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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Let’s start with the obvious: You don’t know how to write a book. I’ve written seven books, and I don’t really know how to write a book either. I have a process that works, sure, but with writing, as with many things in life, it’s always when you think you know what you’re doing that you get into trouble.
So let’s just admit right now, you don’t know how to write a book, and definitely not in 100 days, and that’s okay. There, don’t you feel better?
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.
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.
So you want to know how to write a coming of age story?
Coming of age is one of the central themes in all of literature, but it’s also a specific type of story in its own right, one of the nine types of stories that we talk about in The Write Structure plot framework.
It’s also one of the few ways we describe all change in a character, one of the two internal plot types! Which means if a character is growing and maturing in your story, no matter what age they are, you might be telling a coming of age story.
Growing up is a universal experience with a myriad of variations. Some cultures and families have rituals that young people follow or rebel against to find their way to adulthood or self-actualization. Others are left to stumble through their entire life trying to figure out how to experience happiness.
We often think of coming of age or initiation stories as a journey from adolescence to adulthood, but some adults reach legal age without becoming a mature person. They can undergo a coming of age story much later.
Let’s look at some prompts to write coming of age stories.
Many writers lament spending any time away from their creative worlds to pen social media posts or spend time on marketing efforts. But both social media and email can help authors find and communicate with their target audience. What’s a writer to do? Let’s look at how to use ChatGPT for marketing, so you can get back to your stories sooner.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary tells us that well-being refers to “the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous.”
Knowing what the term means, though, doesn’t help us with its spelling. For that, an understanding of how words evolve in the English language may be helpful. Let’s explore the correct spelling of well-being. Is it hyphenated or not?
Do you have a great idea for a book but you’re not sure what to do with it? Have you ever started writing a book and never finished, or finished it but didn’t know what to do next?
If yes, you might feel frustrated. You also might greatly benefit from hiring a writing coach.
But what is a writing—or book—coach? Do you need to hire someone to finish a book, or can you do it on your own for free?
Whether or not you’re interested in self-publishing a book or pursuing the traditional publishing path, a writing coach will make you a better writer in every step of your writing process.
Learn why a writing coach might benefit your first book, or hundredth, and how to find the writing coach you need.
Horror is a genre of literature or film that wants to evoke fear, shock, and suspense. Characters battle for their life versus a fate worse than death.
What makes a good horror story is the ability to tap into our deepest fears and deliver them in a captivating way. Even if you don’t consider yourself a horror writer, practicing a few short stories in this genre can help you understand human fear and the way it motivates action.
Horror wants to scare, to shock, to terrify, and sometimes even to repulse readers or audiences. It delves deep into the human psyche to look at what scares us and why, as well as to examine the limits of human depravity (Hannibal Lector, anyone?).
Try one of these prompts designed to terrify.
