Welcome to First Manuscript
Whether you’re working on your first manuscript or your tenth, hopefully you’ll find new ideas or fresh insights to help you take your work to new levels.
Dax MacGregor
Featured Articles
First Manuscript’s featured articles cover important topics that every writer needs to know. These are our most widely read articles.
How To Format Dialogue (includes examples)
New writers often struggle to properly format dialogue. The rules are strict and different than prose, but easily mastered. Here is what you need to know.
Novel Manuscript Format (with Examples)
Before sharing your novel, you need to get it into the proper manuscript format. Here is what you need to know.
Scene Planning: Visualize Scenes Like a Master
I realized if I truly desired to master the arts of writing and storytelling, I needed invest more time and energy planning before writing. These are the eight steps I now take before writing to visualize scenes.
Recent Articles
These are our most recent articles across all categories.
How to Write Natural Dialogue (with Examples)
Natural dialogue is essential to engaging readers. But writing dialog that sounds natural isn’t simple. So here are tips for learning to write good dialogue.
Bad Adverbs? Good Adverbs? How to Tell the Difference
Some claim all adverbs are bad adverbs. The truth is: some are. However, most times, it depends. Here’s what you need to know.
Why Using WAS and WERE Is Bad Writing Technique
I challenge you to use the James Wilber technique of stopping whenever you type the verbs ‘was’ or ‘were’ until you find a better way to communicate your idea.
Writing Articles
We cover a wide range of topics designed to help you improve your writing skills.
How to Write Natural Dialogue (with Examples)
Natural dialogue is essential to engaging readers. But writing dialog that sounds natural isn’t simple. So here are tips for learning to write good dialogue.
Bad Adverbs? Good Adverbs? How to Tell the Difference
Some claim all adverbs are bad adverbs. The truth is: some are. However, most times, it depends. Here’s what you need to know.
Why Using WAS and WERE Is Bad Writing Technique
I challenge you to use the James Wilber technique of stopping whenever you type the verbs ‘was’ or ‘were’ until you find a better way to communicate your idea.
Storytelling Articles
It doesn’t matter if you are writing biographies, literary fiction or science fiction. You need to share your stories in a way that captivates and engages readers. These articles will help you improve your storytelling skills.
My Inside-Out Character Development Model
To develop realistic characters that engage readers, I use an inside-out character development model. Here is how it works.
Capturing the Essence of a Character
Before writers can describe the essence of a character to our readers, they must first conjure it in our imagination. Here is one of my techniques for developing a catalog of character traits for later use.
Plot Planning for Novels
After abandoning my third rewrite of my novel, I decided the time had come for some serious plot planning. Here’s what worked for me.
Interacting Articles
If you are looking to improve as a writer, it’s important that you interact with other writer and with readers. These articles are designed to help improve the effectiveness of your interactions.
Make Your Posts Search Engine Friendly
You fuss over the appearance of your blog and the words in your articles, but are your posts search engine friendly? Here’s how to make them shine.
How To Make Your Posts Facebook Friendly
You compose posts that are interesting and informative. You want people to read and share them. But have taken time to make your posts Facebook friendly?
Interview: Terri Giuliano Long
Terri Giuliano Long, author of In Leah’s Wake, shares her experiences in writing and self-publishing her debut novel. She offers insight and recommendations for other authors considering self-publishing.
Publishing Articles
Good writing deserves to be read. These articles discuss ideas or strategies to get your work in the hands of readers.
Beta Reader Instructions
After you type those magic words (THE END) into your manuscript, you will want to have a few beta readers review it. Here are the instructions I give my beta readers.
How Important Is Word Count for a Novel?
Whether you hope to get published the traditional way or plan to self-publish, the word count of your completed work is important. Here’s the scoop.
Novel Manuscript Format (with Examples)
Before sharing your novel, you need to get it into the proper manuscript format. Here is what you need to know.