One editor's approach to assessing the liteary slush pile reveals the most common reasons that queried stories end up in the rejection pile.

While certain writing rules apply broadly, or even universally, the application of those rules can vary widely as a function of genre and story length.

Never underestimate the power of base moral conflict to drive tension and keep a plot moving. Ethical competence is core to effective character conflict.

Real-life cold-blooded murder is rare and complex. Authors, avoid using murder as casual plot devices because random premeditated murder isn't plausible.

A thoughtful step-by-step process for planning a novel helps to keep the project on track and aligned to industry expectations. But there's no right way!