren't always straightforward. We all take different approaches to writing a novel. We all think differently. And we all draw upon different gifts and abilities to tell stories. For example:

• Planners take a meticulous approach, using the early phases of a project to research their topic, explore ideas, and discover possibilities before committing actual scenes to paper. They write detailed outlines, character profiles, and other documents to guide their process. 
• Pantsers take a more relaxed and spontaneous...

Discover the truth about writing a novel in 2024, the most effective strategies for developing a solid first draft, and tips for novel writing success. 

By Julie Tyler Ruiz

Novel writing process: what you should know in 2024

Writing a novel offers many rewards. By going through the process, you build important writing skills and see yourself in a new light, as someone with the vision and stamina to complete a large project. When you reach the end of the process, you get to see your work in print and offer readers an engaging reading experience.  

Now that you're at the outset of your novel project, you have the opportunity to take ownership of the entire process, every word, every sentence, and write from your heart and soul. This endeavor is especially important in the age of AI, a watershed moment for all content creators, when tools like ChatGPT and Copilot can generate pages of text on command. As a storyteller, your...

Discover the major steps of the writing process, why they matter, and how to personalize the process to produce your best work.

By Julie Tyler, Creator of StoryBold 

CONTENTS:

• What is the writing process?
• What are the steps of the writing process?
• Why is the writing process worth going through?
• FAQ

What is the writing process?

The writing process refers to a set of tasks for completing a single writing project, from idea to finished product. In your experience as a writer, you might complete a variety of projects, including:

• Short works like essays, poems, or stories
• Long works like novels, memoirs, or a self-help book

The writing process begins with that first moment of inspiration and goes all the way to the moment you make your work available to readers. Following a process means that you plan what to do first, second and so forth, so that each step logically follows the one before it and helps you complete the next step with greater ease. By...