Hey, you. Yes, you—the one with the ink-stained dreams and itchy fingers. I have a message for you from the future: don’t stop writing.
The future also wants to talk about a few scary things today. You have been warned.
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.
What I Learned From Losing My Own Writing Contest
A few months ago, without telling anyone, I entered a short story into a writing contest. Well, not just any writing contest. It was the Winter Writing Contest that The Write Practice hosted in partnership with Short Fiction Break literary magazine. In other words, it was my writing contest.
4 Reasons to Write Short Stories
For most of my creative writing life, I’ve tried to write novels. Novels are the pinnacle of fiction writing in the same way oil painting is the pinacle of art. I thought that if I were going to be a writer it meant I didn’t have a choice but to write novels.
However, recently, my thoughts have changed. In fact, for a few years I locked my novel away in my desk drawer to focus all my attention on short stories.
Here are four reasons why you should consider writing short stories instead of novels.
Want to Double Your Success as a Writer? Do This
One of my greatest excuses on days that I don’t write is I just don’t have time. Have you ever said or thought that? Well, in fact, the opposite is true. Here’s the thing about writing: If you don’t write when you don’t have time, you won’t write when you do have time.
No, it’s not easy to write on the days when you feel like you just don’t have time. But it is possible. The secret to finding time and maintaining successful writing habitsis to set an intention.
How to Write a Story 101: Conflict
You desperately want to write a story. You carry a pad of paper with you in case you get an idea. You can’t decide if your main character should have short hair or long hair. But for now, put aside what your character looks like and think about what they want.
In this post, we’re going to look at how to write a story by focusing on one of the most important elements of any story: conflict.
One Essential Writing Tip From Mark Twain
Mark Twain is one of my favorite writers. When I read his essays last year, I came across a bit of revising gold in a 1906 essay titled “William Dean Howells.” Most of the essay praises Howells’s prose in general, but the final paragraphs address what Twain calls “stage directions.”
In a play, stage directions are only visible to the audience through the movement and actor’s inflection during the performance. In a novel, we rely on description to set scenes, give context, and deepen characterization. When done well, stage directions don’t distract from the character or action.
When done poorly, however, Twain has something to say about them.
5 Steps to Get Amazing Feedback From Beta Readers
When you’ve finished a book, you feel like a hero. The work may have some warts, but it’s yours, and it’s done! The next step is to test it out on some readers and see how well the book works. This is called Beta Testing (or just “beta-ing”) your book.
Reader feedback can teach you a lot, but it can also be hard to filter the signal from the noise. The key is learning how to process that feedback so you can make productive edits. Today I’ll teach you how I learned to do this.
5 “Fashion” Tips for Writers
The point of this blog post is not to give you tips on how to dress.
No: Instead, it’s time to talk about the clothes your characters wear, and why that matters.
Why You Should Vomit Your First Draft
There was no hesitation as I vomited. I didn’t put on my glasses, clean the seven litter boxes, or put on shoes before I ran to the toilet and vomited. The virus was forcing me to avoid perfection and get rid of what was in my stomach.
Vomit your first draft as quickly as a virus makes you run to the toilet.
Your Muse’s Secret Identity
Ever heard the phrase, “With great power comes great responsibility”? That applies directly to you as a writer. See, we storytellers are really good at imagining things. Unfortunately, that means we’re also really good at screwing ourselves up.
Do you have powerful doubts you can do this? Good. Your doubts prove your skill as a writer. Read on to find out why.
