Read a Book to Begin a Book
Stuck trying to find a way to begin your next story? Try gleaning inspiration from these 10 famous novels that break the usual rules of writing in their first lines.
The Power, The Peril, The Prologue
The rumors of the prologue’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Here’s a guide to when a prologue may help—or hinder—your book, from Ryan Van Cleave's March 2020 WD article.
Writing Tips for Retelling Shakespeare: From Atwood's Hag-Seed to Updike's Gertrude and Claudius
Novelist Pat McKee shares 5 writing tips he learned while retelling Shakespeare's play Tempest as the novel Ariel's Island.
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.
Stop Making Sense: Explaining Some Fiction Rules of Logic
In his fiction column from the January 1990 issue of Writer's Digest, author Lawrence Block explores the reality behind the saying, "Truth is stranger than fiction."
5 Goals for Making Your Anthology the Best That It Can Be
Marika Lindholm, co-editor of the new book We Got This: Solo Mom Stories of Grit, Heart, and Humor offers 5 tips to creating a more appealing and successful anthology.
Lost in Iceland: Searching for a Better Writing Process
Nick Petrie, author of The Drifter, part of his Peter Ash series, shares his struggle with coming to terms with the writing process that works for him.
Why Outlining Is Writing
New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist S.C. Gwynne shares the secret to a high-quality nonfiction writing: spending time on an outline.
Effective Repetition in Writing as Demonstrated by A Song of Ice and Fire
English professor and author Gavin Hurley shows how the use of effective repetition in writing can help readers have a smoother reading experience.
From Fighter Pilot to Fiction Writer: Stories at the Speed of Sound
Lions of the Sky author Paco Chierici tells how his 20-year career as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot influences his fiction writing.
Colorful Language: Falling in Love with the Speech Rhythms of the American Southwest
YA author Rayne Lacko tells how falling in love with the colorful speech patterns of the American Southwest helped her shape her novel A Song for the Road.
Why the Surprise Ending Ultimately Frightens Us
Surprise endings in fiction, when done right, can make a book live in a readers memory for years, but as novelist H.J. Ramsay shares, surprise endings also show us a bit about human nature.
Life Into Fiction: Turning a True Event Into a Compelling Story
Lawyer and crime novelist Stephanie Kane delves into the complications and rewards of using real-life events as inspiration for writing compelling fiction.
How to Write a Series: 5 Lessons I've Learned
Susanna Calkins shares tips on how to write a series that she learned through the mistakes she made while writing the Lucy Campion historical mystery series.
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.
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.
Sifting through Mythology: Finding the Grains of Your Story
Marc Graham explains how he used popular—and differing—myths and archaeological records to find the story of his new novel, Song of Songs: A Novel of the Queen of Sheba.
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.
Nicky Harman on Translation and Violence
Award-winning translator Nicky Harman discusses the translation process and what it was like translating violence in Jia Pingwa's Broken Wings.
Co-writing a Serial Novel
Writing doesn't have to be a lonely profession. Dan Koboldt shares how he collaborated with two other writers to plan, write, and revise a serial novel.
Shelf vs. Screen: Smallville Creators on Co-Writing a Novel
Smallville creators Miles Millar and Al Gough Talk about making the leap from the small screen to co-writing their novel Double Exposure.
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.
How I Wrote an Extended Series
Author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series Michelle Cox discusses how her characters' stories developed into an award-winning series.
