Sitemap - 2020 - Your Weekly Writing Exercise

Writing about Tough Subjects: Award-Winning Debut Memoirist Shares Her Process

What's at Stake? How to Ratchet Up the (Necessary) Tension in Your Book

Planning a Brighter New Year for Your Writing Life--Are You Ready to Look Ahead?

Fostering Gratitude for Your Writing in Uncertain Times

Wordsmithing the Heck out of Your Revision--Ten Steps to Make It Shine

How to Send a Manuscript to an Agent--and What to Expect Once You Do

Writing Real-Life Characters: How to Get to Know the People You Already Know

Editing-Writing-Storyboard Dance--When to Do Each One to Create the Best Book

When Your Characters Fade from the Page--Tips to Find Out Where and How to Revive Them

Poets and Writers New List of "Best Writing Books"--and My Personal Favs

Submitting to Contests: Worth It or Waste of Money and Time?

When Your Book Has a Mission--How Do You Keep the Story Personal and Engaging?

Character Names: How to Find the Ones That Feel Just Right

How Long Can You Go? Word Count Limit for First Books

Using the Storyboard for Short Pieces as Well as Long

Dealing with the Emotions of Writing Tough Memories

Distant Dialogue: Pros and Cons of Including Emails, Letters, Social Media Posts, Texts, Phone Calls, and Journal Excerpts in a Book

Honing Your Dialogue-Writing Skills--And Learning When Not to Use It

What Dialogue Can Do for Your Book--And What It Should Never Try to Do

Emotions: Bringing Them to the Page through Gestures, Movement, Facial Expressions, and More

What's the Primary Environment of Your Book--Physically, Emotionally, Intellectually, Spiritually? And Why Does It Matter?

Strictly Accurate Memoir? True-Life Novel? How Close to the Line Do You Ride?

Memoir's Primary Argument--How to Make Sure Your Memoir Has Universal Meaning

Rest Breaks for Creative Artists--How to Get Your Mojo Back

Anger and Grief and Their Place in Writing (an Actual Technique I've Used)

Jennifer Egan and Susan Choi on Productivity (or Lack of) during a Pandemic

Writing through Anxiety--Write On! Video Featuring Author Shelby Kenney-Lang

Unexpected "Container" in an Award-Winning Novel: An Interview with Ginger Eager

Using the Enneagram's 9 Personality Types to Create Vivid Characters in Fiction and Memoir

Unexpected Blessings of Writing by Hand: What Other Writers Find in Their Handwriting That's Not on Their Computer

Creative Resistance to Hard Times--Guest Blog by Author Ellen Prentiss Campbell

Refining Your Writing Space for Sheltering at Home

Ways to Inch Back into Writing--If You've Stalled Out (Some Good Habits to Test Out during a Pandemic)

Online Connection--How to Find Your Virtual Writing Tribe While Sheltering at Home

Making Time for Writing When You Have Nothing to Do

Three Practices to Keep Creatively Healthy Right Now

Three Different Storyboards to Map Your Book's Structure

Writing in Uncertain Times--A Few Thoughts on the Gift of a Writing Practice Right Now

Interview Your Characters: Character Lists Coax Them Out of Hiding

Are We There Yet? How to Tell When Your Book Is Really Done

Benefits of a Writing Group or Writing Partner--How They Can Improve Your Writing (and What to Watch Out For)

Reading Your Writing Aloud--How It Gives You the Necessary Distance for Revision

Staying Authentic with Your Intentions as a Writer--Not Always Easy?

Really Good Creative Writing Prompts--for Exercising Your Inner Author

Setting Writing Goals for the New Year: Three Different Approaches

Too Slow? Too Fast? How Are You Communicating? (And How to Tell When Your Pacing Is Off)

How to Help Your Manuscript Submission Stand Out--Being Part of a "Discourse Community"

A Cool Character-Building Exercise from Comic-Artist Lynda Barry

Best-Selling Children's Book Author Shares How He Busted Tradition and Won Anyway