December 8, 2020
The Big Switch – Writing Outside Your Genre
by J.B. Rivard
One of the challenges you’ll frequently encounter is writing in a genre different from your preferred or customary genre. As a novelist, for example, you may be called upon to write a nonfiction essay describing how you work. As a writer of self-help books, you may want to break into short fiction. Taking advantage of available opportunities means grasping what’s required to switch to an unaccustomed genre.
Below are…
December 1, 2020
Walter Tevis, Vincent Van Gogh and Me
by Peter Ferry
November 24, 2020
Writers Need Community
by L.D. Barnes
Writing is a solitary endeavor; a person and the blank page in a vacuum, chugging away until a book appears fully formed. This is what many believe is the natural state of a writer. That is how it is portrayed in movies and television, but it is really?
No, and…
November 17, 2020
Writing a Memoir
by Sophie Masson
Published by Writer Unboxed November 13, 2017
(At left, photo of Sophie at her grandmother’s.)
I was born into a family where stories were all-important. Not just stories you read in books, though those were much loved; not just stories about imaginary people and magical lands, though…
November 10, 2020
6 Ways to Write Your Pandemic Blues Away
by Marcie Hill
Are you feeling some kind of way about the Coronavirus pandemic?
A lot has been happening in 2020 and I know I’ve experienced a myriad of emotions, sometimes going from happy to sad to angry in less than a minute. According to articles I’ve read, other emotions people have experienced…
November 3, 2020
Seven Tips for Submitting Your Fiction for Publication
by Lynn Lumsden Green
Originally published in well-storied.com
Over the past two years, I’ve been working towards turning my obsession with writing into a serious business.
During that time, I’ve developed several strategies and techniques that may benefit other writers, particularly new or emerging writers who haven’t yet developed writing systems of…
October 27, 2020
Quotes on Writing: 19 Classic and Contemporary Lessons from Black American Writers
by Jess Zafarris
Published in Writer's Digest on Jan. 14, 2018
From Toni Morrison to Jesmyn Ward, we've selected some thought-provoking quotes on writing by black American writers who have led—and some of whom continue to lead—the charge in making the writing world more inclusive.
I grew up in Memphis, Tenn., a…
October 20, 2020
What’s the Inciting Incident?
by Tim Storm
The inciting incident is often defined as “the thing that kickstarts the story.” And that definition can lead to some confusion about what the inciting incident is.
Take the original Star Wars film. What kickstarts that story?
- An oppressive emperor spurring a rebellion?
- Darth Vader capturing…
October 13, 2020
Naming Your Characters
by Samantha Hoffman
The characters in your novel are your creations, your children in a way, so their names have to be perfect; they're going to have to live with them forever.
It's said that Holly Golightly was originally named Connie Gustafson. Crazy, right? Would Breakfast at Tiffany's have been so successful…
October 6, 2020
