Anyone whose ever seen a screening of a Pixar movie (Finding Nemo, Up, and the Toy Story trio come to mind for me) knows that the writers of these charming, funny and often heartbreaking movies know a thing or two about the art of storytelling. Recently, Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats was asked to...
There Are No Rules Blog by the Editors of Writer’s Digest
Why “Show, Don’t Tell” Is the Great Lie of Writing Workshops
I’m honored and excited today to be bringing you a guest post by critically acclaimed novelist and writing instructor Joshua Henkin. I first discovered Henkin’s work years ago when I received an advance copy of his novel Matrimony at Book Expo America, and I later enjoyed having him contribute a thought-provoking essay on the...
Turning Marketing Lemons into Lemonade
Recently, I attended the Book Expo America convention (BEA) in New York City to launch my new book, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire. Unfortunately, when I got to the show, raring to promote my new title, the books had not yet arrived. As you can imagine, I was disappointed. But in that moment, I...
Showing vs. Telling in Your Writing
Show, don’t tell. Most writers have heard this maxim at some point, whether from a teacher, an editor or an agent. But what does this writing advice mean, in practical terms? While a certain amount of exposition is unavoidable (and even useful) in your writing, it’s easy to “over-share” the minutiae of your story’s...
How to Break the Rules of Writing
Here at Writer’s Digest (and despite the There Are No Rules moniker of this blog), we talk a lot about doing things by the book—from understanding grammatical and structural writing rules, to following submission guidelines, to otherwise conducting yourself like a pro. And that’s why we had so much fun putting together the latest...
Giveaway: Win a day pass to ThrillerFest, featuring Jack Higgins, Lee Child, Ann Rule and many others
I’m going to go ahead and toss the illusion of journalistic objectivity out the window for a second, and put this on the table: I love ThrillerFest. We sponsor it every year, and in 2011 I attended for the first time. I was blown away. There are craft sessions taught by bestselling writers. Lively...
Advice for Writers: 7 Reasons to Self-Publish Your Book
Self-publishing used to be a last resort for aspiring authors unable to break through the traditional publishing fortress. With the help of vanity presses, those writers took matters into their own hands and brought their books to market, for a fee. These days, self-publishing has a newfound respect. The “guilt by association” connection to...
Start Your Summer Right: 5 Creative Writing Tips
The first long weekend of cookouts, swimming and 90-degree days is behind us here in the Midwest, which can mean only one thing: The unofficial start of summer. New seasons have a way of bringing about change just when things are getting stale—an apt metaphor for both writing and life. In my house, the...
UPDATED! Success Stories – Gotta love ’em
UPDATED No sooner had I written the post below than I received a number of great reports, some of which I’ve noted elsewhere. The one I received today comes from Sheri Graz who reports that her story, “Last Call,” just won the mysterious photograph contest in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. It’s on newsstands now if you...
Writing Inspiration From Andre Dubus III: How to Stay True to Yourself
A couple of months back, I had the pleasure of talking writing over a Guinness with Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog, Townie, and other books. Our profile of Dubus in WD magazine is on its way to subscribers right now, and will hit newsstands June 5. In the meantime,...
How to Find Great Writing Ideas
In the search for story-worthy ideas, most writers are sidelined by occasional bouts of creative myopia. When it sets in—when your field of inspiration narrows—it’s easy to convince yourself that your luck has run out and all the good ideas are taken. But finding exceptional writing ideas isn’t a matter of luck. Waiting passively...
Don’t D-Y-I “Do-Yourself-In” with a D-I-Y Mentality
by Rob Eagar I am one of the few original self-publishing success stories. And, I did it way before the advent of e-books, Amazon, and social media. Over 10 years ago, I left corporate America as a sales executive to pursue what seemed like a ridiculous dream to write a book. I had no...
All Marketing is a Felt Need
By Rob Eagar In my work as a marketing consultant, I’ve met numerous authors who work in academic circles, such as counselors, professors, pastors, and specialty book publishers. A common problem among these scholastic groups is the tendency to believe that their marketing should be exempt from the need to answer the consumers’ primary...
