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.
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If you’ve ever had the middle of a manuscript sag and feel flabby, congrats. You’re a writer! One of the questions I ask when get stuck in the middle of a manuscript is this: “How can I make this worse for this character?” One of the key elements you might use is the very thing we try so hard to avoid on a daily basis: abrasive people.
How can an abrasive character push your character’s arc, keep the plot moving, and deepen the theme? Read on to find out.
I recently finished a novel where a character hiding in a secret panel in an old house had lost consciousness and died. The only person who had an inkling of the hiding space was a child who grew up harboring the terrible secret. Secrets are a great way to add depth to a character, especially if the secret is on theme. Try this writing prompt and see what you uncover!
Master storytellers often use allusion to add richness or depth and to let readers make deeper connections to a story. Let’s look at a definition, some allusion examples, and how to use allusion in your own writing.
I love Halloween. The creepy movies, the crisp fall air, the pumpkins. And who doesn’t love to get dressed up and hit the town for night? But there’s nothing like a horrifying story to get in your head—and get you in the spirit.
What makes a good scary story? Here’s a few pointers on how to write a scary story to start you off in the right direction.
Do you want to write a novel but are unsure on how to write good fiction?
Writing good fiction takes time and practice. There’s no way around it.
However, if you’re looking for some specific and valuable writing skills that you should concentrate on building, this post is for your.
Here, learn the four foundational writing kills that will make you a better fiction writer which I’ll share with practical tips to help you improve your craft today.
Writing prompts are one of the best ways to get in your daily writing practice and hone your writing skills. Whether you’re a parent or teacher trying to help reluctant writers get started or a seasoned pro looking for new ideas, today we have a series of fun fall writing prompts to help you transition from the summer season into the autumn, writing all the way.
Have you ever wondered how some writers publish a book or more a year? Do they have a secret that could teach you how to become a successful writer? Are there tools you could use to make you equally productive?
If you want to become a successful writer, you need to first learn how to become a productive writer. But what does it really take to be productive?
In this article we will look at five tools you can use to become a more productive and successful writer—all of which you’ll want to place neatly in your writer’s toolkit.
People are complicated. I know, that’s like saying, “Hey, fire is hot!” but when it comes to characterization, this needs to be said. Our tendency as authors is to stick imaginary people into tiny two-dimensional categories, forgetting that no human being fits into tiny two-dimensional categories.
One of the things that makes humans so confounded complicated is we are not logical.
Do you dread planning a novel, or love it? Plotters and pantsers often have different perspectives—but which one are you?
Declaring yourself as a plotter or pantser is like being asked to pick a house in Hogwarts: are you House Planner or House Pantser? Which one?
In your writing career, I can guarantee you’ll connect with writers from both “houses,” and I’m not sure there will ever be a definitive answer to one team being better than the other.
However, I do think there are extreme benefits to planning a novel. If nothing else, there are four key reasons why planning a novel will speed up your writing process when writing your first draft—and next drafts.
Do you get nervous starting a book? Does it take you forever to write that book, and because of this, you eventually end up giving up? Learning how to write faster will not only boost your writing productivity, but teach you ways to be a better writer that finishes projects in the process.
Writing the first draft for any book is hard work, but it is also manageable.
In fact, it’s even possible to learn how to write faster and complete your book in six weeks!
That’s my goal for my upcoming blog series, to teach you what I’ve learned about writing faster, and not only that, but show you why writer faster will make you a better writer as well.
