If you’re looking for famous poems for National Poetry Month (or any month), try Langston Hughes. His musicality and voice make him one of the most beloved American poets. Here are a few of Langston Hughes’ most famous poems.
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.
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How to Give and Take Better Writing Feedback
A little over ten years ago, I had almost a decade of English teaching experience, a couple years paid freelance writing work, several creative writing university courses under my belt, and a few small publications in poetry and nonfiction. A friend’s mom, Mae, had written a query letter for her second novel. She asked me to read it and give her some writing feedback. What could go wrong?
When Mae asked, I had not attempted to write an entire novel or a query letter. I had read thousands of novels and a few letters, but I had not studied the structure and requirements of each. I assumed writing was writing. Surely with a degree in English and a little experience, I was qualified to give good feedback?
Nope. Not even close.
Literary Crisis: Why a Dilemma Will Make Your GOOD Story GREAT
So you wrote a story or a novel or a book. You’re proud. You’re excited. Visions of publishing dance in your head. Then you go back and read your story or novel or book, and you think, “Well, this is good and I feel proud of it. But it doesn’t match up to the stories/novels/books I know and love.”
You wrote a GOOD story, but not a GREAT one. Worse, you don’t know why. It might be that you’re missing a crisis.
25 Love Story Prompts to Kindle Romance and Friendship
When you think of a love story, you probably think of the romance genre: a cover with a bodice-ripping hunk and a woman with hair streaming in the wind. But love stories show up in nearly every genre you can imagine, either as a main plot or as a subplot.
Why is that? What is a love story and why is this plot type so versatile? Let’s take a look.
How to Write a Love Story: The Definitive Guide to the Most Popular Type of Story
Love stories appear everywhere in the films we watch, books we read, and shows we binge. From romance novels and romantic comedies to ninety percent of subplots and even family dramas, love stories are the most common type of story.
Which is all to say, if you want to be a creative writer, you probably need to learn how to write love stories.
In this guide, we’re going to explore love stories of all kinds, from the ones that end “happily ever after” to tragic love stories and even stories that don’t look like love stories but actually are. We’ll talk about the elements of love stories, their structure and arcs, the best love story examples to study, and finally how to actually write a love story of your own.
Types of Point of View: The Ultimate Guide to First Person, Second Person, and Third Person POV
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 To Write Sounds: Onomatopoeia Definition and Examples
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.
Rising Action: Definition and Examples of This Dramatic Structure Element
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.
Mystery Story Ideas: 25 Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem Prompts to Inspire Your 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.
How to Write a Mystery Novel
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.
