Examples of Circular Reasoning: The Bible is true, so you should not doubt the Word of God. This argument rests on your prior acceptance of the Bible as truth. Women should be able to choose to terminate a pregnancy, so abortion should be legal.

Stopping a Circular Argument The best way to get out of a circular argument is to ask for more evidence. Whether you are arguing with someone who relies on their conclusion to prove their premise, or you are writing a potentially circular argument in an essay, adding outside evidence can end the loop.

Examples of Circular Arguments

• Everyone loves Rebecca, because she is so popular.
• You must obey the law, because it’s illegal to break the law.
• Harold’s new book is well written, because Harold is a wonderful writer.
• America is the best place to live, because it’s better than any other country.

the act of providing evidence to support a claim the act of supporting a claim by assuming that it is true the act of arguing that a claim is right because everyone agrees the act of using a desire to be included to argue for a claim.

5 Tips for Writing Effective Red Herrings

1. Incorporate the Red Herring into the fabric of the story.
2. Give your innocent characters motivation, means, and opportunity.
3. Give the reader no (obvious) reason to suspect your guilty character.
4. Focus the reader’s attention elsewhere when you plant clues.

It’s not an either/or issue. At the risk of coming across like that, good red herrings are good and bad red herrings are bad. Like anything, when used well they can and do work to enhance the impact of a story, but in the hands of a lesser writer they can ham-handedly ruin a story.

10 Tips for Writing Your Whodunit

1. Choose the right setting for your crime.
2. Use setting to reveal backstory.
3. Know your antagonist.
4. Know your victim.
5. Make life hard for your main character.
6. Avoid abstract terms.
7. Consider your pacing to create suspense.
8. Increase suspense by using dual narratives.

Three Tips for Surprising Your Reader

1. Take a cliche and twist. As you brainstorm your story, ask yourself what readers expect from that particular genre–and then avoid the expected.
2. Surprise the character. A good story inhabits the world of a character, allowing the reader to experience the world with the character.
3. Brainstorm ten things.

When writing about a surprise, you need to let the story do the talking. Avoid creating false urgency with words and phrases like suddenly, out of nowhere, and unexpectedly. Also, revise to avoid forms of the verb to be (is, are, was, were, be, being, been) in conjunction with surprise.

How to grab, delight or shock your readers right from the start

1. Start with a moment that changes everything.
2. Establish a critical choice.
3. Introduce an irresistible character.
4. Set off an explosive action.
5. Get feedback.

: the unexpected or surprising character of something The attackers were relying on the element of surprise.