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How to Improve Writing Skills
100 Ways to Buff Your Book
Does your manuscript need a little more definition, but you’re not sure where to begin? Try these 100 tips to give your words more power.
Polishing Your Prose: Tips for Self-Editing
Help your freelance writing land better with editors and increase your chances of getting published with these 11 proven tips for self-editing.
Vintage WD: Decoding the Secrets to Selling Popular Fiction, Part 2
Part 2 of this April 1981 WD article by Roy Sorrels and Megan Daniel about writing and selling popular fiction picks up where part 1 left off.
Becoming a Multigenre Writing Master
Multigenre writing can be a challenge, but it can also be a way to fulfill the different parts of your creative needs. Simon Van Booy shares his tips.
Will's Way: Four Timely Craft Tips from the Immortal Bard
Debut novelist Karin Abarbanel shares four writing tips for contemporary novelists she discovered from studying the plays of the Bard for 365+ nights.
Hidden Architecture: Using Structure to Reinforce Story
Novelist Wendelin Van Draanen offers advice on how to choose the best story structure for your novels and provides compelling examples from her award-winning books.
How I Interviewed a Serial Killer and Stayed Sane
Talking to a serial killer for research, Dr. Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH, reveals the planning that went into her interviews and how she stayed sane through the process.
Take Two: How to Adapt a Book Into a Screenplay
When adapting a novel for film, Script Magazine editor Jeanne Bowerman says your number-one job is to tell an amazing story—enhancing it for the format.
Using Story Tropes to Subvert Reader Expectations
Taylor Simonds tells how being aware of the tropes of your genre and turning them upside down can help your work stand out in an oversaturated market.
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.
Sometimes the Story Writes Itself
Writing fiction can be like dreaming, coming from our subconscious. Cheryl A. Ossola suggests writers need to get out of the story's way.
Three Ways to Discover Who Your Characters Really Are
Don't "create" characters; get to know them instead. John Jamison has used the power of story in various roles—from pastor to brand development consultant—and he has some unique methods for getting to know his characters.
Advice From a Playwright: Have Actors Read Your Novel
Playwright Frank Strausser shares the benefits of working with actors to figure out why your scenes are not working.
Blurred Lines: Writing Historical Fiction From Fact
Melanie Benjamin—author of six historical novels about real people and events—offers four lessons she's learned about writing fiction from fact, and when to deviate from the truth.
It's Great to Suck at Writing
Author Karen Rinaldi sucks at surfing, but she continues to dedicate hours to it anyway, and she explains why we should also be okay with failure in many forms—even our writing.
Juggling Act: How I Work on Multiple Manuscripts at Once
WD editors were impressed to hear that Next Girl to Die author Dea Poirier was working on four manuscripts simultaneously, all after completing her debut novel. We asked Poirier to share a few tips with you on how she manages multiple manuscripts at once.
8 Traits I Wish Employers Knew About Writers
Writers work hard. Now, if only employers would. E.L. Tenenbaum shares eight skills writers have that make them great candidates for that necessary-for-most day job.
Where Do I Start?: The Anatomy of Chapter One
No matter the genre, editing is essential. Audrey Wick and her editor, Julie Sturgeon, give readers a behind-the-scenes peek at the process of editing the first chapter of a manuscript.
The Secret to Overcoming Writer’s Block: Meditation
How does meditation help overcome writers' block? A writer and meditation teacher explores the science behind it all.
In the Chorus That Surrounds Every Writer, Listen to the Voice That's Your Own
It is easy to get lost in the flurry of feedback you get after sharing your writing for critique. Lorraine Devon Wilke shares how not to lose track of your own voice in the process.
Old and New: Merging Memory and Research in New Zealand
Call Me Evie author J.P. Pomare shares how his research trips to the town where his suspense novel takes place influenced his writing.
Third-Person Limited: Analyzing Fiction's Most Flexible Point of View
From fast-paced action to intimate drama, third-person limited POV can be adapted to any scene or situation.
How a Strong Character Arc Can Make Readers Love Your Protagonist
Novel readers love it when a protagonist dramatically transforms from Page One to The End. Jerry B. Jenkins shares the fundamentals of developing a strong character arc.