May/June2013 Issue
May/June Issue
Writer's Digest Magazine
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How to Write a Romance Novel, Romance Writing
If you’re trying your hand at romance writing, one of the most popular fiction genres, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find information on developing a dynamic, engaging heroine, her perfect lover, and the conflict that separates them.
Steve Berry’s 8 Rules of Writing
Bestselling thriller writer Steve Berry says there are eight key rules that all writers must know and follow. Read more
Don’t Use Adverbs and Adjectives to Prettify Your Prose
Learn how adjective and adverbs create redundancy and promote lazy writing and see how you can make your writing direct, vivid, and descriptive without making your readers want to get rid of your book.
by William Noble
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Opening Scenes: An Overview
Read Chapter 2, Opening Scenes: An Overview from Hooked Read more
Fiction: Point of View
How many times have you heard this around the workshop table: “Why don’t you consider a new point of view?” (Actually, the term used more often is “POV” because it sounds a lot cooler, I suspect.) Everyone then agrees that a new POV might help matters, including the writer, who knew something was wrong and is now relieved to have a likely suspect.
by Steve Almond Read more
Principles of Building a Story
Read "Principles of Building of a Story" from From First Draft to Finished Novel. Read more
Magic
Karin Fuller’s "Magic" took first place in the Romance category of the 2008 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards. To read the grand-prize winning entry and other first-place finishers, click here. Read more
Falling Leaves
William Rausch’s "Falling Leaves" is the grand-prize winner of the 2008 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards. To read more about Rausch and other category winners, click here. Read more
Bulllies, Bastards & Bitches
With Jessica Page Morrell’s Bullies, Bastards & Bitches, you’ll be able to tap into your story’s dark side by creating realistic and memorable anti-heroes, villains, antagonists, and difficult protagonists. Read more
Defining and Developing Your Anti-Hero
Anti-heros are the bastards of fiction—those bad guys readers love to hate and hate to love. Find out whats makes a memorable anti-hero tick in this excerpt from Bullies, Bastards & Bitches by Jessica Page Morrell. Read more
The Four Commandments of Writing Good Sentences
If you want to write a good sentence, don’t pay any attention to your grammar. I don’t mean “a sentence this like OK is.” I mean don’t automatically think you’ve written a good sentence just because it’s grammatically correct. Lots of bad sentences are grammatically correct. Some of these bad sentences might even be yours.
by Bonnie Trenga Read more
Challenging the Limits of Memory
In this excerpt from Writing Life Stories, Bill Roorbach teaches you how to pay attention to and translate your memories and how to overcome your resistance to remembered places and events. Read more
Publish Your First Book After 50
Who says publishing is a young person’s game? Here are an agent’s tips for writing and publishing well into your golden years.
By Scott Hoffman
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Romance Contests
A sampling of the contests available for you, the romance writer Read more
8 Basic Writing Blunders
These big-picture writing errors might make you cringe with recognition. But shake it off: Bestselling novelist Jerry B. Jenkins will help you fix them.
by Jerry B. Jenkins Read more
David Schmahmann’s Empire Settings
“I think, if (Empire Settings) does well, it will be a case study in what it is about the commercial publishing industry in New York that makes it tick and that makes it catch things and miss things.” Read more
Prose Primer
The building blocks of effective prose are simpler than you think. Read more
On The Edge: The Power of Titillation
Now that the erotica trend is climaxing, writers—and readers—are wondering what constitutes erotica and what that label really means. Read more
A Plan for Creating Great Fiction Ideas
Examine Marshall’s steps to guide you through the novel-writing process. Read more
How to Break Out of a Writing Slump
When the words aren’t coming, explore your other passions to replenish those creative juices. Read more
How You Can Write Your Heart Out
Your best writing comes straight from the heart, filled with truth, imagination and passion. Write Your Heart Out helps you better capture these qualities and use writing as an ongoing means of self-discovery and self-expression. Click below for suggestions about joining or starting a writer’s response group to receive valuable feedback and perspective on your writing Read more
5 Tips To Polish Your Fiction
5 Tips To Polish Your Fiction Read more
Chick-Lit Rebel
Melissa Bank, bestselling author of The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, has been called a chick-lit pioneer, but she has something to say about being labeled. Read more
A Tip From Maeve Binchy
“Write as you speak,” says Maeve Binchy, author of Tara Road (Delacorte) Read more
