Write Better Fiction

In the fifth episode of the Writer's Digest Presents podcast, we talk about world-building in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including interviews with authors Whitney Hill (fiction) and Jeannine Hall Gailey (poetry).

How much backstory is too much backstory, and how do we know when we haven’t given enough? Here, bestselling author Jenna Kernan offers six dos and six don’ts of revealing critical backstory in a novel.

Sun, sand, and surf are only a fraction of what a beachside setting can bring to your stories. Here, bestselling author Amy Clipston helps us get started writing a beach book.

No matter the genre of book you’re writing, certain questions authors ask themselves can help them strengthen their plots and, by extension, strengthen their stories, Here, authors Boyd Morrison and Beth Morrison share 10 questions to ask yourself for an airtight plot.

From picking up a reading habit to navigating daily word counts, award-winning journalist Carley Fortune shares how she went from no book to a book deal in less than a year.

Internationally bestselling author Sarah McCoy reclaims the necessary messiness that comes with the writing process and discusses why writers strive for perfection when perfection doesn’t exist.

Author and bureaucrat Amy Lea discusses writing meet-cutes and meet-not-so-cutes in her debut romantic comedy novel, Set On You.

A mystery needs more than a murder and the bad guy who did it. Here, author Connie Berry shares tips on how to ramp up a mystery novel with a killer plot.

With social media being so pervasive in our lives, the relationship artists have with it is both inspiring and overwhelming. Here, author Francesca Giacco discusses how social media has played a part in her life and in her new novel, Six Days in Rome.

Bestselling and award-winning Maya Rodale shines a light on the famous reporter and how her work can still inspire today’s writers.

Award-winning author Abbigail Nguyen Rosewood discusses pain metamorphosing into prose in her new novel, Constellations of Eve.

Trained fighter and author Carla Hoch discusses how to write scene with characters who are untrained for more realistic fighting sequences.

You don’t need first-hand insider information to write a compelling and believable spy novel. Here, New York Times bestselling author Don Bentley shares 4 things every military/espionage thriller writer should know.

In this Funny You Should Ask column from the March/April 2022 issue of Writer's Digest, literary agent Barbara Poelle tackles questions about online pitching events and how to interpret revise and resubmit requests from agents.

The world of the unknown is a playground for curious writers. Here, author Steve Toltz shares 7 stories where death is not the end and discusses what writing beyond death can do for our stories and our characters.

Author Karen Winn’s medical background offered her a deepened sense of empathy for the characters she wrote. Here, she discusses how knowing your characters' health helps to write their stories.

The best stories invoke all the senses. Here, author Liz Michalski discusses how to write setting as a character with 5 helpful tips.

Internationally bestselling author Jennifer Estep discusses what she learned in publishing her newest epic fantasy novel, Tear Down the Throne.