When our creative tap feels like it has run dry, sometimes all we need to get our creative juices flowing again is a fun writing challenge. That’s why today’s post is a writing prompt based on the Story Grid.
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 Plan for Writing Rejection
Writers hear the words “No thanks” often. Whether you’ve submitted a story for a contest or a literary magazine or you’ve sent out query letters to agents, you know that sting when the results are published and your name isn’t on the list, or the sinking feeling when you get another reply from an agent, “Sorry, going to pass this time.”
Publishing is fraught with rejection. What if we could stop being afraid of it and instead plan for it as a natural part of our process? Hearing “No” doesn’t have to derail us when we have a plan.
Overcoming Burnout: How to Recover When You’re Exhausted From Writing
Let’s face it: You love to write. Yet a moment always seems to come when that passion feels more like a prison.
Perhaps it’s due to a crushing deadline. Maybe writing becomes exhausting because the words just don’t come. Maybe the readers don’t come either, and you wonder whether writing is even worth it.
It’s so important for writers to know how to rest. To step back from these pressures and find hope. Overcoming burnout — or the early stages of burnout, if you realize you’re getting worn down — is vital to your writing and your own well-being.
How to Talk Back to Discouragement so You Can Write Confidently
Three times this week I have come across encouragement from writers who wrote, edited, and published books at the margins of their lives, and writers who overcame incredible odds to get their stories into the world. It reminded me that we all face some kind of...
How to Publish a Short Story: Submit Your Story
Almost two months ago, we started this journey to find out how to publish a short story. We’ve drafted, we’ve gotten feedback, we’ve edited. If you’ve been following along, you should have a completed short story by now. (Mine’s ready. Is yours?)
This week, you’re sending that story out!
How This Writing Contest Will Transform Your Writing
If you want to become a better writer and eventually get published, you should join a writing contest. Here’s why: writing contests are one of the best ways to practice your writing (and as I’m sure you can imagine, we’re pretty obsessed with writing contests over...
Stumped for Story Ideas? Try This One Tip
In a recent episode of Jane the Virgin, the main character, Jane, is stumped for story ideas. She already published one book, but that was inspired by her dramatic telenovela-like life. She’s convinced that she has no other story to tell.
When she shares her dilemma with her fellow writing-class students, they assure her that what she described is not a problem at all. Why?
5 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Writing Habits
Spring is almost here, which means it’s almost time to spring clean. Spring cleaning isn’t only good for cluttered houses, but for cluttered minds, as well. As writers, it’s important to learn new skills so long as it’s not at the expense of polishing old ones. Spring is the perfect time to do take a look at your writing and do some review. Here are five things you can do to avoid falling into bad habits.
Dilemma: 4 Powerful Steps to Make Your Characters Choose
What if there was one thing you could change about your writing that could almost instantly make it better?
There is! There is a storytelling element that I’ve seen as an entrant and judge of multiple fiction contests that makes stories work and win, standing out above the rest.
And that single, difference-making element is a Powerful Choice.
Writing Sequels: 5 Sequel-Writing Secrets From Jessica Jones
Writing sequels is difficult. The Marvel Cinematic Universe currently consists of nineteen feature films, four network television weekly TV shows, and eight online streaming shows. Writing sequels to a genre-stretching side story that exists in a massive universe beloved by fans must be near impossible.
This weekend Jessica Jones season two dropped on Netflix. Whether you enjoy the show or not, there is a lot it can teach us about storytelling.
