The Write Practice: The Online Writing Workbook

How to Be a Successful Writer: Why You’ll Never Arrive and What to Do Instead

by Sue Weems | 41 Comments

There are three words that can kill any dream before it leaves the ground: “As soon as …” As soon as I finish this course … as soon as I get noticed … as soon as I revise … as soon as I get a marketing plan in place … as soon as the kids are in school … as soon as I ride the glitter pony of creativity … and on and on.

Yes, it is helpful to have action steps that inform your forward motion, but for too many of us who want to do creative work, we’re waiting on something that isn’t really keeping us from our writing. Our real barriers are beliefs that tell us we have to wait for the right conditions, along with the false assumption that one day we’ll “arrive” at our goal of being a successful writer and the need to create will feel satiated.

Newsflash: those “right” conditions and that “perfect” moment are not coming.

There’s Hope For You, Struggling Writers (And Here’s Proof)

by Ruthanne Reid | 12 Comments

Let me tell you, sometimes there is drama in the world of publishing. This week, that drama was not only jaw-dropping, but it proved this powerful truth for all of us struggling writers: if you keep reading and keep writing, there is hope for you as a writer. Read on...

How to Empower Your Writing With a Brilliant Epigraph

by Guest Blogger | 22 Comments

The epigraph is simply a well-chosen quotation, set at the beginning of a text. Epigraphs can open essays, books, chapters of a book, or even each story in a book—any writing, really, which suggests its theme.

They can, however, do so much more.

After a short primer, just to get us on the same page with a working understanding of the epigraph, and a little confessional angst, you will have a couple of practice challenges to engage your new friends.

Book Editing: How to Survive the Second Draft of Your Book

by Kellie McGann | 40 Comments

The next few months I’ve dedicated to finishing the book I’ve been working on for nearly two years. Inspired by Joe’s latest post, I’ve made the commitment to revise the second draft of my book.

I believe, though, the second draft is the hardest. Actually, it’s the worst. All the content of your book is sitting right in front of you like a huge slab of marble mined from your imagination, and you’re expected to take the formless hunk and turn it into Michelangelo’s David.

In finishing the second draft of three books and as I’m embarking on finishing this next one this fall, I’ve compiled these tips for the both of us. Here’s all I know about book editing and surviving the second draft.

Giveaway: Win Freewrite, the World’s First Smart Typewriter!

by Joe Bunting | 24 Comments

How often do you find yourself writing . . . when suddenly, a rogue distraction interrupts you? You get a text. Or an email pops up in your inbox. You need to do some quick research to get this scene just right. Or you just have to check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, just for a moment. And forty-five minutes later, you come back to your story to realize you’ve barely written a paragraph.

That’s where Freewrite, the world’s first smart typewriter, comes in. Enter to win Freewrite today!

What Every Writer Needs to Hear

by Jeff Elkins | 23 Comments

The opportunity to offer criticism comes with undeserved power. As a critic, we put ourselves above the artist, providing our authoritative opinion on the artists work. The thing is, that’s not what every writer needs to hear.

3 Essential Questions for Writers

by Ruthanne Reid | 22 Comments

Greetings, fellow writers. I’m tackling something deeply important today: three questions you must answer if you call yourself a writer.

Writing Prompt: Total Solar Eclipse

by Monica M. Clark | 28 Comments

Will you be chasing it?

Today is the first time in nearly 40 years that a total solar eclipse will be visible from mainland United States. In other words, the moon will briefly block the sun in the middle of the day and Americans may actually be able to see it (with special glasses).

How to End a Story

by The Magic Violinist | 26 Comments

Endings are hard. Nobody likes to say goodbye, and saying goodbye in a story is especially hard. The pressure is on to get that last part just right. When there are so many possibilities for a conclusion, how do you know which one is right for your story?

Here’s How to Focus on Your Writing

by Kellie McGann | 59 Comments

Over the weekend, I was working on a book project. I’ve been working on it for almost a year and desperately need to finish it. But when I sat down to work on it, suddenly everything became more interesting than the writing on the screen in front of me.

I stared at the wood table for too long, before picking up my phone and texting back everyone I hadn’t in the last six months. I stared out the window, got a refill on my coffee, and then finally wrote maybe thirty words.

Here to learn? You’re in the WRITE place!