Complete 1st Draft
Writing a Novel? Here are Seven Friends You Need
From the veteran writer to the friend who doesn't read, author Karen Dukess presents the seven friends you need to keep on track while writing and publishing your novel.
10 Favorite Writing Tips from Successful Authors
When it comes to writing advice, there are some fundamental truths for tackling first drafts, and committing to the process of writing itself.
The Quintessential Guide to Selecting and Working With Beta Readers
With the brutal, thorough help of beta readers, you can achieve writing goals faster and more efficiently. LS Hawker offers a definitive guide to selecting and working with them.
A Teacher’s Guide to Your New Year’s Writing Goals
Author and school teacher Roxanna Elden offers her four secrets to accomplishing your writing goals this year.
How to Set Wildly Ambitious Writing Goals—and Accomplish All of Them
P.S. Hoffman outlines the secrets to successfully accomplishing your biggest, hairiest writing goals in 2019—including setting them and creating a sustainable routine that will enable to you to realistically attain them.
Novel Writing from A to Z: The Alphabetical Elements of Writing Fiction
Staring down the first blank page of your novel-to-be can be daunting—but any hesitation stops here. Our A to Z guide of expert tips, inspirational advice and helpful novel writing hints will walk you from Page 1 through The End.
Perfect Stories: The Pursuit of Perfection & Surrendering Your Story to Your Readers
Sometimes finishing a story is the most unsatisfying part of writing. No matter how hard you work on it, you may still feel something is missing. William Kenower discusses this dissatisfaction, the quest for perfection, and the need to relinquish your story to your readers.
A Prescription for Writers in a Fast-Paced World
Writing a book is not for the faint of heart. Physician and author Beth Ricanati, MD, offers a prescription for a meaningful writing ritual that will help you achieve your goals.
Grand Finale: Two Strategies for Writing Great Story Endings
Powerful, unexpected story endings will leave readers hungry for your next novel. Consider the following techniques to help your story resonate long past the last page.
The Key to Getting Published: Perseverance
As anyone who's wrapping up National Novel Writing Month knows, perseverance is the key to conquering any writing challenge. Here, author Lisa Preston shares her experience leaning into perseverance and succeeding with a dash of luck.
The 9-Minute Novelist
Strapped for writing time? Fret no more: This incremental approach will lead you from first draft to finished manuscript in no time. Learn how to write a novel in mere minutes a day.
NaNoWriMo Begins! 30 Tips for Conquering Your 30-Day Writing Challenge
Taking on a 30-day writing challenge this month? Here, 30 veterans share their best NaNoWriMo tips and advice for finishing the month strong.
The Writer’s Digest Podcast, Episode 8: Interview with NaNoWriMo Executive Director Grant Faulkner
In this episode of the Writer’s Digest Podcast, we talk with author and Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month Grant Faulkner, who shares an inside look at the NaNoWriMo writing challenge and discusses how to overcome some of the main obstacles to creativity, techniques to help you prepare to write your novel, and how to keep your creative momentum up every month of the year.
Curtis Sittenfeld on Choosing Beta Readers, Outlining and Creating Complex Characters
Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld (Eligible) explains how her characters keep it “real,” and why plumbing the awkward and uncomfortable can lead to the richest social commentary.
The Novel in the Drawer
Many writers who can't get their first novel published put it in a drawer and write a second one. Gayle Abrams discusses the decision to put that first novel in the drawer and move on to book two, or to persevere with the first.
Great Expectations: How Re-Evaluating Your Writing Goals Can Help You Achieve Success
Here, William Kenower relates the story of a unique writer who began her journey with no expectations. The experience demonstrated how rethinking your writing goals and asking yourself what you really want to write can help you achieve success and happiness.
Keeping the Writing Faith: Defining & Redefining Success to Maintain Your Motivation
The following article is the first in a five-part series of articles by Jennifer Haupt. In this installment, she discusses how to maintain your writing motivation by rethinking what "success" means as a writer.
The 3 Questions That Will Solve Every “Plot Problem” You’ll Ever Have
Whether you're an outliner or an organic writer—a plotter or a pantser—the solution to almost every plot problem can be found by answering three simple questions.
Encouraging Young Writers: Why You Should Set Aside Time to Read and Write With Kids
Making time to read and write with your kids can not only encourage your young writers to flex their creative muscles—it can also help you find time to work on your own passion projects.
Bodies, Blind Spots, and Quirks: 5 Key Questions to Ask When Developing Characters
When developing characters, we must learn everything we can about the external world in which they live, and what circumstances, just or unjust, are wrought upon them. Equally, or more so, we have to know how they react, or fail to, in conjunction with events.
Tune In: 23 Best Podcasts for Writers
This year, to accompany our annual list of 101 Best Websites for Writers, we decided to put together a list of what we think are the best podcasts for writers. Here are our favorites.
Why Point of View Is So Important for Novel Writers
The following is a brief rundown of the three most common POVs and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
It’s Never Too Late: On Becoming a Writer at 50
Award-winning author Rebecca Foust shares why it's never too late to become a successful writer and how you can get started now regardless of where you are in your writing journey.
How Being an Editor Helped Me Be a Better Writer (and Vice Versa)
As a debut novelist who’s also a full-time nonfiction editor, I’ve tried hard to keep my editor and author hats separate. However, I’ve found that the two roles have intertwined more than I expected, and in ways that are surprisingly beneficial.