Lore & Lilac· 5 min read
Why we will never write your novel
Lore & Lilac never writes, suggests or rewrites your prose. Here's what our AI does instead (find, cite, flag) and why voice, ownership and trust matter.
Lore & Lilac Academy
From first idea to finished novel
Practical, free guides for every stage of writing a book, tools for planning and revising, and a glossary that explains the jargon in plain language.
- 5 stages
- 15 guides
- 4 tools
- 180 terms
The writing journey
Read in order, or start at the stage you're in. Every guide follows the same invented sample novel, so the examples build on each other.
Stage 1: Spark
Find an idea worth a year of your life
Stage 2: Shape
Plan as much as helps, and no more
Stage 3: Draft
Get the whole story onto the page
Stage 4: Revise
Turn the draft into the book you meant
Stage 5: Share
Let readers in, then find your book a home
Tools
Small, private tools. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
- Outline quiz: how much should you plan?Nine questions about how you write, and a planning approach to try next.Open the tool
- Deadline calculatorWords per writing day for your deadline, with rest days built in.Open the tool
- Novel length by genreTypical word-count ranges by genre, and where your draft sits.Open the tool
- Scene revision checklistTwenty-two checks for revising a scene. Printable.Open the tool
The glossary
180 terms across 10 categories, each with a plain definition, an example and links to related ideas.
- Story structure & plotHow events are arranged: turning points, setups, subplots and shapes.28 terms
- CharacterWho the story happens to, what they want and how they change.20 terms
- Point of view & voiceWhose eyes the reader looks through, and how the telling sounds.16 terms
- Prose & styleSentence-level craft: detail, rhythm, tone and clarity.18 terms
- DialogueHow characters talk, and how it looks on the page.12 terms
- WorldbuildingSettings, systems and the records that keep them consistent.16 terms
- Genre & formCategories, lengths and the expectations they carry.18 terms
- Revision & editingPasses, edits and the errors they're designed to catch.20 terms
- Publishing & businessReaders, agents, contracts and the routes to publication.20 terms
- Formatting & productionManuscript format, book interiors and the files that become books.12 terms
Popular:ForeshadowingShow, don't tellCharacter arcPoint of viewThree-act structureContinuity errorQuery letterSubtext
From the blog
All posts· 5 min read
The continuity errors readers notice, and how to catch them
Not all continuity slips are equal. Learn which errors break a reader's trust, why revision creates so many of them, and a focused way to catch them.
· 5 min read
Plotters, pantsers and the revision in between
Plotters and discovery writers start in different places but meet in revision. How each can see the draft clearly and turn it into the book it should be.
How we write these
- Everything here is written and reviewed by Lore & Lilac Editorial. We don't publish guest posts or paid placements, and we don't link out for payment.
- Examples come from an invented sample novel, The Ferryman's Ledger, and other invented passages. No real manuscripts are used.
- Industry figures — word counts, timelines, costs — are general ranges. Practices vary, so check the current guidelines of anyone you submit to.
- Pages show when they were last reviewed, and we correct mistakes when we find them.