InklyWriting guides
Short, practical guides on the craft of storytelling — each with an exercise you can try in your next writing session. Written by Inkly, drawing on writers who came before us, always credited.
How to ask for feedback that actually helps your story
Why "what did you think?" gets polite, useless answers — and five better questions to ask beta readers, friends and fellow writers.
6 min readSmall details, big pictures: Chekhov's advice on description
The real story behind "show, don't tell", and how one small, exact detail can do the work of a whole paragraph.
5 min read · Inspired by Anton Chekhov, letter to his brother Alexander (May 1886)"Omit needless words": a 15-minute edit for any chapter
The most famous rule in writing advice, what it really means, and a practical way to tighten a chapter without losing your voice.
6 min read · Inspired by William Strunk Jr., "The Elements of Style" (1918)Know your ending before you write the first line
Why many great stories are planned backwards from the ending — and a simple way to do it for your own novel, comic or script.
5 min read · Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846)