• Visual Descriptions: Use color, shape, and size to create a mental image. Instead of saying "The car was old," say "The rusty, olive-green car wheezed as it pulled into the driveway."
• Sound Descriptions: Incorporate onomatopoeia and detailed sound descriptions. Instead of "The music was loud," say "The bass thumped, and the high notes pierced through the night air."
• Smell and Taste Descriptions: Use sensory language. Instead of "The food was good," say "The aroma of roasted garlic and herbs filled the room, and the first bite was a burst of savory flavors."

• Actions Over Exposition: Instead of telling the reader "Jane was scared," show her fear through her actions: "Jane's hands trembled as she fumbled with the lock, her breath coming in shallow gasps."
• Dialogue: Use conversations to reveal character traits and emotions. Instead of "John was angry," show his anger through his words and tone: "John's voice was a low growl as he said, 'I can't believe you did this.'"
• Internal Thoughts: Reveal characters' inner worlds. Instead of "Emma felt relieved," show her relief: "Emma let out a long breath she didn't realize she was holding and sank into the chair, a smile tugging at her lips."

• Character Flaws: Give your characters realistic flaws. A perfect character can be boring and unrelatable. Show how these flaws impact their decisions and relationships.
• Character Arcs: Ensure your characters grow and change throughout the story. A well-crafted character arc can turn a good story into a great one.
• Background and Motivations: Provide backstories and motivations. Why does your character act the way they do? What drives them? This adds depth and makes them more three-dimensional.

• Natural Speech: Write dialogue that sounds like real conversation, complete with interruptions, pauses, and colloquial language. Avoid overly formal or stilted speech.
• Purposeful Dialogue: Every line of dialogue should have a purpose, whether it's revealing character, advancing the plot, or building tension. Avoid filler conversations that don't add to the story.
• Subtext: Use subtext to add depth. Characters might say one thing but mean another, revealing their true feelings through what they don't say directly.

• Action Verbs: Choose verbs that show precise actions. Instead of "She went to the store," say "She dashed to the store."
• Avoid Weak Verbs: Replace weak verbs and verb phrases with stronger alternatives. Instead of "He was walking," say "He strode."
• Emotionally Charged Verbs: Use verbs that convey specific emotions. Instead of "She was sad," say "She wept."

• Short Sentences for Impact: Use short sentences to create tension, urgency, or emphasize a point. "He stopped. Listened. Nothing."
• Complex Sentences for Detail: Use longer sentences to provide detailed descriptions or explain complex ideas. "As the sun set behind the mountains, the sky transformed into a canvas of oranges, pinks, and purples, casting a warm glow over the serene landscape."
• Combine Different Structures: Mix simple, compound, and complex sentences to maintain a natural flow. Avoid repetitive patterns that can make your writing feel flat.

• Internal Conflict: Characters should struggle with internal dilemmas, fears, and desires. This adds depth and relatability.
• External Conflict: Introduce obstacles and challenges that characters must overcome. This can be other characters, societal pressures, or natural forces.
• Resolution: Show how conflicts are resolved, leading to character growth and plot progression. Ensure resolutions feel earned and satisfying.

• Metaphors: Directly state that one thing is another to highlight similarities. "Time is a thief."
• Similes: Use "like" or "as" to make comparisons. "Her smile was like sunshine on a rainy day."
• Avoid Clichés: Create original comparisons rather than relying on overused phrases. Instead of "busy as a bee," find a fresh analogy.

• Foreshadowing: Drop subtle hints about future events. This creates anticipation and a sense of inevitability.
• Cliffhangers: End chapters or sections with unresolved tension or unanswered questions to compel readers to keep going.
• Pacing: Control the pace of your story to build suspense. Slow down for crucial moments and speed up during action scenes.

• Cut Redundancies: Remove unnecessary words and repetitive phrases. "In my opinion, I think" can be reduced to "I think."
• Focus on Clarity: Ensure each sentence conveys its intended meaning clearly and concisely.
• Proofread: Check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. A polished manuscript reflects professionalism and attention to detail.

