Publications / 323 posts found
Creating Short Films as a Proof of Concept and Writing Routine Strategies (From Script)
In this week’s round up brought to us by Script magazine, interviews with filmmakers April Maxey and Brian Skiba and how their short films served as a proof of concept for features. Plus, learn different strategies on how to create a routine or container for your writing practice, and Script contributor Dr. Rosanne Welch celebrates the female screenwriters who came before us with this month’s spotlight on author turned Hollywood screenwriter Elinor Glyn. Economic Storytelling with Sundance Short Film Work Writer-Director April Maxey Filmmaker April Maxey speaks with Script about how she started out as a filmmaker, workshopping the short […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 22
For today’s prompt, write something featuring the phrase “the door is open.” Remember: As mentioned yesterday, these prompts are just starting points; you have the freedom to go wherever your flash of inspiration takes you. (Note: If you happen to run into any issues posting, please just send me an e-mail at mrichard@aimmedia.com with the subject line: Flash Fiction Challenge Commenting Issue.) Here’s my attempt at featuring a specific phrase: Knowing and Known People always talk about when they knew they’d found “the one.” But does anyone talk about what the knowing feels like? It isn’t something I feel all […]
Eva Stachniak: On Filling in the Blanks
Eva Stachniak was born in Wroclaw, Poland. She moved to Canada in 1981 and has worked for Radio Canada International and Sheridan College, where she taught English and Humanities. Her first novel of Catherine the Great, The Winter Palace, has been included in the Washington Post 2011 list of Most Notable Fiction and was a #1 international bestseller. Empress of the Night, her second Catherine the Great novel was published in March of 2014. She lives in Toronto, where her latest novel, The Chosen Maiden, was published in January of 2017. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Eva Stachniak […]
3 Tips on How To Write Relatable Families in Fiction
Families are challenging. Whether it’s parents, siblings, aunts, or uncles, the people who share our blood are not always easy to get along with, love, or even like at times. I always find it interesting when a child begins to spend time at a friend’s house. The experience is usually enlightening, because they begin to step away from their familiar world, and discover new rituals, cultures, and habits. From the food served, the interactions and dynamics of the group, to the physical home itself, we are all unique. It can be an exciting revelation to suddenly understand the world is […]
Brevity: Market Spotlight
Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction publishes excellent flash nonfiction. That means, Brevity publishes nonfiction essays of 750 words or fewer. And Brevity has been doing so for more than 20 years. The current editor-in-chief is Dinty W. Moore. (Lee Gutkind: The Godfather Behind Creative Nonfiction.) The editors say, “Though still committed to the mission of publishing new writers, Brevity has been fortunate over the years to include the work of three Pulitzer prize finalists, numerous NEA fellows, Pushcart winners, Best American authors, and writers from India, Egypt, Ireland, Spain, Malaysia, and Japan. … Work from Brevity has been […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 21
One more week! We are in the home stretch—how are you feeling? It’s always really nerve-wracking for me to share my work—call it leftover stage frights from workshop roundtables—but as we’re facing down our last week of this year’s flash challenge, I’m super proud of all of us who have been writing and sharing together here on the site and elsewhere! For today’s prompt, write about someone facing a fear. Remember: As mentioned yesterday, these prompts are just starting points; you have the freedom to go wherever your flash of inspiration takes you. (Note: If you happen to run into […]
WD Presents: Our March/April Cover Reveal, New Podcast Episode, and More!
There’s always so much happening in the Writer’s Digest universe that even staff members have trouble keeping up. As a result, we decided to start collecting what’s on the horizon to make it easier for everyone to know what’s happening and when. This week, we’re excited to announce our March/April 2022 cover reveal, the newest episode of our podcast, and more! **** Writer’s Digest March/April 2022 Cover Reveal! Point of view is one of the first things writers learn about creative writing, yet it’s also one of the hardest things to master. It involves at a minimum: choosing the right […]
How To Write Inner Conflict in Fiction
All writers understand the importance of conflict in fiction. Conflict creates friction and without friction, the narrative would be a succession of happy scenes, like Instagram posts. In a novel, that’s boring because we are hardwired to want something to happen. We know from our own life experiences that the next moment of excitement or turning point is just around the corner. Conflict is a dramatic requirement. (10 Things to Consider When Writing About Obsession in Fiction) While external conflicts drive the action of a story, inner conflict is the energy that keeps the reader turning the page. It does […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 20
For today’s prompt, let’s focus on something that needs to be found. Is it a lost object? Person? Something more intangible, like a memory? It’s up to you! Remember: As mentioned yesterday, these prompts are just starting points; you have the freedom to go wherever your flash of inspiration takes you. (Note: If you happen to run into any issues posting, please just send me an e-mail at mrichard@aimmedia.com with the subject line: Flash Fiction Challenge Commenting Issue.) Here’s my attempt at writing about something being lost: Untitled They were standing in a line, hands clasped, backs against the bobbing […]
How To Add More Amazon Categories To Your Book Or Ebook
Do you know that you can add more Amazon categories to your book? You can only select two categories when you first publish your book or ebook with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). But these are not Amazon categories. They are BISACS (Book Industry Standards and Communications) headings. If you want your new book to be much more visible, you can add up to ten new categories to make your book more discoverable by Amazon book buyers. How to add more Amazon categories to your book You could use category keywords in the past. But the only way now is to […]