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.
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Recent Articles
These are our most recent articles across all categories.
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.
Types of Foreshadowing (with Examples)
Foreshadowing is an essential ingredient in any good story. There are many ways authors foreshadow. Here are different types of foreshadowing with examples.
Is it All Right to Write Alright?
Is it all right for you to write alright? Here’s what you need to know to get it right.
Writing Articles
We cover a wide range of topics designed to help you improve your writing skills.
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.
Choosing the Best Novel Writing Software
Novel writing software should speed the process of capturing your words, formatting your work for sharing and incorporating feedback. Here are my recommendations.
Scene Planning: Visualize Scenes Like a Master
I realized if I truly desired to master the arts of writing and storytelling, I needed to invest more time and energy planning before writing. These are the eight steps I now take before writing to visualize scenes.
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.
How to Create Suspense: Leave ‘Em Hanging
In order to compose a page-turner, you’ve got to leave the reader hanging. Here are some tips for doing it well.
Start By Writing the Final Chapter First
My pantser ways led to insurmountable plot holes, which led to writer’s block, which I resolved by writing the final chapter first.
Pantser to Plotter
My brother wrote, “I’m a pantser. My guess is that you’re a plotter.” He was only partly right. Things aren’t always black or white.
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.
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Publishing Articles
Good writing deserves to be read. These articles discuss ideas or strategies to get your work in the hands of readers.
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