Skip to content
Mark Douglas Doran
Menu
  • novel writing
    • Don’t Submit Your Dream Novel First
    • WHY YOU SHOULDN’T MIX GENRES WHEN STARTING OUT
    • Raise the Stakes or Lose Your Reader
    • PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF 1951 CHRISTMAS CAROL
    • Speech-to-Text: A Writer’s Secret Weapon
    • The #1 Reason Readers Quit Your Book
    • The One Trick That Hooks Every Reader
    • Why Every Scene Needs Intent and Obstacle
    • The One Golden Rule Every Novelist Must Know
  • how to.. writing tips
    • HOW TO CONTROL YOUR NOVEL’S PACE
    • How To Create A Powerful Story With 6 Words
    • Why Writing Your First Book Is Brutal (Truth)
    • The Secret to Rereadable Novels
    • How to Write a Villain Readers Fear
    • Fix Your Ending, Fix Your Story
    • The One Trick That Hooks Every Reader
    • Why Most Flashbacks Kill Your Story
    • How to Write an Epic Trilogy That Works
  • working your novel
    • Speech-to-Text: A Writer’s Secret Weapon
    • Stop Writing Flat Characters (Do This)
    • UNDERSTANDING A CHARACTER’S WANTS AND NEEDS
    • Why Character Arcs Make or Break Stories
    • Why Passive Heroes Kill Suspense
    • Too Late to Write a Novel? Absolutely Not
  • beginning your novel
    • The Fastest Way to Create Real Characters
    • The Writing Skill Most Authors Ignore
    • The Emotional Secret of Unforgettable Novels
    • Why Writing Your First Book Is Brutal (Truth)
    • What Jokes Teach Us About Writing Novels
    • Why You Shouldn’t Start at the Beginning
    • Why Most Twist Endings Fail in Novels
    • How To Create A Powerful Story With 6 Words
    • Planner or Pantser? What Stephen King Really Does
  • editing your novel
    • HOW TO CONTROL YOUR NOVEL’S PACE
    • Fix Your Ending, Fix Your Story
    • The Smart Way to Research Your Novel
    • SEEING THINGS THROUGH A LITERARY AGENT’S EYES
    • Do You Really Need Apps to Write a Novel?
  • quick writing tip
    • The Writing Mistakes Bad Sequels Reveal
    • The One Golden Rule Every Novelist Must Know
Menu
The Truth About Writing Advice

The Truth About Writing Advice

Posted on January 29, 2022March 17, 2026 by mark

How Not to Write a Novel (And Avoid the Worst Advice) You don’t need another quote telling you to “believe in yourself.” You need to know how to write a sentence. There’s a quiet frustration many new writers feel after buying online writing courses. The instructor is successful. The lighting is perfect. The music is…

Read more
The Stephen King Suspense Blueprint

The Stephen King Suspense Blueprint

Posted on January 28, 2022March 17, 2026 by mark

How Stephen King Creates Suspense Readers Can’t Escape (And How You Can Use the Same Techniques Today) You’ve probably experienced it. You sit down to read for a few minutes… and suddenly two hours disappear. The room fades away. Your phone rings and you’re almost annoyed — because for a moment you weren’t in your…

Read more
Amateur vs Pro Writers: 26 Key Differences

Amateur vs Pro Writers: 26 Key Differences

Posted on January 26, 2022March 22, 2026 by mark

26 Habits That Separate Amateur Writers   Opening Hook Most writers don’t fail because they lack talent. They fail because they don’t realize they’re still writing like amateurs. And the frustrating part? From the inside, it feels like you’re doing everything right. This is where the gap lives. In this post, you’ll see the 26…

Read more
30 Writing Myths That Hold You Back

30 Writing Myths That Hold You Back

Posted on January 25, 2022March 17, 2026 by mark

Most writers don’t fail because they lack talent. They fail because they believe the wrong things. Somewhere along the way, writing became wrapped in myth—ideas about suffering, genius, lifestyle, and what it really takes to write something meaningful. And the dangerous part? Most of these myths sound believable. In this piece, we’re going to strip…

Read more
The Telescope and Microscope Writing Method

The Telescope and Microscope Writing Method

Posted on January 23, 2022March 17, 2026 by mark

Examine Your Novel Like a Scientist and an Astronomer Most writers are good at one of two things. They can either tell a great story… or write beautiful sentences. But publishing requires both. Literary agents see the same problem over and over again: a novel that works in one area but fails in the other….

