Catalog of Storytelling Tips from The Ink Well

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Those who post in The Ink Well find out one thing fast: we are here to help writers improve. You will likely hear from us when we believe you have something to work on — whether it's character development, grammar, a missing story arc, or other important elements of quality fiction. Ae're amazed by the continual growth of skills and writing quality in The Ink Well!

Over the many months since The Ink Well community launched, we've been writing tips to support our community members in their writing journey. Here you will find a catalog of topics. Please refer to this list anytime you are looking for inspiration or ideas for how you can continue to build your skills and improve your craft.

Catalog of Storytelling Tips

This collection was previously called the "Catalog of Fiction Writing Tips." However, so many of these tips apply to all storytelling, including creative nonfiction, that we decided to rename the collection.

We've organized the tips in broad categories to help you quickly find what you're looking for.

Getting Started

• Putting Words on the Page
• Writing from a Prompt
• What Is 'Writing Voice'?
• Fiction Genres
• Fiction is Like Weaving

Writing Basics

• Story Settings
• Hook Your Readers
• Plots in Short Fiction
• Action, Dialogue and Narrative: The Dynamic Trio
• Adding Conflict
• Story Arcs
• Character Types
• Character Descriptions
• Developing Memorable Characters
• How to Write Dialogue in Fiction

"Do's and Don'ts" of Fiction Writing

IMPORTANT NOTE: An important thing to remember in the "do's and don'ts" category is to consider the audience you are writing for, and to heed the "writer's guidelines" for any publication or platform you write for.

For example in The Ink Well, we require published stories to avoid themes of brutality, rape, abuse and violence. Please see the first article below for our stance on this in The Ink Well Community.

• Avoid Violence and Brutality (in stories for The Ink Well)
• Avoid the 'Info Dump'
• 'Show, Don't Tell'
• Don't Start a Story This Way
• How to Reveal Information in Fiction
• Avoid Cliches
• Banish Stereotypes
• Don't Plagiarize!
• Don't Write This Kind of Mystery
• Avoid Author Intrusion
• Don't Use the "It Was Just a Dream" Escape Hatch

Improving Your Skills and Overcoming Challenges

• Overcoming Writer's Block
• The Value of Workshops
• What Are Plotters and Pantsers?
• Do Short Stories Require a Plot?
• Getting Unstuck
• Help for the Grammatically Challenged
• Editing Your Work with Fresh Eyes
• Lessons in Tense

Writing Inspiration

• Writing What You Know
• Stunning Writing Examples
• Exploring World Building
• What Does it Take to Be a Fiction Writer?

We hope you find something useful here that helps you — whether you have challenges to overcome, or you want to take your writing to a new level.

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