YA is less of a genre than it is a category of reader. So, how do you write for such a large group of people? YA author Jennifer De Leon shares 5 things writers should know about writing for teens. Confession: I didn’t know what YA was until long after I had already started writing […]
Announcing the winning manuscript and author of the 2022 November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge! Plus, I share three additional finalists and seven honorable mentions. Better late than never, and just before May (at least in my time zone). It’s time to reveal the results of the 2022 November PAD Chapbook Challenge. Once again, there were more […]
This week, we’re excited to announce 6 WDU courses beginning this week, the Self-Published Awards deadline, and more! There’s always so much happening in the Writer’s Digest universe that even staff members have trouble keeping up. As a result, we decided to start collecting what’s on the horizon to make it easier for everyone to […]
Write a poem every day of April with the 2023 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a surprise poem. Well, well; here we are again (or for the first time for some of you): Day 30! I’ll admit that I was a little worn out at the beginning of the month and not sure […]
Author Katie Shepard shares her views on writing at the intersection of mental health and romance fiction, including examples of novels that do it well. I believe that the only two necessary elements of a romance novel are 1) a love story and 2) an optimistic ending. Within that basic convention, the genre is flowering […]
Susan Mattern, author of Out of the Lion’s Den, grand-prize winner of the 10th Annual WD Self-Published E-Book Awards, talks staying true to her story and the benefits of writing at a distance from the events. A story of survival. A medical thriller. A legal thriller. All of these could describe Susan Mattern’s memoir, Out […]
Writing about twins offers a unique opportunity to show how characters can be both similar and independent. Author Becky Chalsen shares 4 things writers should know about twins. I’ve always loved a good icebreaker because I’m obsessed with my fun fact: I’m a quadruplet married to a twin. I met my husband Zack in kindergarten, […]
Write a poem every day of April with the 2023 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a sight poem. We’ve been hammering the senses all month, with poems related to smell, sound, taste, and touch, so let’s round it out today. For today’s prompt, write a sight poem. If you can see it, poem it. […]
Award-winning author Laura Shovan shares how neuroscience can improve your poetry practice through the element of surprise, including three ways to incorporate surprise into your own poems. Every February, I draft a new poem each day, putting aside all thoughts of “polish and publish” until later. I’m not alone in this undertaking. I host about […]
Writing successfully often boils down to figuring out what process works best for you. Here, author Dea Poirer shares why every book is its own monster, the technology she uses to help her through the writing process, and more. Today, I sat down at my computer hoping to write an article about how to write […]
Author Kat Howard discusses how one book became a series with her new fantasy novel, A Sleight of Shadows. Kat Howard’s short fiction has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, anthologized in best of and annual best of collections, and performed on NPR. You can find it in her collection, A Cathedral of Myth […]
Write a poem every day of April with the 2023 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a You Are Blank poem. Three days! Including today, that’s what we’ve got remaining. Let’s make them count. (And yes, I’m still hoping to get those November PAD Chapbook Challenge results announced before May.) For today’s prompt, take […]
