New Daily Writing Guides from The Write Practice

General Powell’s Motivational Quotes for Writers During the Holidays

December can be a difficult time for creatives. With holiday parties, additional family responsibilities, and decorations to hang, it is hard to keep up the discipline of writing. Sometimes what we need is someone in our ear, giving us advice and spurring us onward, with motivational quotes for writers.

It would be helpful if this inner coach was a model of leadership and discipline. So let’s embrace some of the motivational quotes of retired four-star general in the United States Army Colin Powell.

6 Core Questions to Figure Out if Your Story Is Good . . . Or Not

by David Safford | 0 Comments

You’re a storytelling genius full of brilliant ideas, right? You don’t need things like “structure” and “rules” to write a good story.

Or do you?

The Six Core Questions of Story Grid identify the fundamental elements of your story. They’ll help you figure out what your story is truly about, and what you need to include in it to turn it into a book readers will love.

How to Actually Focus on Writing: The Dangers of Pseudo-Working

by Sue Weems | 0 Comments

Pseudo-working looks like work, but it doesn’t produce much. If you’ve ever been trying to focus on writing an article while checking your phone for social media updates and fielding dinner requests, you’re pseudo-working. (No, I’m not doing that right now, why do you ask?)

Admitting the dangers of pseudo-working has helped me focus and get more writing done in less time. See if it will help you too!

How to Fix Your Plot and Pacing With the Four Act Novel Structure

by The Magic Violinist | 1 Comment

I recently went on a writing retreat with several other Young Adult writers, and Beth Revis helped each of us to fix the pacing and plot holes in our novels by using her four-act structure for a novel.

Some writing techniques aren’t for everybody, but as soon as she walked me through this outlining process, I was hooked. It gave me the perfect guideline for plotting all of my future novels. In fact, I used it to plot my NaNoWriMo novel for this year.

So let’s talk about the four-act novel structure and what some of the key points are in the outline to help you plan out your next book.

How to Take Stock of Your Writing Goals This Year

by Sarah Gribble | 0 Comments

The new year is almost here, and for most people that means setting new writing goals and pushing themselves to be better, more productive, and happier.

Before you dive into setting big writing plans for 2019, I urge you to take time out to look at your accomplishments and evaluate the writing goals you set for 2018.

4 Character Archetypes Your Story Needs

by Joslyn Chase | 0 Comments

Have you ever read a story that just falls flat for you and you don’t know why? Chances are it was missing one of the archetypical elements our brains are hardwired to seek out in a story. When you sit down at the keyboard, the last thing you want to do is write a story that fails to grab and hold a reader.

How To Be Thankful For Your Writing

by David Safford | 0 Comments

Do you think about your writing too much? Do you focus too much on unfinished writing goals?

I know I do. Every day I catch myself worrying about word counts, deadlines, and opportunities I’ll be missing out on.

You’d think that this kind of obsession would make you a better writer, or at least a more motivated one. But it’s probably poisoning you, embittering you against the very craft you’ve come to love.

To save yourself from this jaded point of view, you need a way to take a step back. You need thankfulness.

Writing Prompt: The Holiday Writing Challenge

by Jeff Elkins | 0 Comments

It can be difficult to find the motivation to write during the holidays. With family around us and added responsibilities, the last thing we can think about is the story we are working on. Sometimes, all we need to give ourselves a motivational boost is a change of...

Halloween Writing Prompt: Terrify Readers With Six-Word Stories

by Sarah Gribble | 0 Comments

Happy Halloween, everyone! Since I write horror, this is obviously my favorite holiday. To celebrate, I crafted several six-word horror stories to tweet throughout the day. And today, you’re going to practice doing the same thing!

Warning: Six-word stories are addicting.

Surprise and Suspense: How to Make a Story Suspenseful