Ask a Literary Agent Anything: Here’s Your Chance!
Is there a question you’ve always secretly wished you could ask a literary agent? Maybe you want privileged information … or maybe you want real, tell-it-to-me-straight advice. Maybe something’s been bugging you for a while, but you’re too afraid of sounding like an amateur if you speak up … or you’re too professional to...
Promote Your Book with Power-Bites
By Rob Eagar The more you rely on technology to spread your message, the more you must be brief. We live in a world of smaller screens, smaller attention spans, and smaller conversations where media platforms continuously shrink discussions. For instance, radio and TV interviews these days are typically no longer 3 – 6...
The 10 Commandments of How to Write a Thriller
Every week, I spelunk into the Writer’s Digest archives to find the wisest, funniest, or downright strangest moments from our 92 years of publication. About 10 years ago, lawyer-turned-novelist John Grisham spilled the beans in Newsweek that a 1973 Writer’s Digest article paved the way for him to write his bestseller The Firm. Naturally, we’ve been geeking out about this...
Top 10 Blogging Tips: How to Turn Your Blog Into a Book
If you’d like to quickly amass content for a book—without the pressure of actually having to work on one—consider blogging a book. Blogging is a fast and simple way to generate a body of targeted content and build your platform, which are key components of landing a book deal in today’s competitive marketplace. When...
What’s the single best piece of writing advice? Harper Lee, John Steinbeck and Carl Sandburg weigh in
Every week, I spelunk into the Writer’s Digest archives to find the wisest, funniest, or downright strangest moments from our 92 years of publication. Harper Lee’s birthday is tomorrow, so today I went on a hunt to find some Harper Lee quotes somewhere in our archives. I didn’t exactly troll up an entire interview (no surprise there, given...
Writing Advice: 3 Reasons to Never Give Up, From Bestselling Author Lisa See
One of the best parts of my job as editor of Writer’s Digest magazine is that I frequently have the chance to speak with authors I admire as part of our ongoing WD Interview series. To say that our current issue’s cover subject, Lisa See, is no exception would be a huge understatement. I’ve...
How to Outline (the Easy Way) Like Janet Evanovich
Every week, I spelunk into the Writer’s Digest archives to find the wisest, funniest, or downright strangest moments from our 92 years of publication. Today: Here’s to Janet Evanovich (and that we all might one day hit it as big as Janet Evanovich). The author of the bestselling Stephanie Plum series celebrates her birthday this Sunday, so I...
Does Marketing Your Book Feel Oppressive or Liberating?
Written by Rob Eagar If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Likewise, if you write a book and no one reads it, does it make you an author? I would argue no, because the whole point of writing a book is...
Interview With Expert Freelancer Kelly James-Enger
Today I’m talking with author and freelancing expert Kelly James-Enger, whose work has appeared in dozens of national magazines, including Redbook, Fitness and Self. James-Enger says that her success as a full-time freelancer isn’t the result of persistence or luck, but of learning the “secrets” of freelancing. You can find all 101 of these...
The Best New Advice for Getting Published
You can always tell when it’s officially springtime here at the WD offices. Everyone is smiling because of the sunshine. Everyone is sneezing because of the pollen. And everyone is buzzing about the release of our most popular annual list: The 101 Best Websites for Writers. (There are also some unruly Canadian geese who...
How to Build Online Community
By Rob Eagar If you want to build a following, especially online, the key is to position yourself as someone who is worth following. The best way to attract a large group is by becoming an object of interest, which means the ability to draw people to you by dent of your expertise or...
Last call! Can you write an opening sentence to this story? (Chance to get published in Writer’s Digest)
From hardboiled detectives to murderers, leprechauns, spies and even giraffe narrators, when it comes to the diverse and unique entries in our free Your Story contest, the gang’s all here. If you have a spare moment this weekend for a writing challenge, take five minutes and give it a whirl. Basically, in every issue...