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The Writer's Life

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.

  • By Karen Dukess
    Jun 14, 2019
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The Writer's Life

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.

  • By The Editors of Writer's Digest
    May 23, 2019
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Publishing FAQs

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Feb 20, 2019
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Writing Habits and Practices

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Jan 18, 2019
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Writing Habits and Practices

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.

  • By P. S. Hoffman
    Jan 11, 2019
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Writing Techniques

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.

  • By The Editors of Writer's Digest
    Jan 1, 2019
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Writing Techniques

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.

  • By William Kenower
    Dec 12, 2018
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The Writer's Life

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Dec 5, 2018
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Writing Techniques

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.

  • By Jane Cleland
    Nov 30, 2018
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Publishing Insights

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Nov 29, 2018
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Writing Habits and Practices

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.

  • By Jeff Somers
    Nov 5, 2018
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Writing Habits and Practices

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.

  • By Jess Zafarris
    Nov 1, 2018
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WD Podcasts

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.

  • By Jess Zafarris
    Sep 7, 2018
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There Are No Rules Blog by the Editors of Writer's Digest

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.

  • By Baihley Gentry
    Aug 2, 2018
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Writing Articles

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Jul 20, 2018
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Writing Goal

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.

  • By William Kenower
    May 11, 2018
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Writing Goal

Keeping the Writing Faith: Defining & Redefining Success to Mantain 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.

  • By Jennifer Haupt
    May 11, 2018
Story Trumps Structure by Steven James
Plot

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.

  • By Steven James
    Apr 24, 2018
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Writing Habits and Practices

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Apr 13, 2018
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Writing Articles

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Apr 13, 2018
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WD Podcasts

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—let us know if you have any additional suggestions!

  • By Karen Krumpak
    Mar 20, 2018
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Character

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Aug 9, 2017
its_never_too_late_on_becoming_a_writer_at_50_rebecca_foust
The Writer's Life

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.

  • By Rebecca Foust
    Aug 7, 2017
Meg Leder featured
Writing Articles

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.

  • By Guest Column
    Aug 4, 2017
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