Learn about bigger-picture story craft

Hone your writing and editing skills with articles, books, webinars, booklets and podcast episodes dedicated to understanding the bigger picture.

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Articles about story-level craft in novel writing

Scroll down to see what's available in this section.

Books for fiction editors and authors

Editing Fiction at Sentence Level

Fiction is about flow, rhythm, mood, voice and style. But mostly it’s about story. When writers self-edit at line level with confidence, story is elevated by the sentence, rather than buried beneath it.

Editing Fiction at Sentence Level shows you how to hone your line craft so that your narrative and dialogue compel readers to turn the page.​

Making Sense of Point of View

Do readers know which character's head they're in? Making Sense of Point of View helps editors and authors understand the different narration styles in commercial fiction.

I teach you how to recognize viewpoint, and hold it, so that readers are immersed in your story and your characters' experiences of the world you've created. Throughout, examples of good and problematic practice are given to illustrate the learning.

Making Sense of ‘Show, Don’t Tell’

‘I cannot tell you how informative and useful I found this’ – Nic Winter, crime writer

​​​This fiction-editing guide helps editors and authors understand the differences between shown and told prose. Learn how to determine whether there are stylistic problems and how to craft solutions. The outcome is a stronger story and a more immersive reading experience.

Making Sense of Punctuation

This fiction-editing guide shows authors and editors how to use different types of punctuation in a novel.

​I go beyond publishing-industry conventions and teach you how to play with punctuation so that your prose is clear but laced with mood and rhythm too.
​INVALUABLE FEEDBACK ...
Louise gives invaluable feedback on the quality, readability and pacing of manuscripts. I would not hesitate in recommending her to others or using her again myself.
JULIAN DOLLIMORE, CRIME FICTION AUTHOR​

Webinars on crime fiction subgenres and line editing​

Free to watch: Crime fiction subgenres 

Crime fiction falls into a range of subgenres. Knowing where your novel fits helps you understand what readers expect, which published writers you can learn from, and how you might stand out. You can watch this free webinar right here ...

Preparing Your Book for Submission

'The BEST event I have been to on how to edit a manuscript. I learned so much!' – ​SoA @ Home Festival​ attendee
This 30-minute webinar teaches commercial fiction authors 11 pithy line-editing tips that make a substantive difference to writing flow and reader experience.

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Listen to The Story Craft Collection

Listen to these episodes of The Editing Podcast in which Denise and Louise discuss resources to help you take care of bigger-picture storytelling issues.