Publications / 323 posts found
Closing Out Sundance Film Festival 2022 and Finding Your Voice Through Story and Characters (From Script)
In this week’s round up brought to us by Script magazine, Script’s Editor in Chief virtually attends the Sundance Film Festival 2022 with daily recaps and interviews, and exclusive interviews with Drive My Car filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, The Power of the Dog Editor Peter Sciberras, and so much more! It’s All About Characters: An Interview with Sonja Warfield Photo by Alison Rosa, HBO “The Gilded Age” is gorgeous to look at and the drama is as rich as Downton’s. The historical drama is also a love letter to old New York. Former stand-up comedian, television writer, and author Sonja Warfield […]
94 Your Story Writing Prompts
For as long as I can remember, one of our guiding principles on the Writer’s Digest team has been that we’re writers helping other writers. As such, we love features that allow us to interact with other writers in their element. That’s what inspired one of our most popular features: Your Story. The idea behind Your Story is simple. We provide a prompt; several writers write a short story based off the prompt; and then, a winner is chosen (and published in Writer’s Digest magazine) from among the entries. (100 Creative Writing Prompts for Writers.) “I’m guessing the first one […]
Short Film Goals, Writing the Cinematic Experience on the Page and Sundance Film Festival 2022 (From Script)
In this week’s round up brought to us by Script magazine, set your creative goals with a monthly guide to write and produce your short film, provided by Script contributor Rebecca Norris Resnick. Plus, an exclusive interview with Academy Award-winning screenwriter William Monahan about his new film The Tender Bar, a Sundance Film Festival 2022 day one recap, and so much more! Tandem Writing on the Open Road Chicago-based writers Rocco Cataldo and Amy Guth discuss how they collaborated on their script, Open Road, which recently earned Best Screenplay honors at the 2021 Los Angeles TV, Script & Film Festival. […]
Going From Me to We: Collaborating on the Writing of a Novel
Most writers are lone wolves. Our words are our babies, and we don’t like them messed with. Over the years, some of my novels have made the rounds in Hollywood, with a few of them going into pre-production. The worst thing about those experiences was getting feedback from individuals who apparently read my book with cursory interest, and whose comments about possible changes in the book’s adaptation seemed to come out of left field. Hollywood is a collaborative process. When the right people come together, it can lend itself to wonderful magic, but in my own experience it felt as […]
Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Dismissing Other Genres
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 writers make is dismissing other genres. Writing Mistakes Writers Make: Dismissing […]
Lannet: Poetic Forms
From what I can gather online, this week’s form was created by Laura Lamarca. It’s sort of like a sonnet, but also sort of not like a sonnet. Here are the guidelines: 14 lines 10 syllables per line No end rhymes (only internal rhymes) There are no rules for meter or subject matter. ***** 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’s my attempt at […]
Evaluating the Sample Edit and Choosing the Right Editor for You
In this series about hiring a professional editor, we’ve examined whether you need an edit as well as what kind, looked at how to find good editors, and determined what questions to ask to narrow down your choices. (When Is My Novel Ready to Read: 7 Self-Editing Processes for Writers) At this point in your vetting process, one of the non-negotiables I always suggest is asking any editor you’re considering for a sample edit—you wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive, and editing is a major and important investment. But how do you evaluate that sample once you receive […]
WD Presents: 6 WDU Courses, an Upcoming Virtual Conference, 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 six new WDU courses, a romance writing virtual conference, and more! **** Six New WDU Courses Start This Week! Writing Historical Fiction Join Donna Russo Morin to learn the definition of historical markers and how and where to unearth them. And uncover the tools to integrate history, research, and the fiction plot […]
What Is Investigative Journalism?
My heart pounds as I prepare to enter the building. A backpack, equipped with a hidden camera occupies the passenger seat, an entity all its own. This is the hardest part, getting into character, hoping I don’t get caught. I must remember my cover story. They don’t know I’ve infiltrated their group and am filming everything. Not yet at least. Once I step outside the car and into my role, the sickening fear subsides. But those moments just before are nerve wracking. (How Not to Write a How-To Book) This was my most memorable assignment as a television investigative journalist—going […]
Abbreviation vs. Acronym vs. Initialism (Grammar Rules)
If you have trouble understanding the difference between an abbreviation, acronym, and initialism, don’t worry: They’re easy to mix up. In fact, they often overlap each other. But this post will attempt to untangle these terms ASAP. (Grammar Rules for Writers.) Learn when you’re using an abbreviation vs. acronym vs. initialism with Grammar Rules from the Writer’s Digest editors, including a few examples of correct usages. Abbreviation vs. Acronym vs. Initialism Abbreviation is the shortened form of a word or phrase intended to speed up communication and/or use fewer symbols. For instance, using “vs.” for “versus” or “dept.” for “department” as […]