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.
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As an editor, point of view problems are among the top mistakes I see inexperienced writers make, and they instantly erode credibility and reader trust.
However, point of view is simple to master if you use common sense.
This post will define point of view, go over each of the major POVs, explain a few of the POV rules, and then point out the major pitfalls writers make when dealing with that point of view.
How does onomatopoeia work? And how can you use it to write sounds? In this article, I’ll give you the definition of onomatopoeia, share a list of onomatopoeia examples, and end with a creative writing exercise.
If you’ve ever told a good story—one that has your friends or family on the floor laughing, or else on the edge of their seat asking, “What happened next?!”—then you know that you can’t get to the point of the story too quickly.
Instead, you draw out interest. You talk about all the things that went wrong. You make jokes and accentuate the best details. When you’re done, it’s not the punchline people remember; it’s everything leading up to it.
The same is true when you’re writing a story, particularly in novels, memoirs, and screenplays. It’s called the Rising Action, and it’s essential to get it right IF you want to write entertaining, informative, and deeply connecting stories.
In this article, I’m going to talk about the rising action: what it is, how it works in a story, how it’s been treated by scholars who study story structure throughout history, and finally how you can use it to write a great story.
Do you enjoy a good whodunit? So do I! There’s something wonderful about a cozy mystery, especially for writers. Crafting a good mystery is one of the best writing exercises there are. Today, it’s my pleasure to share with you some fun, quirky, story ideas for writing mysteries.
So you want to know how to write a mystery novel. I’m delighted to hear it. I’ve been a mystery lover since I hid behind the Lincoln Logs in Mrs. Jenkins third grade classroom so I could finish my first Nancy Drew, undisturbed. Mystery hooked me that day, and has been leading me around by the nose ever since.
Found Poetry is the literary equivalent of collage. Much like the visual artist who combines multiple media (newspaper, feathers, coins, sheet music) into collage art, you can do the same with words, pulling concepts and phrases from various sources to create “found” poems.
What images come to mind when you think of the first day of spring? Tulips unfurling? Easter egg hunts? Baseball season? Spring cleaning?
Whatever spring activities grace your calendar this month, I hope you’ll take some time to keep your writing habits going. In only 15 minutes a day, you can capture your creative writing ideas, practice new skills, or make progress on that book you’ve been dreaming of writing. Here are 40 new spring writing prompts to get you started!
If you are planning on writing a story, there is something you need to consider besides basic plot structure. You need to determine your Inciting Incident.
What incident will compel your protagonist to act, prompting them to move through a meaningful story?
Let’s take a look at what an inciting incident is and how to write one.
The thriller genre is wildly popular. Thrillers are like mysteries, but with a super dose of suspense, action, and anticipation for the reader. Here are some thriller story ideas to help you start crafting your own fast-paced thriller today!
A thriller is not just a rollercoaster ride, but like a whole day at a theme park with head-of-the-line privileges. Ride after wild ride with maybe just enough down time to eat a corndog and take a bathroom break. The necessary ingredients for a thriller include conflict, tension, and suspense, all tied up in a nice, twisty package.
