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Natasha Khullar Relph

How to Write a Personal Essay: Turn Real Life Into Publishable Prose

by Natasha Khullar Relph

Personal essay beginnings: pen, paper, and an open mind.

Personal essays aren’t diaries—they’re stories with stakes. Here’s how to write one that stands out. The personal essay is the overachiever of the nonfiction world: part confessional, part commentary, part literary flex. You’ll find it tucked between the pages of The New Yorker, scrolling across Medium, or buried in a Google Doc labeled “final_final_final_draft_for_real.” In […]

How to Write a Self-Help Book: A Blueprint for Success

by Natasha Khullar Relph

A stack of books side by side, inspiring ideas on how to write a self-help book.

Ready to help others and build your brand? Here’s the step-by-step of how to write a self-help book that’s honest, useful, and uniquely yours. At some point, you figured something out—something that made your life easier, better, less chaotic. And now, people keep asking how you did it. That’s the seed of a self-help book. […]

How to Write a Short Story: From Idea to Final Draft

by Natasha Khullar Relph

Glowing string lights and open pages—visualizing the magic of how to write a short story.

Forget formula. This is how to write a short story that grabs readers fast and leaves them wanting more. Short stories are proof that good things really do come in small packages. You don’t need 400 pages, a map of Middle Earth, or a six-book sequel—just a sharp idea, a handful of compelling characters, and […]

The Art of the Plot Twist: How to Keep Readers Guessing Until the End

by Natasha Khullar Relph

A man reading a book on the beach by a lake—immersed in a story full of plot twists.

Plot twists shouldn’t come out of nowhere—but they should floor your reader. Here’s how to pull it off. Nothing electrifies a reader like a plot twist that comes out of nowhere—then makes perfect, sneaky sense in hindsight. Think Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, where you realize you’ve been played by the world’s cleverest […]

What Is Narrative Nonfiction? [Definition + Examples]

by Natasha Khullar Relph

A well-worn book lies open, inviting the reader into narrative nonfiction.

Narrative nonfiction turns real events into can’t-put-down reads. Here’s how to capture truth, voice, and drama on the page. Narrative nonfiction is journalism with a spine—and a pulse. It tells true stories using the tools of fiction: character, scene, pacing, and narrative arc. The facts remain intact, but the delivery is anything but clinical. Rooted […]

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