The Booker Prize-winning novelist on separating author from character, how short stories help writers, and the reflective nature of his new novel, Lessons. This interview first appeared in the November/December 2022 issue of Writer’s Digest. When Ian McEwan began writing his new novel, Lessons, in late 2019, he told his wife, novelist Annalena McAfee, that […]
The article Rising Action: Definition and Examples of This Dramatic Structure Element appeared first on The Write Practice. Have you ever wondered why rising action is so important in storytelling? Why building conflict and characters matter? Why you can’t get to the point of the story too quickly? Note: This article contains an excerpt from […]
Christmas is right around the corner, and if you’re anything like me, you’re frantically rushing to finish up your holiday shopping. If you’re a writer, you might also (like me) find yourself completely at a loss when someone asks you what you want for Christmas. The older I get, the more I find I don’t […]
Author Audrey Wick has seen a lot of good and bad in contest entries, and she shares six story polishing tips from a writing contest judge here. As a Writer’s Digest contest judge for the last several years, I have had the pleasure of seeing a wide range of entries from eager writers. It’s always […]
Editor Robert Lee Brewer shares six secrets for freelance writers to craft better pitches, inspired by a recent experience critiquing query letters from aspiring freelancers and finding some common trouble areas to avoid. Recently I had the opportunity to critique some query letters intended for magazine editors as part of our first ever nonfiction writing […]
Every good story needs a nice (or not so nice) turn or two to keep it interesting. This week, put on a celebration. Plot twist story prompts aren’t meant for the beginning or the end of stories. Rather, they’re for forcing big and small turns in the anticipated trajectory of a story. This is to […]
The article How to Become a Writer in 2023: 10 Steps to Jumpstart Your Writing Life appeared first on The Write Practice. So you want to become a writer. Perhaps you write because it makes you feel alive. Perhaps you once read a book that made you think, “It must feel amazing to write something […]
Copywriting expert Robert W. Bly shares seven powerful archetypal headlines that work for copywriters, including reasoning behind them and examples of each. While specifically for copywriters, this is useful for all writers involved with writing headlines and titles. A well-known formula for writing copy that sells is “AIDA.” AIDA says your ad must do these […]
Every Wednesday, Robert Lee Brewer shares a prompt and an example poem to get things started on the Poetic Asides blog. This week, write a new blank poem. For this week’s prompt, take the phrase “New (blank),” replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, […]
Every writer needs a little inspiration once in a while. For today’s prompt, base your story in the recent past. Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash I’ve been binge-watching one of my favorite TV shows—”Bones.” When I started the first few episodes, I would chuckle every time they pulled their flip phones out of their […]
Award-winning author Lisa Rayne discusses the process of writing her new historical romance novel, Never Cross a Highlander. An award-winning author, Lisa Rayne graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature and went on to obtain a law degree before becoming a romance writer. Always looking to try something new, Lisa’s excited to […]
By: Douglas Colston Carmen contrā molestiae(A poem against troubles, annoyances, molestation and the vexatious) A rhyming poemcan seem like a tome –a section of a larger work,it’s likely a dubious perk. Constraining […]
