25 Most Popular Writing Posts of 2025

25 Most Popular Writing Posts of 2025

1. 2025 Get Started Right Writing Challenge: Day 1, by Robert Lee Brewer. We kicked off the year with a 10-day writing challenge, and the first five days all finished among the most popular writing posts of 2025. Find the complete 2025 challenge here. Also, look for an announcement about the 2026 challenge soon.
2. Making the Dream a Reality: How to Become a Full-Time Writer, by Chris Saunders. Next up on the list shares Chris Saunders' top advice on how writers can make the transition of writing as a hobby (or side hustle) to becoming full-time writers.
3. 5 Literary Journals Open to Submissions, by Robert Lee Brewer. Originally published as part of my Publishing Insights column in the print edition of Writer's Digest magazine, this piece shares five literary journals open to submissions from writers.
4. 2025 April PAD Challenge: Prompts, by Robert Lee Brewer. The annual April Poem-A-Day Challenge is a highlight of every year, and 2025 was a little unique, because we were still in the middle of a website transition at the time that made it difficult to find the daily prompts. So I created this post to collect them. By the way, Day 1 of the challenge also finished among the most popular on its own, and 2026 will be our 19th annual poeming challenge.
5. 5 Myths of Writing and Publishing Success, by Kate McKean. Literary agent, educator, and author Kate McKean breaks down five of common myths of writing and publishing success that many writers believe (and that they should not).
6. 5 Strategies for Writers to Keep Writing, by Gregory Galloway. Author Gregory Galloway shares five strategies for writers to keep writing, including collecting writing ideas and knowing what works best for you.
7. 7 Ways Writing Heals Us—Even After Terrible Trauma, by Barbara Nickless. Bestselling author Barbara Nickless shares seven ways writing heals us (as writers and as human beings)—even after terrible trauma enters our lives.
8. 11 Successful Query Letter Examples for Writers in Various Genres, by Robert Lee Brewer. Over the past couple years, we've worked to revitalize our Successful Queries series, and this collects a few successful queries in different genres for books that have published recently to show what's working currently when it comes to writing queries.
9. Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers, by Writer's Digest Staff. An annual feature in the print magazine, here's the 27th annual list of the best websites for writers, broken into categories like best creativity websites, best everything agent websites, and more.
10. Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Writing Like a Publisher, by Michael Woodson. WD Editor Michael Woodson shares one of the bigger (and common) writing mistakes that writers can make, and that is to focus on the marketability of writing a story before the story has been written.
11. 9 Dos & Don'ts of Writing You Know: A Guide to Authentic and Engaging Writing, by Natali Simmonds. Multi-genre author Natali Simmonds shares nine dos and don'ts of writing what you know to create authentic and engaging stories for readers.
12. Creative Curiosity: Reclaiming the Joy of Writing, by Sarah Selecky. Author Sarah Selecky shares her personal story of falling in love with writing, fighting against her writing, and then ultimately reclaiming the joy of writing.
13. 5 Tips to Hook Readers From Chapter One, by Jacqueline Faber. Always a popular topic, author Jacqueline Faber shares five strategies to get readers into your stories and to keep turning the pages from the first chapter.
14. How to Be a Writer in 10 Simple Steps, by Susan Wiggs. Author Susan Wiggs shares 10 very simple steps on how to be a writer that (at the very least) worked for her. If you're in need, maybe they'll work for you as well.
15. 4 Things I've Learned About the Book Business While Publishing My Debut Novel, by Elizabeth Harris. Author and reporter Elizabeth Harris shares four things she's learned about the book business while publishing her debut novel.
16. 2025 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Guidelines, by Moriah Richard. WD Managing Editor Moriah Richard hosts a daily flash fiction writing challenge every year on the website in February. The 2025 guidelines page got the most views, but Day 1 of the challenge also finished among the most popular posts. Moriah has already shared she'll be hosting her fourth annual challenge in 2026.
17. 10 Important Rules and Conventions of Associated Press (AP) Style, by Matthew Adams. Freelance writer Matthew Adams shares 10 important rules and conventions of AP style. Adams is a regular contributor to the site, whose "10 Most Important Comma Usage Rules" was also among the most popular posts of 2025.
18. 8 Dos & Don'ts of How to Write Sex Scenes That Work, by Beth Miller. Author Beth Miller shares eight dos and don'ts of how to write sex scenes that work, whether you're writing romance or some other genre that includes a little spice.
19. The Fallacy of "Show, Don't Tell" in Writing, by Colleen Patrick. Author and writing coach Colleen Patrick discusses the fallacy of "show, don't tell" in writing—a common refrain in many writing programs—and shares another path forward.
20. 7 Book Proposal Pet Peeves From Publishers, by Debra Eckerling. Award-winning author and podcaster Debra Eckerling shares seven book proposal pet peeves from seven different publishers to help writers improve their submission materials.
21. How I (Finally) Published My Debut Novel in My 60s, by Shirley Russak Wachtel. Author Shirley Russak Wachtel how she published her debut novel just south of turning 70 after a lifetime of writing.
22. Generating Endless Story Ideas, by Sarah M. Eden. Bestselling author of more than 75 novels Sarah M. Eden shares her method for generating endless story ideas.
23. Boris Fishman: On Writing His Darkest Novel Yet, by Robert Lee Brewer. One of my favorite parts of working on the WD site is getting to regularly feature authors in our Author Spotlight Series. The most popular interview of 2025 was this one with literary author Boris Fishman.
24. How to Be More Media-Savvy: A Chat With Paula Rizzo, by The Editors of Writer's Digest. WD Editor Michael Woodson has a conversation with writing coach and author Paula Rizzo on how to be a media-savvy author. While just outside the top 25, Rizzo's post "Productivity Hacks to Write Faster Than Ever" was very popular in 2025.
25. How to Plot a Plot Twist: 5 Steps to Writing a Satisfying Switch Up, by Laura Leffler. To round out this list, author Laura Leffler shares how to plot a plot twist by revealing her five steps for writing a satisfying switch up.