Writing Articles
The Cold Open: Facing the Blank Page
It’s any writer’s greatest fear: Facing the blank page with no ideas to get started. William Kenower shares how to get into the right mindset to begin writing and find your muse.
Why (& How) Books Sometimes Get New Covers
Novelist and Editor-at-Large, Jessica Strawser, shares some of the many reasons why book covers might see redesigns over the course of their lifespans.
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.
Vintage WD: Decoding the Secrets to Selling Popular Fiction, Part 1
In this article about writing popular fiction like murder mysteries or regency romances, Roy Sorrels and Megan Daniel share some of their best tips.
Mastering High Concept Ideas
If you want to grab the attention of agents and even Hollywood, finding high concept ideas for your books is the way to do it.
Learning From Vintage Magazines: Back in the Day
Fiction and nonfiction writers can glean lessons about writing from the examples of industry defying, sometimes outlandish, vintage magazines, and comics.
Vintage WD: The Secret of the Original Idea
Some writing advice lasts, like this excerpt from article from January 1949 WD article about staying true to your original story idea -- even if that means changing it.
The Art of Spin-Offs: Freelance Article Ideas
Cultivating multiple article ideas from the same topic can help freelance writers collect more bylines says freelance writer Dinsa Sachan.
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.
Vintage WD: When Research Is a Monster
In this article from our June 1974 issue, author James B. Sweeney describes his method for researching a monster of a project—his book on sea animals.
Shed Your Shame: Overcoming Writing Fears
Author Elizabeth Atkinson shares the biggest of her writing fears, and her tips for working to overcome both the fear and the shame.
10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
Beat writer's block with these 10 tips, supported by scientific studies, from Estelle Erasmus's article from the September 2019 issue of Writer's Digest.
Vintage WD: The American Labor Novel
This #WritersDigest100 piece from our January 1937 archives by Louis Zara explores the potential for writers to pen The American Labor Novel and has surprising relevance for today.
Writing Multiple Points of View
Wendy Heard, author of The Kill Club, offers 5 tips for making writing in multiple points of view easier for you and more satisfying for your readers.
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.
Revisiting George Orwell: Why I Write in the 21st Century
Keith Wain revisits the 1946 George Orwell essay "Why I Write" by looking at the relevance of each of the four key points in the digital era.
Benefits of The Booker Prize and Other Literary Awards for Writers (Besides the Money)
It's the height of literary award season and WD senior editor Amy Jones considers what prizes like The Booker Prize have to offer readers and writers.
Building The Yellow House: An Interview With National Book Award Finalist Sarah M. Broom
The National Book Award finalist answers 10 questions about her debut memoir The Yellow House.
Rolling the Dice: 5 Ways D&D and “Critical Role” Made Me a Better Storyteller
Fantasy writer and blogger Angela D. Mitchell offers 5 ways that Dungeons and Dragons helped her improve her writing and how to be a better storyteller.
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.
Writing About Your Life Without Ruining Your Relationships
"Write what you know" is common writing advice, but when it comes to mining what you know about your friends and family for stories, you enter delicate territory, as Mark Guerin shares in this guest post.
Using Facts As the Base of Science Fiction
Miracle Man and The Austin Paradox author William R. Leibowitz tells how to base science fiction on fact so that stories seem plausible—without boring the reader.
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.
The Writer’s Alibi: My Terrible, Dreadful, Hope-the-FBI-Doesn’t-Look-at-This Search History
The internet search histories of novelists can be quite disturbing. Writer Kathleen Valenti shares the methodology behind web searches for her newest medical mystery.