Welcome to the Aliventures blog
I’m here to help you get your novel to “the end”.
Whether you’re coming up with ideas, you’re tackling the messy middle of a draft, or you’re editing your novel … you’re in the right place! Scroll down for recent posts or take a look at the Start Here page.
Understanding Personal vs External Stakes (and Using Them in Your Story)
Have you ever started a book that had a terrible, world-shattering event looming on the horizon … and yet you just didn’t care? If so, it’s probably because the stakes didn’t feel personal. They were too big and too remote for you to connect with. But if something’s...
There’s Plenty of Time to Turn Your 2026 Around (Writers’ Cafe Invite)
We're coming up to the final three months of 2026. How's this year been for your writing? I hope it's been a great year, where you can look back and be really happy with your progress… but realistically, that's just not the case for a lot of us. If things haven't gone...
Why Repetition is Powerful in Writing (and How Authors Can Get it Right)
Is it ever okay to repeat the same word or phrase in your writing? Absolutely! Unintentional repetition is something that authors are (quite rightly) warned to watch out for, particularly in fiction. It’s one of the 20 common writing mistakes I go through in Editing Essentials. Intentional repetition, however…
Nine Things that Are Totally Normal (and Expected!) When You’re Writing a Novel
If you’re writing a novel, you might have moments – or even months – where you’re tempted to give up. Perhaps something about the process makes you feel like you’re doing it all wrong, or you’re never going to finish, or you’re just not cut out to be a writer. Whether...
About
I’m Ali Luke, and I live in Leeds in the UK with my husband and two children. Aliventures is where I help you get your novel all the way to “the end”.
Roadmap Sessions
I offer free 30-minute Roadmap sessions to dig into anything that’s holding you back with your novel … and come up with your next steps.
Archives
Want to see all the posts on Aliventures?
Just head on over to the Archive:
Aliventures Summer Break 2026 – 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 on and off over the summer. To get that, plus my free "Make Time to Write" worksheet, just pop your name & email in here: [convertkit...
Writing Progress in Q2, 2026: What Worked, What Didn’t, and Why
At the start of January, I set out my writing goals for 2026, and wrote about how these were going at the end of Q1. We’re now halfway through the year … so here’s what’s been happening. The 2026 goals I set in January (and slightly modified since!) are: Big Fiction...
What is a Scene vs a Chapter – and How Should You Structure Each?
Are you writing in scenes or in chapters? That might sound like a weird question. Maybe you feel like it doesn’t matter, or that they’re basically the same thing, or that it doesn’t matter either way. But whether you think in scenes or chapters can make a big...
Writing Progress in Q2, 2026: What Worked, What Didn’t, and Why
At the start of January, I set out my writing goals for 2026, and wrote about how these were going at the end of Q1. We’re now halfway through the year … so here’s what’s been happening. The 2026 goals I set in January (and slightly modified since!) are: Big Fiction...
What is a Scene vs a Chapter – and How Should You Structure Each?
Are you writing in scenes or in chapters? That might sound like a weird question. Maybe you feel like it doesn’t matter, or that they’re basically the same thing, or that it doesn’t matter either way. But whether you think in scenes or chapters can make a big...
Your Writing Matters (Even When it Doesn’t Feel Like It)
Do you ever feel like your writing just doesn’t matter? Unless you’ve got some kind of deadline, writing is pretty much never urgent. It’s also not something that needs a lot of space or time: it’s tempting to think that writing could – or even should – fit into the...