“I am a writer.”
In America, where so often our job defines who we are, these four little words can throw a wrench into the gears of polite conversation.
Here to learn? You’re in the WRITE place!
At The Write Practice, we publish a new article each day designed to help writers tackle one part of their writing journey, from generating ideas to grammar to writing and publishing your first book. Each article has a short practice exercise at the end to help you immediately put your learning to use.
Check out the latest articles below or find ones that match your interest in the sidebar.
And make sure to subscribe to get a weekly digest of our latest posts, along with our free guide, 10 Steps to Become a Writer.
3 Ways to NOT Fail at NaNoWriMo
It’s almost time for that annual, month-long festival for writers, NaNoWriMo. Are you going to subject yourself to the excitement and stress of writing a book at least 50,000 words long in a single month?
If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo this year, you may feel a bit nervous about whether you’re going to be able to finish. Honestly, you should be nervous.
Here’s the truth: almost ninety percent of people who start NaNoWriMo don’t finish.
How do you make sure that you don’t fail?
Does it Matter What Your Character Wears?
The first time I wrote a short story (that others would read), I spent a lot of time describing the character’s clothes. This choice received a lot of criticism. It made my character seem shallow. It made the woman seem cliché.
My critics were probably right that I overdid it at the time, but I stand by my response, which was this…
A Brief History of Creative Writing
It might help you put the glut of new creative writing tools flooding the market into perspective by examining the history out of which these creative technologies have emerged.
Like all technology, new tools are built on the foundation of the technology that came it. Let’s take a quick journey through the history of creative writing tools so that we can evaluate modern creative writing in a historical context.
The One Question Every Writer Has To Answer
There is one question every writer has to answer. Yes, only one. It doesn’t matter if you are writing memoir, fiction, non-fiction, or a screenplay, you have to answer this question.
How to Whip Your Muse into Shape
“I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.” —Somerset Maugham
The Muse has gotten a bad rap for being temperamental and ruling Her artists by cruel whims. But I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be like that.
The Only Habit You Need as a Writer
You’ve probably heard this before and know it deep in your gut. It’s not earth shattering news, but people seem to be struggling with amnesia about it lately, so I’m going to repeat myself.
If you want to improve as a writer, if you want to grow in your craft, there’s only one way to do so. You must…
How to Defeat Your Perfectionism in Writing
We have an important topic to discuss today: the dangers of perfectionism in writing.
I know that being a perfectionist has its perks. We apply “perfectionist” to folks who are detail-oriented, reliable, and efficient. Unfortunately, being a perfectionist does precisely the opposite in writing: it obfuscates details, lets your deadlines whoosh by, and creates a deeply inefficient and unsatisfying writing habit.
I struggle with perfectionism in my writing, but I’ve learned to beat it back with a few large sticks—and it’s my pleasure to teach you my tools of the trade.
What Do You Think About Grammar?
Grammar is one of those funny things that everyone needs to know but that not everyone agrees on.
Should You Sign Up for a Writing Class?
About every six months or so, I check out the courses being offered at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland. While I don’t always sign up, I almost always find one that addresses my writing needs at the moment.
