Scenario: you've written a piece. It's all right. You're quite proud of the idea behind it, but the execution is just not what you'd hoped. You're not sure if the sentences are funny or maybe if the stanzas seem lopsided. It could be one of any number of things, really, but the long and short of it is that it just doesn't seem quite right to you.

Or suppose you've written a piece and it's the same piece you wrote yesterday, or last week. It seems identical to every piece you've ever written. It's got the same rhythm, the same narrator. You want your piece to have a totally different mood from everything else you've written, but you're not sure how to make it happen.

If either of these sounds like you, our Methods in Style articles are here to the rescue!

Featured Article, by Lacombe...

Particularly in the last couple hundred years, writers have begun to take a more sophisticated look at plot structure, and this is doing wonders to make writing more interesting."

Click here to read the full article...

These articles are intended to help authors improve their writing using tried and true techniques. Whether you need advice on how to create a good hook, or how to change your narrator's voice to fit the mood of your piece, you'll find these articles here.

The Methods in Style articles differ from the Stylistic Suggestions articles in that they talk about elements that are crucial to a strong piece of writing. Stylistic Suggestions is an archive of articles that outline new techniques that may work for you and may not, while Methods in Style discusses elements that every piece necessarily has. Every piece has a first sentence; every piece has a rhythm; and helping writers to perfect theirs is what this section is all about.

Check out the list of articles in the right-hand menu, and don't forget to look at the featured and new articles too!