In crafting a short story, let’s begin by taking our definition of plot and letting it guide us. This approach can guide you in composing a short story that creates the emotional and intellectual experience your reader hopes for.
By John Dufresne
Writing Articles
The Artist
Spotlight author Julia Cameron made her mark on writing workshops everywhere with her ground-breaking guide, The Artist’s Way. Boost your creativity with a peek at a few of her famous techniques.
WD Interview Bonus Q&A: Sarah Dessen
Don’t miss the chance to learn even more of No. 1 New York Times bestseller Sarah Dessen’s insights on what it takes to make it writing for today’s young readers.
Winner of the 6th Annual Writer
Read the grand-prize short story from the sixth annual WD Popular Fiction Awards, and learn more success strategies from winning thriller writer Marissa Gabel.
Read the grand-prize short story from the sixth annual WD Popular Fiction Awards here.
When Is Lying in Memoir Acceptable? 3 Key Issues
Today’s guest post is from Tracy Seeley, author of My Ruby Slippers. Visit her site, or find out more about her book. — They crop up like weeds in the literary garden, those memoirs that lie. James Frey invented some details of his life and wildly exaggerated others. Greg Mortenson and his co-writer turned...
Do You Have a Marketing Support Network?
This month at Writer Unboxed, I discuss one of the invisible aspects of your platform that directly impacts your success: Your relationships. Click here to read “A Critical Marketing Secret: Don’t Go It Alone.” I can confirm, after launching my e-book last month (The Future of Publishing), that I couldn’t have spread the word...
6 Key Components of an Online Author Platform
Next week, on June 2, I’ll be teaching a live, online class on building your author platform. To help make “platform” more understandable and approachable as a topic, I’ve boiled it down into 6 key components. Here they are, briefly. VISIBLE Your website (your hub, or Grand Central Station) Your social media activity or...
How to Cook Up a Poetry Jam (Guest Post by Daniel Ari)
Please welcome Daniel Ari, who has offered up a guest post on how to start a poetry jam. Ari has been putting writing jams together since he was an undergrad. In the late 90s, he had a long-running group called “Poetry Slide,” and nowadays, he hosts monthly sessions at home for reading and writing...
Poetic Form: Qasida (Guest Post by Ren Powell)
Please welcome Ren Powell, whose most recent book is Mercy Island, New and Selected Poems–available through Phoenicia Publishing or Amazon. She is an associate editor with Poemeleon and blogs at http://tribeofmadorphans.com. In the following post, she introduces us to the poetic form called qasida. ***** While I was putting together my research proposal...
Should You Write a Novel or Short Story?
You’ve got a great idea—but how can you tell if it’s weighty enough for a novel, or would work best as a short story? Here are five key factors to consider.
by Elizabeth Sims
Get Paid to be a Word Nerd
Writers who leverage their skills as copy editors can earn bigger paychecks, diversify their portfolios and spend more time doing what they love. Learn how you could be one of them.
by Rebecca Smith Hurd
8 Things Readers Want From Self-Published Authors
My post last week, The “Self-Pub Is Crap” Debate, has probably generated more comments than any other post in 2011. Reviewing the comments provides an excellent to-do list of how self-published authors can be taken seriously by readers. Hire professionals for editing, proofreading, and design. Put most of your cost toward editing. That means,...
Should You Self-Publish After a Near-Miss?
Writers often ask if it’s wise or helpful to self-publish their work if they have “near-misses” with agents or publishers. There’s no one answer that works for everyone. But I’ll try to help you come to the right conclusion. YES: Go ahead and try self-publishing a book You know how to reach your readers...
3 Ways to Know When to End Your Chapters
At some point in writing your novel, you have to start thinking about “chaptering,” the process of deciding exactly when and where your chapter breaks will go. Here are three simple, essential techniques that can help you make effective chapter pauses.
by Aaron Elkins
Is Email the New Blogging?
The meme these days seems to be that e-mail newsletters (or content marketing through e-mail) is the new blogging. Actually, I lie. It’s a fairly old meme—I can at least trace it back to this blog post by Jason Calacanis, a longtime respected blogger, who decided to start a paid e-mail newsletter instead of...
Interview With Poet Robert Lee Brewer – Guest Post by Walt Wojtanik
There’s something a little silly about being interviewed on your own blog. However, Walt Wojtanik made it a fun experience, which is part of the reason he was chosen as the 2010 Poetic Asides Poet Laureate. Walt manages several blogs, including Through the Eyes of a Poet’s Heart, Across the Lake, Eerily (with Marie...
Midlist Nonfiction Books: Too Much Effort for Too Little Return?
Pictured above: A slide from Margaret Atwood’s marvelous presentation at TOC on the future for authors When it comes to non-narrative nonfiction books, I don’t think of the authors of these books as authors. I think of them as experts, entrepreneurs or business professionals who are interested in authoring a book because of the...
How to Start a Successful Newsletter
Next week, I’m teaching an online class on how to start a successful e-mail newsletter. This is a topic I’ve covered here at No Rules before, but this class will allow me to show you in-depth how to get started, discuss strategies, and go behind the scenes with free services so you see how...
How to Build Your Website Without Knowing Code
Today I sent out the latest issue of my e-mail newsletter, which I call “3 Happy Things.” Each issue has a different theme, and this one focused on how to build a website for free, without knowing code, in less than an hour. Click here to view the newsletter on codeless websites. Also, there’s...
Ask the Pro: Literary Agent Daniel Lazar
Agent Daniel Lazar talks about queries, his dream project and his biggest career surprise.
How to Organize and Develop Ideas for Your Novel
With so many great ideas, how do you organize them into some sort of coherent outline that will guide your writing? Here's how.
by Laura Whitcomb
Reject a Hit: Marley & Me
Let’s step once again into the mind of the unconvinced, perhaps even curmudgeonly or fool-hearted editor: What harsh rejection letters might the authors of some of our favorite hit books have had to endure?
This time we take on John Grogan of Marley & Me fame.
Was Your Idea Stolen? Maybe
Think someone stole your idea? Not so fast. Here’s what you can learn from two authors and their tale of “simultaneous discovery.”
by Eileen Cook and Lara Zielin
How to Create a Free Author Website on WordPress
Here are 5 simple steps to set up a free website/blog using WordPress.
by Meryl K. Evans