Publications / 323 posts found
Self-Publishing Courses: Top 5 Online Publishing Courses for Authors [UPDATED]
Why are there new self-publishing courses popping up on the market each day? Because the self-publishing industry is hot, and gaining traction at record speeds! The time has never been better to write and publish a book, especially in the booming world of books and publishing. The perfect student for a self-publishing course might be in these situations: You’re thinking of writing a book, but are stressed about navigating the self-publishing process all on your own. You’re familiar with how to self-publish, but you’d just like some expert guidance to make sure you’re actually doing it right. You’ve already self-published […]
WD Poetic Form Challenge: Kimo
I’m hoping to announce the winner of the chanso WD Poetic Form Challenge within the next week, but let’s go ahead and start another new poetic form challenge. This time around, we’ll write the kimo, an Israeli three-liner. Find the rules for writing the kimo here. So start writing them and sharing here (on this specific post) for a chance to be published in Writer’s Digest magazine–as part of the Poetic Asides column. Note on commenting: On this new site, you have to set up a free Disqus account and then scroll to the bottom of this page (or any […]
6 Books I Wish I Could Read for the First Time Again
You know that feeling when a book is so good you hesitate to finish it? And then when you do finish, you want to start it all over again, but as if it’s the first time? (3 Things I Learned About Writing From Reading L.A. Weather by María Amparo Escandón) I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. I came to writing from my love of reading. I’ve always been a voracious reader, and so many books inform, inspire, and invigorate my writing. And I think we all have that list of books that impacted us so profoundly, we wish […]
How Writing What I Knew Shaped My Debut Novel
A piece of my debut novel has been in me my whole life, aching to come out, begging me to find a way. Yet for many years, through many attempts—in poetry, in memoir, in short stories, and beyond—the right story wasn’t there. Until one day it was. Because on that day, I learned to lean into myself. The seed of the project I always knew was based on the story of Ukraine and its people, a story my family knew well. Yet seeds don’t always grow. Writing projects become manuscripts and manuscripts become books with work and dedication to one’s […]
2022 April PAD Challenge: Day 8
And just like that, we’re starting the second week of this challenge. Poem on! For today’s prompt, write a what they never tell you poem. I’m not sure who “they” are, but “they” talk a lot, and there are things people tell you, and there are things you just have to learn on your own, because “they” (them again) never tell you ahead of time. Like, for instance, “they” never told me that I’d still feel like a teenager in my 40s, but here we are. Think about what “they” never tell (or told) you, and write that poem. Remember: […]
Plot Twist Story Prompts: Triggered Memory
Plot twist story prompts aren’t meant for the beginning or the end of stories. Rather, they’re for forcing big and small turns in the anticipated trajectory of a story. This is to make it more interesting for the readers and writers alike. Each week, I’ll provide a new prompt to help twist your story. Find last week’s prompt, Second Life, here. Plot Twist Story Prompts: Triggered Memory For today’s prompt, have a character’s memory get triggered by someone or something. This could be a huge blocked memory or just one of those things the character had forgotten but now it […]
The Moral Universe: The Importance of Morals in Storytelling
When I was a performer with the improvisational comedy group The First Amendment, we used to do an improv form called One Word Story, in which we told an improvised story one word at a time—that is, each cast member only got to say one word at a time. The stories could (and did) go horribly wrong, and often were very silly—but we could always pull it out in the end by saying, “The moral of the story is…” and then sum up the proceedings with some equally ridiculous moral (something like, “Always wear your galoshes during safe sex”). (Carole […]
Laila Ibrahim: On Characters Throughout Decades
Laila Ibrahim is the bestselling author of Golden Poppies, Paper Wife, Mustard Seed, and Yellow Crocus. She spent much of her career as a preschool director, a birth doula, and a religious educator. That work, coupled with her education in developmental psychology and attachment theory, provided ample fodder for her novels. She’s a devout Unitarian Universalist, determined to do her part to add a little more love and justice to our beautiful and painful world. She lives with her wonderful wife, Rinda, and two other families in a small co-housing community in Berkeley, California. Her young adult children are her […]
Premade Book Covers: Pros, Cons, and Where to Find Them
If you’re a self-published author, you’re probably already familiar with how hard it is to produce a book. Traditionally published authors get free edits, cover designs, formatting, and printing, but self-published authors have to manage production by themselves. This isn’t as bad as it sounds—being able to do everything on your own means you get a lot more creative control over your final product than you might if you published traditionally. But it does mean you have to take every aspect of your book’s production into account. And one of the most important aspects of your book’s production is the […]
The Verb To Get Can Sometimes Be Overused In Writing
The verb to get is one of the most common words in English. We use it all the time when we speak, but it’s sometimes better to find alternative verbs in writing. Good writing is always about variety and finding the right words. But because this verb has so many meanings and functions, it’s easy to fall into the trap of overusing it. You can’t write without it. However, if you are aware, you can very often find a better verb. The verb to get has nearly 300 meanings According to the Oxford English Dictionary, get has 289 meanings. But […]