Checklists & Guides

This checklist should help you craft multidimensional characters that feel real and engaging to your readers. Download and print this two-page PDF checklist designed to help you build a complete picture of your main and secondary characters, and, very importantly, to keep them consistent throughout your story.
(2 page PDF)

This checklist should help you effectively plan your story from initial idea through to publication and into the hands of readers. Download and print this two-page PDF checklist designed to help you build a complete storyline from start to finish, with any the branches, changes in direction and loop-backs to your plotlines. It is vital to take your reader through an engaging, flowing and correctly curated timeline of your story.
(2-page PDF)

Taking stock after your first three chapters is essential to ensure the story you are writing matches the story you intend to tell. This checkpoint allows you to identify structural issues, such as a missing inciting incident or unclear stakes, far more easily than after completing a full manuscript. Use this checklist to evaluate your progress with your first three chapters. For each item, assess yourself as Yes, No, or “Requires Attention” or even score yourself out of 10 for each question.
(4-page PDF)

By using Outline View in tools such as PowerPoint and treating each slide like a movable story card, you can map your book’s structure, rearrange ideas effortlessly, and keep your planning process clear, flexible, and creatively energising.

How to build your manuscript using outlining.🡽

By using Outline View in tools such as PowerPoint and treating each slide like a movable story card, you can map your book’s structure, rearrange ideas effortlessly, and keep your planning process clear, flexible, and creatively energising.

Members: Read how to build your manuscript using slides.🡽

Authors can easily, through lack of knowledge and inexperience, stumble because of common yet avoidable mistakes. Whether you're working on your first novel or you have written several, understanding these potential pitfalls may dramatically improve your writing.

Avoiding the common mistakes that authors often make.🡽

Every writer knows the feeling: a scene is technically “there,” but it doesn’t "live" yet. The characters move, the plot advances, but the world feels thin, almost like a sketch waiting for colour. Sensory detail is what turns that sketch into something more immersive for the reader.

Members: Read "Using Narrative Discipline"🡽

The difference between a hobbyist and a professional writer isn't just about the ideas; it is about the execution. Professional writing provides "solid ground" for the reader, while amateur writing often feels full of confusion, inconsistency, over-explanation, and technical stumbles. If you want to ensure an agent, editor or reader keeps turning the pages, you should start using the technique of "Narrative Discipline".

Members: Read the "Using Narrative Discipline" Guide🡽

Setting clear, realistic writing goals helps self‑publishing authors stay focused, build momentum, and turn big ambitions into manageable steps. By breaking projects into milestones, tracking progress, and creating routines that fit your life, you can move steadily from idea to finished manuscript with confidence.

Members: Learn how to plan, set and achieve your writing goals🡽