Jazz Up Your Skills and Muse: 100+ Tips for Writing Better Fiction
Because Mastering the Craft is a Never-Ending Process
Writing fiction is hard.
It’s not just the blank page or the endless revisions (though there’s plenty of both). It’s the daily act of translating something vivid and slippery in your imagination into something others can feel. And doing it again and again without losing the spark.
If you're anything like me, you’ve collected a small mountain of writing advice—some of it helpful, some of it... not so much. The good stuff sticks because it’s specific. It hits at just the right time. And sometimes, all it takes is a single sharp insight to crack open a whole new level in your writing.
That’s what this list is about.
Below you’ll find 100+ of the best tips I’ve come across or discovered the hard way—divided into categories like characters, world-building, plot, and more. Most are just a sentence or two long. But don't let the brevity fool you. These are the kinds of insights that can shift how you think about storytelling.
No fluff. No recycled clichés. Just real, actionable ways to write better fiction.
Take what you need, skip what doesn’t fit, and maybe bookmark this page for the days when your creative engine needs a jumpstart.
Characters 🧝
Give every character a secret they don't want revealed.
Perfect characters are off-putting—it’s realistic flaws that make characters lovable.
Let your side characters have goals that are not tied to the protagonist.
Every one of your characters believes they're the hero of their own story.
Characters reveal themselves most under pressure, when they must make tough choices in split-second decisions.
A character's voice should be so distinct you recognize it in dialog without tags.
Even outside dialog, every word should sound like your point-of-view character’s voice.
The best friendships in fiction have moments of real conflict. Don’t be afraid to test relationships.
Backstory should leak out like gossip, not drop down like an encyclopedia.
Readers love contradictions in characters: the assassin who feeds stray cats.
A character's fears are often more revealing than their dreams.
World-building 🌍
Create traditions or holidays that feel oddly specific to your world.
Show the "everyday life" of your world, not just its battles.
Make up slang and common sayings—language evolves anywhere people do.
The economy of your world shapes its politics more than its rulers do. Money (or whatever its replacement is) should make sense.
Ask: what’s the dominant smell of the locations in your world?
Magic systems need clear limits to stay interesting.
Your characters should definitely run into these clear limits at the height of the story.
A city is defined by its problems, not its skyline.
Ancient ruins? They should be weirdly inconvenient to the modern folk.
If you can explain how food gets from farm to table, your world will feel real.
Not everyone in your world cares about the hero’s quest.
Plot 📖
Start as close to the end as you can. Skip to the action, or your readers will do it for you (unless they decide to drop the story).
Every scene must either escalate conflict or reveal character.
Twist the story by twisting what the character wants, not just what they do.
Stakes aren't just "the world will end"; they are "the people will suffer."
All stakes are about death: physical death, emotional death (the loss of a relationship), career/status death, and moral death.
A ticking clock (real or emotional) always tightens tension.
Plan a mid-point twist that forces total rethinking.
Conflict is not just fights; it’s clashing desires.
Foreshadow not with neon signs but whispered rumors.
Save your best idea for the ending.
Happy endings are earned, not guaranteed.
Scene Structure 🧱
Start late, leave early.
Every scene should change something: a relationship, a belief, a plan, the state of your characters, the state of your reader.
Let your scenes end on uncertainty more often than not.
Action scenes should focus on emotion, not choreography. It’s more important that the reader experience the scene than understand precisely every blow.
Stick to your point-of-view character’s knowledge only—filter everything through their senses, emotions, and thoughts.
Dialogue isn't real conversation—it's heightened, charged.
A good scene has a goal, obstacle, and stakes.
Let sensory details carry the emotional undercurrent.
The setting can mirror or contrast the scene's mood.
Characters should want different things in every scene.
Tension comes from anticipation, not action.
Dialogue 💬
People rarely say exactly what they mean.
Interruptions make dialogue feel alive.
Strip dialogue down until every line matters.
Conflict in dialogue is gold—even friendly banter should have push and pull.
Use body language to contradict spoken words.
Dialogue beats (actions between lines) tell as much as the words.
Let characters talk around painful subjects.
Give each character their own favorite phrases or quirks.
Silence, used well, is louder than shouting.
No one talks in paragraphs—break it up.
Got a long speech paragraph? Break it into a dance of questions-and-answers, and sprinkle in some conflict.
Theme 🏹
Start writing without knowing the theme; find it as you go.
Theme should emerge through plot, not speeches.
A theme is not “love” or “loss”, a theme is a saying about love or loss, such as “Love has its limits” or “Loss can ruin a person.”
Good themes ask questions; great themes never answer them cleanly.
The most powerful theme often opposes the character's original beliefs.
A single image can carry your whole theme (think: green light in Gatsby).
Your theme isn't your message—it's the soil your story grows from.
Weave theme into small moments, not just climaxes.
Characters should argue your theme through action, not debate.
Trust the reader to feel the theme without underlining it.
A story can have more than one theme, but they must harmonize.
Always make a strong argument for both your theme and your anti-theme. Leave the reader anxious to find out which would win.
Conflict 🥊
External conflicts are exciting; internal conflicts are unforgettable.
Conflict between allies is juicier than conflict between enemies.
The best conflicts are un-winnable without sacrifice.
Show small conflicts escalating into larger ones.
Miscommunication can spark conflict, but use it sparingly.
Build tension by making outcomes seem inevitable… then subvert them.
Fear of losing relationships often drives deeper conflict than fear of death.
Conflict reveals what characters really value.
Even a "small" conflict must matter deeply to the characters.
Conflict isn't only battles—it's betrayal, regret, longing.
Don’t just escalate danger. Escalate emotion.
Pacing ⏳
Speed up when stakes rise; slow down when emotions deepen.
Long paragraphs signal reflection; short ones signal urgency.
Cut anything that slows the story without adding meaning.
Readers need breathing space after big reveals.
Action scenes read faster when sentences are short and punchy.
Layer quieter moments between major plot events.
Use cliffhangers—but make sure the payoff is worth it.
Pacing isn't about speed; it's about rhythm.
Don't rush character growth for the sake of plot.
Trust readers to sit with ambiguity for a while.
Revision ✏️
Cut your first five pages without mercy.
If you "kinda" like a scene, rewrite or delete it.
Beta readers should tell you where they got bored.
Read your dialogue out loud—awkward bits will trip you up.
Revision isn't fixing—it's refining.
Know the difference between confusing and intriguing.
If a line feels clever, it probably needs to go.
Raise the stakes with every draft.
Clarity first, beauty second.
Sometimes "good enough" is perfect.
Mindset 🧠
You will hate your story sometimes; that's normal.
No first draft is wasted—it's necessary.
Jealousy is a map: it shows what you really want.
Protect your writing time like you protect your wallet.
There are no "real" writers—only people who don't give up.
Talent matters less than stubbornness.
Comparison is poison.
Reading widely isn't a luxury—it's your apprenticeship.
Doubt visits every writer; make it tea, but don't let it move in.
Storytelling is an act of generosity—keep giving.
But There’s More! 🎁
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Until next Wednesday,
Tal Valante Kilim
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