Writers often agonise over their first sentence, fearing it must be utterly original to work. Let me gently reframes that pressure — showing that engagement, voice, and invitation matter far more than uniqueness when opening a story.
A tiny square has quietly arrived in the world of books — the QR code. Some authors love it as a bridge between print and screen; others aren’t convinced. This guide unpacks what QR codes actually do, how they work, and how to use them well without tech overwhelm, so you can decide with confidence rather than fashion.
Let’s not dance around this one. Every writer borrows. Every writer is influenced. Every writer stands on the shoulders of stories that came before. But there is a line. And whether we like it or not, crossing it has consequences — legal, ethical, and personal. So, let’s talk plainly about creative ownership and where inspiration ends and imitation begins.
Every so often, a new “must-do” rolls through the author world. At the moment, Amazon Advertising is wearing that crown. Let’s talk about this for those who are curious, cautious, and quietly wondering if they’re missing something important . Not to praise Amazon or to warn you off it. Just to look at it plainly. Because good decisions in publishing rarely come from hype. They come from understanding.
The most convincing characters often come not from writing exercises but from everyday, slightly uncomfortable places — waiting rooms, queues, car parks, op shops, libraries and even local Facebook groups — where people drop their performance and reveal their habits, anxieties and tells. By observing ethically and looking for patterns in behaviour (not individuals), writers can build more believable, textured characters than any questionnaire could create.
Killing a character is easy — making that death meaningful is the real craft. Effective character deaths arise from consequence, inevitability, or choice rather than shock or author convenience. When death genuinely changes the story — its direction, relationships, or emotional stakes — it deepens narrative power; when it doesn’t, it feels hollow. Sometimes the cruelest outcome isn’t death at all, but survival with irreversible loss.
Readers decide whether a book feels credible in seconds, based largely on visual cohesion rather than content. Strong branding in books isn’t loud or flashy — it’s the quiet alignment between cover, typography, illustration, and layout. When these elements feel like they belong together, readers trust the book; when they don’t, even excellent writing can feel amateur.
Local stories aren’t unpublishable — they become publishable when they shift from being about a place to being about the people shaped by that place. The strongest local fiction translates lived experience into human truths that any reader can recognise, while handling recognisability, ethics, and context with care.
After publishing, many writers experience an unexpected, hollow silence rather than celebration; this quiet can feel personal, but it doesn’t mean the book failed — it simply shows that publishing is a slow beginning, not a finished outcome.
Finishing a book is hard, but launching it is often even more daunting. Because many writers feel overwhelmed and unsure what to do next, Scribbly created the Book Launch Series — a practical, step-by-step guide to help authors plan and execute a launch with clarity, confidence, and realistic expectations
Writers worry about repeating words not because they want fancy language, but because they want to keep their natural voice. This article focuses on noticing habitual word patterns and gently expanding choices so prose stays clear and precise — more like developing editor awareness than using a thesaurus.
Writers usually ask whether to hire an editor early out of anxiety, not incompetence. In most cases it’s better to finish a full draft first, because editors work best with a complete manuscript. Early help can be useful only if a writer is truly lost — and that help should be big-picture guidance rather than line editing.
