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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What does it take to be a writer? How do you go from working in an uninspiring job and not writing to building a thriving career as an author? That might sound impossible and out of reach—but it’s not. Bestselling author Joanna Penn shares the five steps she took to make the leap, and how you can too.
I had a writing friend ask me last week, “How do you write through the boring parts of a story?”
Here’s my short answer: Cut them.
Of course, that’s all predicated on recognizing boring writing in the first place. Not sure where to start? Here’s some help with finding those parts to cut!
Why do you write? What message do you want, even need, to share with the world? That core message is at the heart of your creativity—and it’s the way your writing will have the most impact on the world.
What do readers demand from the stories they read? They expect to be entertained, to learn something, to be intellectually challenged, charmed, or tickled. Readers want to have questions raised and answered and they love action, chases, and puzzles. But above all, readers read to feel something, to be stirred emotionally.
That’s why learning to craft an emotion-baited hook can be one of the most powerful tools in your toolbox. So let’s take a look at how to do that.
Have you ever doubted your skill, your talent, your ability to write great stories? Self-doubt is a normal (if frustrating!) part of the writing process. If you focus on that doubt, you’ll become too discouraged to create—so bestselling author Rea Frey found a bold way to overcome doubt and write.
As writers, we create new realities, which demands we use our experiences to inform our work. A stroll with a friend in a park or a dance in a fountain will translate into chapters.
We don’t just have to grab the good times. We can do this with illness as well. When we are sick, we should try and take a step back and learn about how our characters will feel when they are struck with a disease.
Monday was Labor Day here in the States, and it got me thinking of the adage “Don’t wear white after Labor Day.” It’s perfect fodder for a writing prompt. Don’t see it yet? Stick with me.
What’s the purpose of your life? It’s a question we’ve all asked in one way or another, probably over and over again. It’s easy to focus on the appeal of the next exciting thing. But what if the secret to finding your purpose lies in less?
Inspiration comes in many forms. It may be a lovely tune from your playlist; A stunning vista in nature; A wildly creative turn-of-phrase you overhear in a coffee shop. Nearly anything. Like all creative minds, you sit down to convert this nugget of inspiration into a story.
But then you hit a wall. How do you transform raw inspiration into an actual story? How do you turn inspiration into a novel plan?
Is the writer’s life really a whirlwind of creative highs, writer’s block, thrilling projects, and missed deadlines? We know what we think it means to be a professional author. But Kevin J. Anderson wants to change that perception.
