Complete 1st Draft

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Taking on a 30-day writing challenge this month? Here, 30 veterans share their best NaNoWriMo tips and advice for finishing the month strong.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The following is a brief rundown of the three most common POVs and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

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.

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.