Publications / 323 posts found
21 Popular Horror Tropes for Writers
One fun thing about writing horror fiction is that the genre is loaded with several popular tropes that are acceptable for writers to use. In fact, readers expect at least a few of these elements to appear in every story. (Playing With Common Horror Tropes for Comedic Effect.) The main reason for this, I expect, is that tropes help set expectation and expectation (in horror anyway) starts building suspense. When are bad things going to happen? How will they happen? Who will make it through to the end? Will I be able to fall asleep tonight? (OK, that last one […]
Parody vs. Pastiche (Grammar Rules)
If you’ve heard the terms parody and pastiche tossed around, but you’re not sure how they’re different (or how they’re related), you’re in the right place. Because we’re about to look at what each word means and how these two similar terms differ. (Grammar Rules for Writers.) Learn when you’re using parody vs. pastiche in your writing with Grammar Rules from the Writer’s Digest editors, including a few examples of each. Parody vs. Pastiche Parody is a noun that refers to a work of art or literature that is an exaggerated imitation of another piece of art or literature with […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 19
For today’s prompt, let’s take a popular horror trope and come at it from a different angle. 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 playing with a horror trope: Pack Evan reaches into the bag and aims the most unimpressed expression across the table. It’s met with raucous laughter. “Very funny,” he huffs, […]
Alternatives to a Professional Edit
So far in our series about hiring a professional editor, we’ve looked at determining whether you need an edit and if so what kind, explored where to find good editors and what questions to ask to winnow down your options, and how to evaluate the sample edit to determine whether an editor is the right fit for you. But what if the often several-thousand-dollar price tag simply isn’t in your budget right now? Does that mean you’re dead in the water, your writing career frozen until you can fund it? It doesn’t have to. (When Is My Novel Ready to […]
The WD Interview: Elizabeth Acevedo
A poet, an aspiring chef, a healer, and a chess player: Elizabeth Acevedo writes about creative teen girls making their own way in a world that isn’t always kind. It didn’t come as too much of a surprise that Acevedo herself took up a creative hobby during the pandemic lockdown. But the way she brought it back to writing, however, was the revelation. While discussing having patience during the revision process, Acevedo noted that she had started making candles, and she learned that each candle has a curing time during which it sits untouched before it can be burned. This […]
Constanza: Poetic Forms
This week’s poetic form is the constanza. It’s a fun form comprised of at least five tercets (or three-line stanzas) that was invented by Connie Marcum Wong. Here are the guidelines: Five (or more) tercets Eight syllables per line First line of each tercet can be read as its own poem First lines of each tercet all share the same A rhyme Second and third line of each tercet share a rhyme and add a deeper meaning to the entire poem If your constanza is comprised of five tercets, this would be the rhyme pattern: abb/acc/add/aee/aff ***** Play with poetic […]
Plot Twist Story Prompts: Who Am I?
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, Initiation Project, here. Plot Twist Story Prompts: Who Am I? For today’s prompt, have a character experience amnesia. To be honest, I’m surprised it’s taken us this long to get to one of the more popular plot twist devices, but I’ve probably […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 18
As always, if you’re on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram (or anywhere else), don’t forget to use the #FlashFictionFeb hashtag. There are a lot of ways to write about time. Is it running out? Stretching out? Suspended? Is it being represented by a clock or a time machine? Is your character trying to get it back or are they trying to extend it? For today’s prompt, let’s write about time. 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 […]
Gal Beckerman: On How Change Happens
Gal Beckerman is the senior books editor at The Atlantic and former editor at The New York Times Book Review and the author of When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone, which won the National Jewish Book Award and Sami Rohr Prize and was named a best book of the year by The New Yorker and The Washington Post. He has a PhD in media studies from Columbia University and writes for many publications, including The New Republic and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters. Find him on Twitter and Facebook. […]
Writer’s Digest March/April 2022 Cover Reveal
Exploring Point of View 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 POV for your story, making sure you don’t break the guidelines of that POV and inadvertently take readers out of the narrative, but also experimenting with POV to better serve your story … It’s a lot to consider and in this issue, we explore it all. [Subscribe to Writer’s Digest now for this to be your first issue.] Articles include: + All About Omniscience: […]