Craft & Technique

Kathy Edens finds that she can write content all day every day, but when it comes to fiction, she's terrified of the blank page. Her secret? Scheduling procrastination into her writing schedule.

What's the difference between suspense and surprise, and how is each one powerful? Jane Cleland explains how to pair these two elements in your writing in this excerpt from her book Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot.

In this series, you'll discover five ways of practicing just that type of turnaround for your existing works-in-progress. This edition focuses on setting and detail.

If you're writing a graphic novel or a comic, you need to consider how your images and text work together to spin the story. Here are a few ways to play with combining words and pictures in sequential art from author-illustrator Whitney Gardner.

Pitching high concept fiction can be the key to skyrocketing to the top of agents' slush piles, but what is it, and how do you go about framing your story as high concept?

Writing requires three layers of mastery: Mastery of stories, craft and emotion. But which one of these three is the most important? William Kenower weighs in.

Three writing techniques from traditional visual arts training that can help you find a deeper, truer, and more vivid writing voice.

Memoir structure is as crucial as structure in fiction and no good memoir will be able to stand tall without it. Several ingredients can be used to create a structure that works for your book.

In his book 'Superhero Ethics,' Travis Smith blended his knowledge of political philosophy with superhero mythos. By outlining his writing process and what he learned, he demonstrates how combining pop culture topics with academic disciplines can make for fun and accessible nonfiction books.

Well-timed coincidences can catapult a story forward, but a poorly planned one can bring your readers to a dead stop. Use these 7 strategies to harness the power of this storytelling tool while steering clear of common missteps.

Zetta Elliott discusses addressing complex topics in children's fiction, starting her own imprint, Rosetta Press, and what she'll address in her upcoming keynote at indieLAB.

Your characters’ views of the world can do much more than simply define who they are. Jane Cleland discusses how to use character perspective to propel your plot.

Books to Movies: Barri Evins reveals how to harness the power of theme to entice publishers, captivate readers, and attract the film and television industry.

In her setting-centric novels, bestselling mystery author Cara Black shows the seamier side of the City of Light.

As a preview of their Writer's Digest Annual Conference panel, a thriving writing group composed of of Kimmery Martin, Bess Kercher, Trish Rohr and Tracy Curtis offer their thoughts about how the power of connection can propel your writing career, and the role a writing group can play in your journey.

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.

We're not all comedy writers, but many of us want to write a funny story or incorporate funny scenes into a novel. In this excerpt from The Byline Bible, Susan Shapiro offers 18 quick and easy ways to improve at eliciting laughs from your readers.

When the reader can feel as if they are physically in your story's setting, they will be more inclined to let themselves experience what the characters are seeing and hearing. Here, author Curt Eriksen offers considerations for bringing the locations and eras in your fiction to life.