New Daily Writing Guides from The Write Practice

How to Fall In Love With Writing Again

by Joe Bunting | 56 Comments

Do you ever feel burned out, not just on writing but on life? That’s how I felt earlier this week.

How do you fall in love with writing again, especially when writing is your job?

Earlier this week, after checking my email for the 452nd time that day, I tried again to write the article I had been putting off. I couldn’t write another word. I stared into space for six minutes, and while I stared, I made a realization.

I realized I had a whole lot of things I had to write, but I was putting off the things I wanted to write.

Four Ways to Find Writing Time

by Joe Bunting | 40 Comments

Something is always going to get between you and writing. If you don’t make writing a priority, it’s going to be ousted from your day.

Where Does Writing Come From?

by Joe Bunting | 55 Comments

‘I don’t know what I think until I write about it’. The first time I heard this statement, it sounded a bit ridiculous. Then I heard many other variations of it, and it got me thinking.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it does make sense.

7 Green-Light Steps to Write for TV

by Joe Bunting | 2 Comments

Writing for television is very different to writing a novel.

Of course plot is still important, along with character development, drama, conflict, and resolution. But dealing with a visual medium presents a whole new set of challenges.

If you have a big idea for a TV show, the seven steps below will help you write a script that connects with a tv audience, and may even get a green light from a network executive!

How to Keep Writing When No One is Reading

by Joe Bunting | 32 Comments

How do you continue believing you have a message worth telling, when no one seems to want to listen?

How do you justify all the hours spent alone working on your craft, when the rapidly slamming doors all seem to say, “Keep your day job!”

I’ve wrestled with these doubts for years. If you have too, I’m honored that I have the opportunity to help you ease this frustration and amplify your message.

What is the Most Satisfying Part of Writing?

by Melissa Tydell | 62 Comments

Some days, writing is easy. The words flow effortlessly and quickly. You walk away feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Other days, writing is hard. Each sentence takes time, making it onto the page in fits and starts. You do what you can and contemplate deleting it all in the end.

So why do we write? What is the most satisfying part of writing—that part that brings you back to the computer or paper time after time, no matter how challenging the process feels?

Critiquing Can Make You a Better Writer… and Person

by Joe Bunting | 36 Comments

If you critique other writers work, your own writing improves. Everyone knows that.

But can critiquing make you a better person?

In my experience, it can!

How Long Should a Scene Be?

by Joe Bunting | 44 Comments

I recently read a novel that bugged me. It took me about a hundred pages to realize why.

Many of the scenes were no longer than a few paragraphs. They felt rushed and not fully imagined by the author. Worse, most of the shortest scenes were flashbacks which added to the jumpy, disconnected feel to the story.

How long should scenes be in a novel or memoir?

Does the Write Practice Work?

by Joe Bunting | 109 Comments

A few days ago, I got an email from a Write Practice regular who said she had recently gotten a job writing a weekly column and was expanding her freelance writing business. “The Write Practice, and it’s great community, have been a big part of that,” she said. “I’ve learned skills and gained confidence that have been invaluable.”

It’s good to hear feedback like this. Sometimes I wonder, “Does The Write Practice really work? Are we making a difference?”

Classics Revisited : Recycling ‘Old’ Into ‘New’

by Joe Bunting | 21 Comments

Writers are in constant struggle to come up with the new and unique. Keeping our long history and language boundaries in mind, this is no easy task and only adds more to the daily doses of writers’ anxiety. It’s especially true in moments when you’ve just had “the idea” – the one you were convinced was radically new – and after a quick research you realized it’s as old as your town square.

Thankfully, there are many ways to be ‘new’. Form, style, topic, voice – all these matter; however, sometimes only one of them will do.

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