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.
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We’re inching closer to the end of the school year for students (or maybe you’re already done, like my college students!). Major testing winds down, days are full of assemblies, field days, educational games, and the countdown to summer is on. These final weeks of school are the perfect time though to sneak in some fun writing. Here are some end of school year writing prompts to try!
Many people confuse the spelling of ya’ll vs. y’all. It’s a common contraction and colloquialism that’s in wide use even outside the South in the U.S. If you’re going to use it in your writing though, you’ll need to know the spelling.
What does it take to write a book? What obstacles will you face along the way? And if you’re already writing a book, are the challenges you’re facing normal?
Writing a book can be a fulfilling and personally rewarding process, but I think it’s also important to be honest about the challenges you will face. That way, you can prepare ways to overcome those obstacles rather than allowing them to overcome you.
Some writers balk at the idea of a book plan, and I get it. I tried to write books for years without a plan. Guess how many I finished? Zero. Since I learned how to write and use a book plan, I’ve finished over a dozen books and helped thousands of writers finish their books. You can do it too!
Whenever I’m planting a clue in a mystery novel I’m writing, I feel so exposed—like I’m waving a red flag and announcing a clue has been served. Experience has helped lay those fears (mostly) to rest. With skillful weaving into the story, clues and foreshadowing blend in or are seen but soon forgotten by readers.
Without spoonfeeding your audience, you must place all the pieces on the table, allowing readers to actively participate in solving the puzzle. When making your first attempts at writing mystery, it can be difficult to find that balance between too much and too little.
Take a look at our best guide to clues and red herrings here.
If you want to get published, you need to be aware that major New York publishers are looking for a specific word count, depending on your genre. Your fantasy novel word count needs to be different than your YA Fiction book, which has a different word count from other books.
How many words are in a novel? Or at least one in which publishers might be interested? In this post, we’re going to explain word count and how it affects your chances of publishing success.
Ready to write your novel? Check out our definitive guide, How To Write Write a Novel: The Complete Guide, here.
How long is the average book? And how long should your book be? Here’s a quick summary:
Ever have a crisis? It can be a crisis of conscience, an economic crisis, a moral crisis, or something else. But what if you have more than one? What do you have then?
Let’s discuss the plural of crisis and look at some examples.
As writers of fiction, we’re always learning from more seasoned writers, whether it’s through reading, film-viewing, or taking a class. Today, guest writer Nick Labonté reviews David Mamet’s Masterclass on Dramatic Writing. See if it’s the right online course for you!
It’s National Poetry Month! I know, I know. You don’t want to write a poem, but what if I could show you a way to tap into a childhood memory to create a poem or scene that you could use in any kind of writing? Will you accept a poetry dare today?
Let’s start with the obvious: You don’t know how to write a book. I’ve written seven books, and I don’t really know how to write a book either. I have a process that works, sure, but with writing, as with many things in life, it’s always when you think you know what you’re doing that you get into trouble.
So let’s just admit right now, you don’t know how to write a book, and definitely not in 100 days, and that’s okay. There, don’t you feel better?
