Publications / 323 posts found
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 15
Recently, a few of my friends and I were discussing how we’d neglected to pick up new hobbies during the initial 2020 lockdown. It got me thinking about all the new skills people threw themselves into; my dad put together a new building on his property large enough to house several cars from the 1920s and ’30s and has been hard at work restoring them since then. But are all hobbies ones that people keep up with? Can a hobby become dangerous or all-consuming? Does a hobby even have to be a skill, or can it just be something you […]
Starting Your Romance Novel off With a Bang
My first manuscript went through four years of intense, alone-in-a-basement-cluelessly-banging-on-a-keyboard level work. I was passionate about that book. Adored that book. I just knew that, if people could just get 40 pages in, they would see it for what it was. (5 Keys to Writing a Slow Burn Romance) And so, after a careful vetting process of determining an agent’s merit based on the quality of their website design and font choices, I began to send out emails, full to the brim of naïve optimism. One day passed without reply. One week. One month. Four. Why didn’t they like it? […]
5 Digital Self-Publishing Skills New Authors Need To Master
You know how to write a book. But new authors also sometimes need to develop their digital self-publishing skills. When it comes time to publish your new book, you need some basic computer and technical ability. You don’t need to be an expert. But self-publishing is an online process, so you need to be confident that you can do almost everything required to publish your book. Luckily, most aspects are easy or relatively quick to learn. What skills do new self-publishing authors need? I could write a long list of the self-publishing skills authors need to write, edit, market, promote […]
Breaking into Hollywood and the Importance of Networking (From Script)
In this week’s round up brought to us by Script magazine, screenwriter Zack Ford is back with part two of his Hollywood saga, from his film Watcher‘s Sundance premiere to becoming a Hollywood producer. Plus, the pros and cons of a vomit draft, the importance of being prepared when networking, and an exclusive interview with Not Going Quietly documentary filmmaker Nicholas Bruckman. UNDERSTANDING SCREENWRITING: Secrets, Secrets. And More Secrets. Shh! Tom is dealing with three movies which deal with secrets in very different ways: Operation Mincemeat, The 355, and The Lost Daughter. Click to continue. Could a “Vomit Draft” Be […]
Katy Regan: On a Promise Fulfilled
Katy Regan grew up on the north-west coast of England. She began her writing career as a magazine journalist and is former Commissioning Editor of Marie Claire magazine. She has written for most national magazines and newspapers. She has also written two self-help books, (a cause of great amusement among those who knew her well.) How to Find Your Way Home is her sixth novel and her second to be published in the United States by Berkley, Penguin Random House. Her first was Little Big Love. She lives with her teenage son. When she’s not writing, she mainly loves swimming […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 14
It’s no secret that I love animals—ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll probably tell you that they’ve suffered hours of their time listening to me rant about animal facts I find interesting. But animals are also cool ways to spice up your writing. I’ve written about world-building and animal characters for this site; author and trained fighter Carla Hoch has written about animals in fight scenes; and debut author Pamela Korgemagi has discussed how she prepared to write from an animal’s perspective in her novel The Hunter and the Old Woman. For today’s prompt, include an animal character. Remember: As mentioned yesterday, […]
WD Presents: A Flash Fiction Webinar, 7 WDU Courses, 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 a flash fiction webinar, 7 new WDU courses starting, and more! **** Sign Up for Remixing the Classics: Writing New Flash Fiction From Old Stories! Let’s be honest. Writing flash fiction comes with a different set of obstacles than writing long-form fiction. The biggest of those obstacles, though, is finding a constant […]
Why Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Is Important for Writers
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is important for everyone. The way we live, work, collaborate, and communicate must take into account the value of multiple perspectives, structural inequalities, social rejection and exclusion, and the basic psychological need we all have to be accepted. (Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts: On Intentional Expressions of Black Joy) As writers, we have a special responsibility to apply a DEIB lens to our work because so much of what we write ends up becoming cultural truth. I don’t just say this as a nonfiction author on DEIB. The reality is that people really do believe what […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 13
I heard someone say something this past December that I can’t stop thinking about: “I’m possessed by this holiday spirit.” That statement has my mind galloping off in a million and one directions—if the holiday spirit could possess you, what else could? For today’s prompt, let’s write about a character being possessed by something … unnatural. 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 […]
10 Tips for Retelling Shakespeare in a Fresh Way!
(Editor’s Note: We love Shakespeare at WD, but we also love reinterpretations of Shakespeare. Recently, romance novelist Alana Quintana Albertson, author of Ramón and Julieta, took some time to share her 10 tips for retelling Shakespeare in a fresh way.) 1. Read the original! Time to go back to high school English class. Actually, reread the play and learn about all the characters and backstory. This will allow you to dig deep and find the elements that resonate with you and also the parts that you want to leave behind. Take notes as you go and enjoy it. 2. Watch […]