Read more
Why Great Writers Never Write for Everyone

Why Great Writers Never Write for Everyone

Posted on January 21, 2022March 17, 2026 by mark

Secrets Successful Writers Rarely Talk About You sit at your laptop waiting for inspiration to arrive. You want to write something unforgettable — a novel readers talk about years later. But instead of chapters, you get doubt. Meanwhile, bookstores are filled with authors selling millions of copies. You wonder: What do they know that I…

Read more
The Story Gets Better When the Villain Tells It

The Story Gets Better When the Villain Tells It

Posted on January 19, 2022March 17, 2026 by mark

The Story Gets Better When the Villain Tells It Most writers are told the same thing when they begin. Make your hero likable. Give readers someone to cheer for. Stay close to the safe side of storytelling. But what happens if you do the opposite? What happens if the person guiding the reader through the…

Read more
Forget Villains: 8 Better Antagonists

Forget Villains: 8 Better Antagonists

Posted on January 18, 2022March 17, 2026 by mark

  8 Types of Antagonists That Make Stories Unforgettable Why your story doesn’t need a “villain” to work—and what to use instead.     The Problem Most Writers Don’t See When new writers think “antagonist,” they picture the same thing: A villain.Evil.World domination. But that’s a limitation—and it quietly weakens your story. Because the truth…

Read more
Stop Writing Novels. Start Writing Scenes.

Stop Writing Novels. Start Writing Scenes

Posted on January 13, 2022March 16, 2026 by mark

How to Make Every Scene Matter in Your Novel Most new writers don’t fail because they lack imagination. They fail because they try to write a novel all at once. Three hundred pages feels impossible. Somewhere in the middle the story loses direction. Characters wander. Momentum disappears. But experienced writers quietly use a different approach….

Read more
The Curiosity Rule of Storytelling

The Curiosity Rule of Storytelling

Posted on January 13, 2022March 16, 2026 by mark

Why Readers Turn Pages (And Why Most Writers Lose Them on Page One) Here’s a hard truth: Most novels don’t fail because the writing is bad.They fail because nothing compels the reader to ask a question. And if the reader isn’t asking something —they aren’t reading for long. Great storytelling isn’t about giving answers.It’s about…

Read more
Why Writers Should Ignore Most Critics

Why Writers Should Ignore Most Critics

Posted on January 2, 2022March 16, 2026 by mark

Why Writers Should Ignore Most Online Critics Every writer remembers the first time someone tears apart their work. You spend months—sometimes years—writing a novel. Then someone online dismisses it in a two-minute rant. It can sting. But here’s something every writer eventually learns: Most online literary criticism simply doesn’t matter. Not because criticism is useless.But…

Read more

Posts pagination

  • Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • …
  • 9
  • Next

Social Media Icons

Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On LinkedinVisit Us On PinterestVisit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On Instagram

Mark Doran’s New Blog – Sign Up Now

Mark Douglas Doran

mark

A novel writer looking to help you become the greatest writer you can be. teaching the in and outs of writing your novel.

View all posts

Goodreads

search all things writing and editing blogs right here

Recent Comments

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    Archives

    • April 2026
    • March 2026
    • February 2026
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • January 2016

    Editors Choices

    • Write Endings That Echo
    • Master Your Novel’s Pacing
    • Why Readers Quit Your Story Halfway
    • The Writing Mistakes Bad Sequels Reveal
    • The Risky Side Of Self-Publishing Your Novel
    • The MacGuffin Mistake That Kills Stories
    • How to Write an Epic Trilogy That Works
    • Why Stephen King Isn’t Really a Horror Writer
    • Raise the Stakes or Lose Your Reader
    • Fix Your Ending, Fix Your Story
    • Most Writers Get This 3-Hour Rule Wrong
    • The Real Work Begins After Draft One
    • The One Golden Rule Every Novelist Must Know
    • Design a Villain Readers Never Forget
    • Why Passive Heroes Kill Suspense
    © 2026 Mark Douglas Doran | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme
     

    Loading Comments...
     

    You must be logged in to post a comment.