New Daily Writing Guides from The Write Practice

How Characters Change in Stories (And How to Write Believable Change)

You’ve probably heard this one before: Your character must change throughout the course of your story. Characters need to transform.

I see a lot of confusion over this concept. Writers can normally nail the change (weak to strong; bad to good; cynical to optimistic) but it often comes from a weird place that doesn’t sit quite right with what we know about the protagonist. Or it’s too big of a change (or too much of a “fairy tale ending”) to be believable.

Writers think that great characters need drastic changes, but this isn’t always the case.

Let’s take a look at how writers should deal with character change, and how creating a character arc might make for a more interesting cast and plot.

Into vs. In To: The Simple Guide to Keeping Them Straight

by Joe Bunting | 48 Comments

Stuck on the distinction between “in to” and “into”? You’re not alone! Don’t worry, though, I’ve got you covered. Here’s the quick version:

Use “into” to describe where something is: going inside something else.
Use “in to” based on the verb that comes before it. It can have many meanings, but here’s a quick tip that covers some of them: if you can replace it with “in order to,” use “in to.”

Read on for the longer explanation, plus examples of into vs. in to.

Info Dumping for Writers: What It Is and How to Avoid It

by Abigail Perry | 12 Comments

Have you ever been given feedback that there was too much info dumping in your story? Did you not really understand what that meant?

Info dumping is a common piece of feedback for authors who include too much information in their stories. If you info dump, you will slow the pace—and worse, you’ll likely bore readers. You never want to bore your readers.

So how do you know when to include a “chunk of info” and when it is better to strip your scenes to the bone? (Almost always, by the way.)

In this article, you can learn what info dumping is, along with some common ways writers accidentally do it. You’ll also learn some editing questions that can help you condense your writing, leaving your reader with only necessary information that develops characters or advances the plot.

How to Track Your Writing Progress (And Why You Should)

by Sarah Gribble | 0 Comments

I’m going to be honest. When I first started writing, I thought keeping track of my writing progress was ridiculous. How many words I wrote in a day or how frequently I wrote depended on my mood and whether that elusive muse showed up. Besides, wasting time tracking and analyzing how much I’d written during a week seemed like just another way to procrastinate and not get any writing done at all.

I don’t say this often, so listen up:

I was wrong.

Writers need to track their writing progress, period. It’s that simple. Read on for why and how to get tracking today.

50 Winter Writing Prompts (with 20 Just for Kids!)

by Sue Weems | 0 Comments

The winter season may evoke mixed emotions for you as a writer, depending on where you live and your experiences. But these winter writing prompts for adults AND for kids can help you explore this season and make the most of your winter months.

The Rebirth Plot: Transformation in the 7 Basic Plots

by Liz Bureman | 20 Comments

Here at the beginning of a new year, we’re surrounded by calls to set new goals, make resolutions, change something specific in our lives, so it seems a perfect time to revisit the rebirth plot which promises change.

Past vs. Present Tense: Choose the RIGHT Tense for Your Novel

by Joe Bunting | 76 Comments

One of the first decisions you have to make when you’re writing a novel or short story is which tense to use. There are only two viable options: past tense or present tense.*

Which tense should you choose for your novel?

How to Write a Scene: The Definitive Guide to Scene Structure

by Joe Bunting | 2 Comments

Once you have a great story idea, the next step is to write it. But do you want to take your brilliant idea and then write a book that bores readers and causes them to quit reading your book?

Of course not. That’s why you need to learn how to write great scenes.

Scenes are the basic building block of all storytelling. How do you actually write them, though? And even more, how do you write the kind of scenes that both can keep readers hooked while also building to the powerful climax you have planned for later in the story?

In this post, you’ll learn what a scene actually is. You’ll explore the six elements every scene needs for it to move the story forward. Then, you’ll learn how to do the work of actually putting a scene together, step-by-step. We’ll look at some of the main scene types you need for the various types of stories, and we’ll also look at some scene examples so you can better understand how scenes work. Finally, we’ll put it all together with a practice exercise.

How to Write a Book Proposal

by Joe Bunting | 0 Comments

If you’re like most writers I hear from, you’re probably wondering how to sell your book to a publisher. Publishing is a strange and mysterious industry, and it can be very hard to find your way through it so you can achieve your writing goals. You’re in the right place though, because often, the very first step on your journey to publishing your book is writing a book proposal.

How to write a book proposal, though? In this article, we’re going to talk about how to write a book proposal for both nonfiction and fiction writers. We’ll also look at when you need to write one. And at the end, there will be a fun exercise that will help you get started writing your book proposal.

100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises

by Joe Bunting | 51 Comments

Want to become a better writer? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing assignments, or maybe you’d like to start a popular blog.

If you want to write better, you need practice. But what does a writing practice actually look like? In this post, I’m going to give you everything you need to kick off your writing practice and become a better writer faster.