New Daily Writing Guides from The Write Practice

Should You Write Nonfiction or Fiction?

by Joe Bunting | 111 Comments

In allegiance to Stephen King’s writerly maxim, “The only requirement is the ability to remember every scar,” I’m considering writing a new series of stories about my father’s five year struggle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrom.

I was ten when my father had to quit work go on disability. His body was hurting all the time and he couldn’t think he was so tired. Ten is an age you need a father, but for five years he was largely absent, both physically and mentally. My mom was preoccupied and stressed bearing our family’s financial burdens. I went through the first, confusing years as a teenager all but alone.

But the question is: should I write the stories from this period of my life as non-fiction or channel them into my fiction?

How to Satisfy Your Reader With a Great Ending

by Guest Blogger | 84 Comments

Author John Irving is notorious for writing the last line of every novel first. What we can glean from this daunting factoid is that Irving has a clear picture of where he wants the story to end up. The work is “simply” writing the book.

Would that we all be so lucky!

The Immobilized Man in Noir Fiction

by Joe Bunting | 41 Comments

It seems that Noir fiction has penetrated literature, even though nobody is really sure what it represents. It’s become a buzzword, used for a stylish touch. Coined in France, the term Roman Noir (Black Novel), signified the Gothic literature of the 18th century originating mainly from England – ‘Frankestein’ by Mary Shelley and ‘Les Miserables’ by Victor Hugo, for example. The meaning and use of the word in fiction has, obviously, shifted over the years.

Whereas Noir can denote various fictive genres – starting from crime, detective and thriller genres to hard-boiled fiction, Gothic and terror novels – and takes many forms, one feature of Noir stands out: the one of the immobilized man.

What TV Can Teach You About Lazy Writing

by Joe Bunting | 9 Comments

As a writers, you are sensitive to words. After all, they’re your currency. Even when you’re taking a break to watch TV, you may unconsciously be evaluating—with disdain or grudging admiration—the words you encounter. Developing sensitivity for lazy language can help you assuage any lingering guilt for taking breaks, especially with TV shows.

Admittedly a rationale for marathon TV watching, I discovered that television shows can teach valuable lessons in our writing, especially to spot those standard scripted sentences like, “I want my lawyer,” “Crash cart, STAT, and “We need to talk.” Once we recognize the penchant for too-easy language, we can learn from and avoid it in our writing.

Here I describe two types of lazy language and suggest lessons we can learn from them and remedies to apply in your own work.

What Having a Baby Taught Me About Writing

by Joe Bunting | 30 Comments

On Thursday, April 18, my son Marston Atticus made his dramatic entrance into the world. In last week, I have changed forty-seven diapers, swaddled sixty-four times, and bounced him to sleep for innumerable hours. What I haven’t done much of is write. Yes, I’ve jotted down the occasional note to jog my memory later, but this post is the first serious writing I’ve managed to do. Babies take a lot of time!

However, having a baby has also taught me something surprising about writing and drama.

The Difference Between Writers and Wanna-Bes

by Joe Bunting | 59 Comments

There’s still something inside of me that is excited when people ask what I do for a living and I get to tell them I’m a writer. After that declaration, the conversation goes one of two ways…

Why You Should Write about the Everyday

by Melissa Tydell | 58 Comments

Some people think writing about everyday occurrences is uninteresting. But I like to believe that the everyday is what connects writers with readers, as human beings who share a common or not-so-common world.

What is it about the everyday—the small details, the routines and rituals—that resonates so deeply?

Never Have Writer's Block Again

by Joe Bunting | 22 Comments

I'm a better writer on a deadline. The clock is ticking and there is no other option than write. When the time is free and endless opportunities for story direction and unique concepts and different ways to structure present themselves, I know I'll be sitting for a...

Yum! Why You Should Use Food in Your Stories

by The Magic Violinist | 16 Comments

If you love food as much as I do, then you probably put a lot of it in your writing. Food can be a nice touch for any kind of writing: fantasy, non-fiction, mystery, anything! (Is anyone else getting hungry)?

Here are three ways to incorporate food into your writing.

The Flip Side: Writing Villain Protagonists

by Liz Bureman | 16 Comments

We’re used to rooting for our protagonists. The easiest way to get an audience behind your character is to give them a moral compass that consistently points toward good. But what happens if your main character’s moral compass points in the opposite direction? Or if they have no moral compass at all?

Welcome to the world of the villain protagonist.

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