In which you get to see Dean in his TRUE element

• Make your writing come alive by describing things that appeal to the senses. Instead of saying "It was a beautiful garden," you could say "The garden was filled with the scent of fresh roses, the sound of buzzing bees, and the vibrant colors of blooming flowers."
• Instead of just saying what something is like, show it through your words. For instance, instead of saying "She was sad," you could describe her actions and surroundings to show her sadness: "Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared out the rain-streaked window, clutching a crumpled tissue in her hand."
• Instead of using general words, get specific. Instead of saying "He drove a car," you could say "He drove a sleek, black convertible, the wind tousling his hair as he sped down the open highway."
• Keep your writing interesting by mixing up short and long sentences. Don't always write in the same way. For example, "The sky was dark. The trees swayed in the wind. It felt eerie," could be improved by adding variety: "Dark clouds gathered overhead, causing the trees to sway ominously in the gusting wind, casting an eerie feeling over the landscape."
• Use your descriptions to set the mood of your story. Instead of just saying "It was a scary place," describe the setting to evoke fear in your readers: "The abandoned house loomed in the moonlight, its broken windows and creaking doors whispering of unseen terrors lurking within."
• Don't just drop descriptions randomly into your writing. Make sure they fit naturally into the flow of your story. Instead of stopping the action to describe something, weave it into the narrative: "As she ran through the forest, the branches clawed at her skin, leaving scratches like whispers of the dangers lurking in the shadows."
• While descriptions are important, don't forget to keep your story moving forward. Don't spend too much time describing things at the expense of the action. Find a balance between describing the scene and keeping the plot moving.

• Using too many adjectives can make your writing sound cluttered and overwhelming. Stick to the essentials and choose your words carefully.
• Don't forget that dialogue and interactions between characters are key parts of your story. Use them to reveal personality and move the plot forward.
• Don't repeat yourself. Once you've described something, trust your readers to remember it. Don't keep saying the same thing over and over again.
• Sometimes, what you don't say can be just as important as what you do say. Let your readers read between the lines and draw their own conclusions.
• Avoid using tired old phrases that everyone has heard before. Try to come up with fresh, original descriptions that will grab your readers' attention.
• Be mindful of the pace of your story. Don't slow things down with long descriptions in the middle of an action scene. Save the detailed descriptions for quieter moments when the pace naturally slows down.

• Tip of My Tongue: I find this very helpful when I can't think of a specific word I'm looking for. Which is often.
• WordHippo: As well as a thesaurus, this website also provides antonyms, definitions, rhymes, sentences that use a particular word, translations, pronunciations, and word forms.
• OneLook: Find definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and related words. Allows you to search in specific categories.
• YourDictionary: This website is a dictionary and thesaurus, and helps with grammar, vocabulary, and usage.

• Crime Reads: Covers crime and thriller movies, books, and TV shows. Great inspiration before writing a crime scene or story in this genre.
• Havocscope: Black market information, including pricing, market value, and sources.
• Climate Comparison: Compares the climates of two countries, or parts of the country, with each other.
• Food Timeline: Centuries worth of information about food, and what people ate in different time periods.
• Refseek: Information about literally anything. Provides links to other sources relevant to your search.
• Perplexity AI: Uses information from the internet to answer any questions you have, summarises the key points, suggests relevant or similar searches, and links the sources used.

• One Stop for Writers: Literally everything a writer could need, all in one place: description thesaurus, character builder, story maps, scene maps, timelines, worldbuilding surveys, idea generators, templates, tutorials... all of it.
• World Anvil: Provides worldbuilding templates and lets you create interactive maps, chronicles, timelines, whiteboards, family trees, charts, and interactive tables. May be a bit complicated to navigate at first, but the features are incredibly useful.
• Inkarnate: This is a fantasy map maker where you can make maps for your world, regions, cities, interiors, or battles.

• 750words: Helps build the habit of writing daily (about three pages). Fully private. It also tracks your progress and mindset while writing.
• BetaBooks: Allows you to share your manuscript with your beta readers. You can see who is reading, how far they've read, and feedback.
• Readable: Helps you to measure and improve the readability of your writing and make readers more engaged.
• ZenPen: A minimalist writing page that blocks any distractions and helps improve your focus. You can make it full screen, invert the colours, and set a word count goal.
• QueryTracker: Helps you find a literary agent for your book.
• Lulu: Self-publish your book!