Ali Luke's Blog

Interiority: Six Different Ways to Show Your Character’s Thoughts on the Page [With Examples]

One brilliant thing about the novel (and short story) as a form of storytelling is that it gives a unique access inside characters’ minds.

If you’re writing a script for a play or for film, the only way you can directly show what ...

How to Start a Novel: Eight Options, Plus Examples

Writing the first scene of a novel is tricky.

Perhaps you’ve been slowly developing an idea for weeks, months, or even years. You might have written pages of notes or created a full outline. And now you’ve opened up the document to start … but how do you actually begin?

Whethe...

Writing Action Scenes That Grip Readers: Five Practical Tips, Plus Examples

Are you struggling to write action scenes?

A lot of writers find it tricky to craft a scene that involves a lot of action. These might be crucial scenes in your plot – perhaps the turning point in the middle of your story, or the climax at the end –...

Annual Writing Goal Progress in Q3, 2025 (Finished a Novel Draft!)

We’ve got just under three months left of 2025 … how’s your writing going?

If it’s going well, hurrah! Keep it up!

If you’re struggling with lost momentum (or lost motivation), then check out my Finish Your Novel group. I’m about to open registration next week, on...

Do You Head-Hop? Getting Third Person Point of View Right

This post was first published in July 2013 and last updated in October 2025.

When you’re writing in the third person, it’s easy to end up head-hopping.

This is when you move from one person’s perspective to another, without quite meaning to. It’s not a deliberate perspecti...

Seven Great Writing Lessons from Seventeen Months of Writers’ Cafe

I launched Writers’ Cafe in May 2024 … and it’s been fantastic to see lots of different writers come through the doors!

Through our weekly check-ins and writing hours, it’s been great to get insights into how different writers are tackling a huge range of projects...

Why a Bad Ending Can Ruin a Great Story (and Seven Ways to Fix It)

Have you ever been really into a book, engrossed in the story, waiting to see how it all ends …

… only for the ending to disappoint you?

I’ve read a few books like that.

And the sad thing is, I wouldn’t re-read them, or recommend them to friends. Because if the en...

How to Name a Character: Four Key Considerations (and Why They Matter)

Choosing names for your characters can feel almost as tricky as naming a baby … you want to get it right!

Your character’s name needs to reflect not just their age, nationality, and upbringing – it also needs to fit the sort of person who they are.

A...

How Long is a Novel … and How Long Should YOUR Novel Be?

This post was first published in September 2016 and last updated in September 2025.

How long is a novel?

And perhaps more importantly, how long should your novel be?

You might think this doesn’t really matter. After all, surely what’s important is that your novel is well-st...

Aliventures Summer Break 2025 – Eight Posts to Catch Up On

Summer’s here in the UK and I’ll be taking some time off from blogging.

I’ll still be sending the Aliventures newsletter weekly (though it may not always be on a Monday over the summer). To get that, just pop your email address in here:

If you have some downtime ove...