How to Turn Real Events from Your Life into a Work of Fiction
Learn what to change—and what to keep—when incorporating your real-life experiences into your works of fiction.
When Your Memoir Wants To Be A Novel
In our "Breaking In" column in Writer's Digest magazine, we talk with debut authors—such as Anna Quinn, author of The Night Child—about how they did it, what they learned and why you can do it, too.
5 Tips for Writing About an Established Relationship
Whether the relationship is healthy, codependent or even antagonistic, established relationships have a few unique things in common.
Using Physicality to Bring Your Characters (And Your Fiction) to Life
One of the most common challenges writers face in the character development process is conveying their personalities (even those of side characters) in a naturally complex and believable way. Here, Joan Dempsey dives into the heart of a critical element that can help you flesh out—no pun intended—your characters and enrich...
Grip-Lit: Five Elements Your Story Must Include If You’re Writing the Next Gone Girl
Debut author Jo Furniss breaks down five keys to writing grip-lit—a new, widely read genre that puts female characters in danger, but also in the driver’s seat of their story.
Setting the Tangible and the Enduring: Writing Southern Fiction
Author Idabel Allen discusses the setting and experience of the south in writing Southern fiction, a genre that reaches back to the age of Faulkner and more recently Flannery O’Conner.
Tips for Writing About Distant Lands in Fiction
Author Rob Hart shares seven tips for writing about cities and places in fiction that you’ve only just visited, never lived, or are looking to put a fictional spin on.
How to Use Fiction to Explore Contemporary Social Issues
Author Kelly Oliver explains how getting inside other people’s heads can help fiction writers learn to explore contemporary social issues.
Write What You Know: Fiction, Brought to You by Real Life
Novelist Michele Campbell shares advice on how writers should draw inspiration from their real life—through where they live, their occupation, and much more.
What Fiction Writers Can Learn From Hamilton’s Character Flaws
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical has taken the world by storm, and for good reason. Fiction writers should take note of the outspoken protagonist’s bevy of character flaws.
Two Smart and Simple Ways to Make Your Fiction More Original
If you’re writing a novel or a short story and want it to stand out, it’s essential that your writing be original. Here are two simple and effective ways to get you headed in the right direction.
4 Ways to Write a Compelling Character
Where do fictional characters come from, and, more important, how do you build one from scratch? For some writers, characters whisper in their ears or appear in their dreams; for others, building a character requires as much effort and forethought as constructing a house. Though the method will vary for every...
New Literary Agent Alert: Jennifer Wills of The Seymour Agency
Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Jennifer Wills of The Seymour Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list. About Jennifer: Jennifer has five years of experience in some of the publishing industry’s leading literary agencies. She worked...
5 Helpful Lessons for Writing a Novel
No doubt about it: writing a novel isn’t easy. But use these lessons to help make it (slightly) easier.
When Fact Matters in Fiction: What Writers Need to Know
How careful are you about getting your medical and psychological facts right?
Why You Shouldn’t Censor Yourself When Writing
It took one great professor (and one semi-explicit story) to teach me one of the best lessons I ever learned as a writer. Here's why you shouldn't censor your writing.
7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Karim Dimechkie
When I Think It’s Done, It’s Not. I honestly can’t count how many times I’ve thought my novel was complete, both while writing Lifted by the Great Nothing and the current book I’m working on. It only requires a short break to realize how far from done the book really is.
Shark Week Is for Readers, Too: 10+ Books to Read this Week
Each year for one week, The Discovery Channel takes over the airwaves with a seven-day onslaught of movies, documentaries, survivor tales and semi-factual mockumentaries about sharks. As fascinating as it all is, readers are left high and dry—where are all the books about sharks? I’ve rounded up several—some classic, some campy,...
The 5 Essential Story Ingredients
Forget three-act structures, formulas for plot, and even beginnings, middles and ends. Write better stories by propelling your protagonist through a transformation your readers will never forget.
I Started a Small Press (and Then Things Got Weird)
BY J DAVID OSBORNE I tried retail for a while, and that was fun, in the way that puking on yourself at a family gathering is fun: you have a story. After a time, though, it stops being a story you laugh at and starts being one that you cry over....
Tighten the Tension in Your Novel
“Your novel is lacking tension.” “I understand the reason for this scene, but my mind kept wandering while I was reading.” “This chapter is missing a hook … I’m just not interested.” You might have received this or similar feedback from your writing buddy, critique group, or even an agent or...
Questioning the Traditional Story Structure
In today’s excerpt from Words Overflown By Stars, author David Jauss discusses and questions the traditional story structure. There’s nothing second-rate about a traditional story. Lots of people write great ones and millions of people love to read them. For some writers, though, the form itself may feel unnatural, not suited...
Scene Length: Short Scenes versus Long Scenes
This excerpt is from Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld. It’s worth checking out if you’re writing fiction! Let’s talk about an issue that’s sure to rise up in your mind: scene length. One of the benefits of writing in scene form is that the ending of a scene provides...
What Every Fiction Writer Should Do Before Submitting A Book to an Agent
If you aspire to write a fiction book and get published the traditional way, you’ll need to know what to do before you query an agent. Today’s tip comes from Get an Agent, a digital resource meant for any writer who desires to learn more about literary agents and publishing. Here...