All around us, kids and teachers are headed back to school. The weather hasn’t cooled down yet, but we’re already dreaming of crunchy fall leaves and cozy sweaters. It’s the perfect season for a new writing contest!
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.
And make sure to subscribe to get a weekly digest of our latest posts, along with our free guide, 10 Steps to Become a Writer.
You May Not Be Ready to Publish Your Book
That’s a touchy statement, isn’t it? Before you light me on fire for typing it, give me the chance to explain. There are two aspects to being ready to publish your book: preparing your book and preparing yourself.
Who vs. Whom: Or, How to Misuse a Pronoun
We avoided it as long as we could, but it was bound to come up sooner or later. Today, we’re covering the apparent mother of all grammatical quandaries: who vs. whom. What’s the difference between these two tricky pronouns?
Photo Writing Prompt: Find Your Story in a Painting
Have you heard of Girl With a Pearl Earring?
It’s a painting by a 17th Century Dutch painter named Johannes Vermeer. Author Tracy Chevalier first saw it when she was 19 and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Who was the girl in the painting? How did she get there?
Character Voice: How to Actually Listen to Your Protagonist
Anyone who has dipped their toes into the world of writing novels knows how crucial character development is to telling strong stories. Plot, setting, and dialogue are necessary building blocks of fiction, but your characters are the foundation that your story is resting on—without dynamic characters, no amount of plot twists, fantastical settings, or authentic dialogue will magically transform into a novel that people want to read.
If the success of your novel is in fact riding on the strength of your characters, you need to know who they are, inside and out. More importantly, you need a character with a strong voice, one that can reveal the emotional depths of your story to the reader.
The Ultimate Guide to Titles: Book Titles, Article Titles, and More
A title is one of the most important tools you have to capture your readers. Your title will either grab your readers attention or be another sentence they glance over. It is the deciding factor of whether or not they read your work of art.
Beat Writer’s Block with Grimms’ Fairy Tales
I know what a friend looks like. Friends are there to support you when you need them. If you call in desperation, they come over. If you need a laugh, they crack a joke. If you’re down, they give a helping hand.
I’ve concluded that the Muses are not my friends.
3 Questions You Should Ask Before You Write a Scene
Sometimes I get stuck wondering how to write a scene during a first draft. Or maybe I can’t figure out how to revise a story to make it better. Sometimes I wonder if I am ever going to make any progress in my fiction and life. (Please tell me I’m not alone!)
I’ve been revising this summer, and it’s taking longer than I’d like. I keep returning to the basics of good storytelling to evaluate my scenes, and yesterday, it occurred to me that there are three questions I can ask to clarify almost any scene. Coincidentally, they are the same three questions I usually ask myself to tackle almost any life problem.
How Relatable Character Relationships Will Make or Break Your Story
I want you to think back to your favorite book or television show. There may be many things that stood out to you about that story—the plot, the scenery, the outfits, the scope, or something else. There’s one aspect, however, that underpins all those things. One detail which, if missing, leaves your readers unable to really invest themselves in your story: relationships between characters.
Announcing Our Latest Book, Scrivener Superpowers, Now in Paperback
I’m very excited to announce the launch of our newest book, Scrivener Superpowers, by M. G. Herron!
Scrivener Superpowers will not only change your approach to Scrivener, it will change your writing life. Learn more about the book here.
