Publications / 323 posts found
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 12
As always, if you’re on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram (or anywhere else), don’t forget to use the #FlashFictionFeb hashtag. For today’s prompt, write about magic. 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 making magic: The Necromancer’s Apprentice Tears usually taste like blood in his mouth. That is how Caekhar knows the woman is […]
Quick Review Of Grammarly Desktop For Mac Native Apps
I have wanted this feature for years. Now, Grammarly Desktop for Mac integrates with many native Apple apps. The new Grammarly app has been available for a while now, and it works like a charm. The best feature is that I can now use Grammarly to check my emails in Apple Mail. It also integrates with Apple Pages, so it’s another huge plus for writers. Review of Grammarly Desktop for Mac My review has to start by telling you that Grammarly Desktop is also available for Windows. I imagine it works just as well as on a Mac. But I […]
11 Longer Poetic Forms
A few years back, I put together a list of 10 short poetic forms, and I thought it might be fun to collect 11 longer poetic forms. Each of these is longer than a sonnet. ***** Play with poetic forms! Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs). Click to continue. ***** Here are 11 Longer Poetic Forms: Click on the links to learn more about each form. Ballade. 28-line French poetic form. The […]
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Tailoring to Trends
Everyone makes mistakes—even writers—but that’s OK because each mistake is a great learning opportunity. The Writer’s Digest team has witnessed many mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them early in the process. Note: The mistakes in this series aren’t focused on grammar rules, though we offer help in that area as well. (Grammar rules for writers.) Rather, we’re looking at bigger picture mistakes and mishaps, including the error of using too much exposition, neglecting research, or researching too much. This week’s writing mistake is tailoring to trends. Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Tailoring to Trends I […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 11
Today I’m thinking about tension. What’s something that would add natural tension to your story—and your characters—without a ton of explanation needed? For today’s prompt, let’s make things tense by writing about someone being somewhere they shouldn’t be. 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 someone being somewhere they shouldn’t be: […]
What Is a Braided Essay in Writing?
It’s been a while since we’ve looked at a new essay form, so let’s took a look at what a braided essay is, including what makes it different from other types of essays, including the hermit crab essay, graphic essay, and fragmented essay. (What Is a Personal Essay in Writing?) I think you’ll find the braided essay can be fun, even if the narrative structure can be a challenge for both the writer and reader alike. What Is a Braided Essay in Writing? A braided essay is basically like braided hair in that it weaves multiple threads together to make […]
Hay House Publishing: An In-Depth Hay House Review
You’re on the hunt for publishing companies and somehow you’ve landed on Hay House Publishing. Before doing business with Hay House, read this full review to learn more about the company and what they offer, so you can make an informed decision to launch your author career. Related: How to Become an Author On our mission to provide industry education and create thorough review guides on self-publishing companies, we’re always staying up-to-date with the top organizations for authors. In our effort to do so, we spent some time researching Hay House Publishing, and have compiled our findings in this complete […]
Plot Twist Story Prompts: Initiation Project
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, Déjà Vu, here. Plot Twist Story Prompts: Initiation Project For today’s prompt, have a character go through an initiation project of some kind. That could be for a new employee going through initiation training. Or maybe a student having to complete an […]
Hazard A Guess Or Has At A Guess? Which One Is Correct?
Hazard a guess or has at a guess? You often see both of these expressions used in writing. However, the correct phrase is hazard a guess. Because the two phrases sound almost the same when speaking, it’s very easy to get it wrong. But yes, to have a guess is perfectly correct. So why do we use hazard? Why is hazard a guess correct? We use the word hazard mainly as a noun, which means there is a danger or a risk. But we rarely use the word as a verb. When we do, the meaning changes considerably. It indicates […]