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A very warm welcome to Aliventures!
I’m Ali Luke, a freelance writer and writing coach, and there’s more about me and the blog here.
Whether you’re an experienced writer or just getting started, Aliventures is for you. I want to help you get the most from your writing time and reach your goals. That might mean valuing your writing more, learning techniques to help you focus better, or developing your craft so that you’re producing the best work you can.
If you’d like to hire me to write for your website or publication, you can find details about my freelancing here.
If you’d benefit from a one-to-one coaching “kickstart” to get you moving forward with your writing, take a look at my coaching page.
I also offer a range of great value, instant download writing products in the Aliventures shop.
Looking for free help and support? Make sure you sign up for my (totally free) newsletter. As soon as you sign up, you’ll get access to all my mini-ebooks: Time to Write, The Courageous Writer, and more. You’ll also get a fresh newsletter each Monday and a weekly blog post on Thursdays.
Below, I’ve rounded up some of my best posts to gets started with, followed by links to some of the key resources here on Aliventures. Dig in and enjoy!
For All Writers:
Are Your Writing Dreams Unrealistic?
While some writers do have unrealistic and unreasonable expectations, most don’t. In this post, I contrast “realistic” and “unrealistic” dreams (and, hopefully, you’ll feel encouraged about your chances of achieving yours).
Can You Call Yourself a “Writer” if You’re Not Currently Writing?
I’ve taken plenty of breaks from writing over the years, particularly around the births of my two children. If you’re feeling uncomfortable or anxious about a fallow stage in your own writing life, this post might help.
The Three Stages of Editing (and Nine Handy Do-it-Yourself Tips)
Whether you’re editing a blog post or a novel, simply starting at the first word and fixing every spelling mistake as you go along isn’t going to be an efficient way to work. Here, I explain the three stages of editing, offering tips to help you with each.
For Novelists:
Choosing the Right Viewpoint and Tense for Your Fiction (With Examples)
Should you write in first-person, third-person, or even second-person? And should you tell your story in the past or present tense? In this post, I run through your options, and give you examples of each in practice.
When and Why You’ll Want to Pay People to Help You Write
If you want to get your novel published, or if you want to successfully self-publish it, you’re going to want to pay for some help at some stage. This post takes you through your options and helps you decide what might work best for you right now.
Stylised Talk: Writing Great Dialogue [With Examples]
Some writers love dialogue, others struggle with it. Whether it comes naturally to you or not, this post will give you tips for making your dialogue even better. I’ve included examples to make it easier to see dialogue in action.
For Freelancers:
How I Make My Living as an Online Writer (And How You Could Too)
Freelancing is just one way to make money from your writing. If you’re interested in adding in some extra income streams, this post runs you through the ones that I’ve used over the past seven years, with further reading links and indications of how much you can expect to make with each method.
Freelance Writing: Ten Steps, Tons of Resources
This is (currently) the longest post on Aliventures, so I’d suggest bookmarking it. You can dip in and out for ideas and inspiration, or use it as a step-by-step guide to getting started as a freelance writer.
The Four Essential Qualities You Need for Freelance Writing Success
Not sure if you’re well suited to freelancing? There’s plenty you can learn along the way, but this post runs through some important qualities to have (or to work on!) if you want a good chance of success.
Get Writing
Not sure quite where to begin with your writing? If you want to write but you’re not sure what to write, Get Writing is for you. It’s my guide to four different areas of writing (novels, short stories, blogging, and freelancing) with tips on getting started, making progress, and going further.
Get Writing is just $20, which includes lots of downloadable bonuses, too.
Supercharge Your Writing
The Supercharge Your Writing guides are designed to help you make the most of your time, particularly if you’re trying to get into a writing routine or if you’re stuck on a big project.
You can buy them individually ($8 each) or as a set ($20 for all four). They cover writing sessions, writing weeks, your writing environment, and making long-term writing progress.
Six-Week Online Courses
My freelancing courses are packed with practical guidance, taking you through everything you need to know to be a successful freelancer.
Each course costs $50, which includes all the course materials and bonuses, plus updates for the lifetime of the course.
Recent Blog Posts
The Ten Best Free Writing Tools to Help You Write More and Earn More
There are so many different useful tools out there for writers, it can be tricky to figure out which ones you need … and which ones are just a distraction. After 15+ years of freelancing (and even more years of fiction writing and blogging)…
Five Different Approaches to Developing Characters
This post was first published in April 2019 and last updated in May 2025. Whether you consider plot to be more important than character or you believe they’re just two sides of the same coin, it’s clear that character matters. Readers want characters who are engaging...
How to Write a Flashback: Five Tips and Four Examples
One challenge that you’re likely to face when writing a novel is how to fill the reader in about important events in your main character’s past. There are various techniques you can use for this—one of which is a flashback. Flashbacks can be fun to write, but they can...