Writing Habits and Practices

After nearly four decades of writing, from nonfiction to fiction, author David Adams Cleveland shares the importance of not just writing what you know, but of writing with passion.

In updating a long-favorite trope to be relevant for today’s readers, author Angela Jackson-Brown discovered a necessary component to writing a doomed love story.

The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is choosing between plotting or pantsing.

Debut novelist Barbara Graham discusses the experience of publishing her debut novel in her 70s and how life experience made her story more powerful.

Author Piper Huguley shares her five research tips for writing historical fiction that readers love and writers love as well.

Author Faye Snowden discusses the importance of authors to write diversely and offers tips and resources to help along the never-ending process of doing better.

After nearly 20 years of experiencing varying degrees of censorship for her nonfiction, writer Nandita Dinesh turned her creative eye toward another form. Here, she details why fiction gives her hope.

Writing is often an isolating and personal endeavor, and co-writing offers an opportunity to share the experience with someone else. Here, the co-writing team Ali Brady break down the pros and cons of co-writing a novel.

Reading your work in progress is a large part of the writing process, and you may start to doubt yourself after one too many rereads. Here, author Siena Sterling shares how to get past the fact that you’ve reread your book too many times.

The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so this series helps identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's mistake is worrying too much about the format your writing takes.

When a devastating diagnosis turned her world upside down, New York Times bestselling author Kelly Yang went into “fix it” mode. Here, she details how writing her new YA novel helped her navigate what she couldn’t control.

Author Janet Key shares the feeling of not wanting to revisit the world she was creating and the tools she used to help make her fiction a place she wanted to be.

Award-winning novelist and playwright Lynne Kaufman discusses the differences, similarities, and benefits of turning your play into a novel.

The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so this series helps identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's mistake is thinking there's not enough room for your story.

Failure is often a step in finding success but navigating the treacherous terrain of rejection can be burdensome. Here, international bestselling author Marcia DeSanctis shares a master class in coming back from failure.

From picking up a reading habit to navigating daily word counts, award-winning journalist Carley Fortune shares how she went from no book to a book deal in less than a year.

The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so this series helps identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's mistake is believing naysayers, whether they're family or professionals.

The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is drafting solely on a computer.