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Facing the Blank Page
Overcoming Writer's Block

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.

  • By William Kenower
    Apr 15, 2020
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Publishing FAQs

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.

  • By Jessica Strawser
    Mar 3, 2020
Multigenre writing - Simon Van Booy
From the Magazine

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.

  • By Simon Van Booy
    Feb 28, 2020
Secrets of Writing Popular Fiction
Vintage WD

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.

  • By Amy Jones
    Feb 27, 2020
High concept ideas
From the Magazine

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.

  • By Jess Zafarris
    Feb 27, 2020
Vintage Magazines, learning from
Vintage WD

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.

  • By Don Vaughan
    Feb 26, 2020
original story idea
Vintage WD

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.

  • By Amy Jones
    Feb 20, 2020
article ideas
Articles

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.

  • By Dinsa Sachan
    Feb 19, 2020
Bard's Writing Tips
Writing Techniques

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.

  • By Karin Abarbanel
    Feb 13, 2020
researching
Vintage WD

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.

  • By Amy Jones
    Feb 6, 2020
writing fears
Writing Habits and Practices

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.

  • By Elizabeth Atkinson
    Feb 6, 2020
beat writer's block
Overcoming Writer's Block

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.

  • By Estelle Erasmus
    Jan 29, 2020
American Labor Novel
Vintage WD

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.

  • By Amy Jones
    Jan 23, 2020
writing multiple points of view
Character

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.

  • By Wendy Heard
    Jan 16, 2020
Anthology Writing Tips
Writing Techniques

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.

  • By Marika Lindholm
    Dec 11, 2019
Revisiting George Orwell
The Writer's Life

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.

  • By Keith Wain
    Oct 21, 2019
The Booker Prize and other literary awards
The Writer's Life

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.

  • By Amy Jones
    Oct 14, 2019
The Yellow House
Breaking In Writers Digest

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.

  • By Cassandra Lipp
    Oct 11, 2019
how to be a better storyteller with D&D
Writing Habits and Practices

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.

  • By Angela Mitchell
    Sep 27, 2019
effective repetition in writing
Writing Techniques

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.

  • By Gavin Hurley
    Sep 25, 2019
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Memoir

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.

  • By Mark Guerin
    Aug 26, 2019
The Austin Paradox William R. Leibowitz
Science Fiction/Fantasy

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.

  • By William R. Leibowitz
    Aug 23, 2019
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Writing Techniques

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.

  • By H.J. Ramsay
    Aug 22, 2019
A Writer's Alibi
The Writer's Life

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.

  • By Kathleen Valenti
    Aug 20, 2019
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