What Binge-Watching ‘Stranger Things’ Taught Me About Storytelling
As fans eagerly await Season 3 of Netflix hit series Stranger Things, author Scott Hildreth offers three storytelling lessons and editing goals writers can glean from the show.
Top Websites for Writers: 10 Sites with Literary Agent Advice & Resources
Each year we scour the web for our annual 101 Best Websites for Writers, a comprehensive collection of online resources for writers. This selection represents our 2018 picks for the top sources of literary agent advice, manuscript and query help, publishing tips and more. These resources will provide you with great...
A Starter Guide to DIY Audiobooks
Audiobooks are the fastest growing segment of the publishing industry. For indie authors or traditionally published authors who have retained their audio rights, now may be the perfect time to consider creating your own audiobooks. Here's your how-to guide to DIY audiobooks.
5 Tough Tips for Surviving (and Triumphing Over) Really Rotten Book Reviews
Negative reviews of your work can cut deep. Author Pamela Jane offers five proactive measures you can take to stay strong and move forward when dealing with bad book reviews.
Season of Savings: WD Books & Writing Resources on Sale This Week
We're running our annual Season of Savings deals this week, and I wanted to share some of the exciting daily discounts on Writer's Digest books and writing resources we're offering. Each day, we'll offer a new discount, and you can use it to snag some handy dandy writing tools for cheap.
The Writer’s Digest Podcast, Episode 11: Writing Technology Old and New
In this episode of the Writer’s Digest Podcast, Gabriela Pereira talks with author Elizabeth Sims, and shares an inside look at how various writing technology has evolved over time, from classic to contemporary. In this interview, they discuss the benefits of using pencils and pens to write, how to fight for...
How Being An Attorney Helped Me Become A Writer
There's more overlap than you might expect between legal profession and the skills required to become a writer. Author Reyna Marder Gentin discusses the lessons she learned practicing law that she's been able to apply in her writing.
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.
Why Writers Have a Love-Hate Relationship With Technology
These days writers hoping to write, pitch, publish and platform-build have little choice but to surrender themselves to their laptops and smartphones—a complicated predicament for the dreamers of the world. Here are several pros and cons of the writing world's love-hate relationship with technology.
The Pros and Cons of Binge Writing
Lynn Dickinson explores the positives and not-so-positives of being a binge writer.
This is NOT Research Advice
Kerri Maher, author of WD Books' This is Not a Writing Manual and the new novel The Kennedy Debutante, offers research advice—or rather, NOT research advice—explaining how diaries, letters and books she read made their way into her fiction.
9 Lessons Learned from a First Attempt at NaNoWriMo
WD content director Jess Zafarris shares nine lessons she learned during her first try at NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month.
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.
3 Good Reasons to Write a Sequel
Author Deanna Cabinian offers three compelling reasons you might want to try writing a sequel to a book you've published, even if you hadn't planned to from the outset.
Behind Bars: Working with Inmates as Fiction Writing Sources
Author Demian Vitanza recounts his experience working with an inmate to take his sensitive story material and turn it into a novel. He reflects on the unique considerations writers may need to make when using people who are in prison as writing sources.
The Editor Behind the Curtain: Inside the Publishing Process
For first-time authors, the publishing process is often shrouded in mystery. An expert shares an inside look at what goes on behind the scenes—and how to leverage it for future success.
5 Considerations for Writing About Historical Figures in Fiction
Historical fiction author John Thorndike shares five considerations he's learned to keep in mind while writing novels about historical figures.
7 Research and Writing Tips for Setting a Book in Another Country
If you're setting a book in another country from your own, it's critical to learn as much as you can about the culture, climate, architecture, and other aspects to make your story more believable. Here, author Sejal Badani offers tips for researching and writing about foreign countries.
5 Things Writers Should Stop to Appreciate on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving can be a time of straight-up existential crisis for writers. But Thanksgiving is also a time to stop and appreciate the things you care about, to express gratitude for all the whosits and whatnots that keep you ticking and typing.
30 Gifts for Writers: The 2018 Writer’s Digest Holiday Gift Guide
From books, headphones, bookends, novelties and games to services, subscriptions and videos, this guide offers a compendium of creative experiences, learning tools and gifts for writers of every genre and persuasion.
Immersive Nonfiction & Idea Generation with ‘The Fifth Risk’ Author Michael Lewis
Author Michael Lewis of The Big Short, Moneyball and his latest, The Fifth Risk, lays out his formula for immersive nonfiction in this extended Writer's Digest interview.
Maximizing Writing Productivity While Working Full-Time
Rather than seeing full-time work as a hindrance to the craft, writers can channel advantages of their situation to maximize writing productivity. Here’s how to do that.
4 Essential Steps to Making Your Protagonist Real, Even When They’re Nothing Like You
Writing your protagonist always requires deep thought and consideration, but crafting believable, realistic protagonists who are nothing like you presents unique challenges. Author Donna Levin offers four essential tips to help you work through these challenges.
The Pen Is Mightier (Than the Word Processor)
21st-century writing technology has undoubtedly made writing more convenient—but is it actually holding us back? One writer investigates.