Write Better Fiction / 115 posts found
10 Things to Consider When Writing About Obsession in Fiction
Obsession can be a powerful engine in fiction writing. Your main character might be fixated on another person, or an object, or a task. Yet by its nature, their desire cannot be satisfied. Getting more leads to wanting more. Obstacles only make the need stronger. (Kiare Ladner: On Anticipating False Summits) As the stakes increase, obsession brings a natural arc to your story. Tension rises and rises until … what? In the end, something has to give, whether it is the obsession itself or the main character’s sanity or their life. Sound easy? Nothing’s ever as easy as it sounds […]
3 Ways To Incorporate Food in Your Fiction
Food and books are probably the greatest pleasures of my life. So imagine my excitement when I found out there was an entire sub-genre that combined my two loves: culinary cozy mysteries. I was so happy to contribute my own spin on the genre last year with my debut novel, Arsenic and Adobo, which is part of the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series. My books center around a family-run Filipino restaurant in a small town just outside of Chicago (and murder, but this article isn’t about that). (Mia P. Manansala: On Savoring Positive Feedback) Just like sex scenes and fight […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 16
Earlier in the month, we talked a bit about character motivations. I want to revisit that subject from a new angle today. For today’s prompt, write about a hoarder. 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 hoarding: Hoarder They’re coming, Arthur. It’s not like I haven’t thought about this, because I […]
How To Write About Love While the World Is Falling Apart
I wrote what I hoped would be a slightly unconventional novel that would ideally be really accessible. It took me a long time to figure out how to do this! Part of the problem was that when I was in middle school and they tried to get us to write short stories, they would tell us to write a summary of what was going to happen and then write the story. This is great! Here’s the problem: If I write out what’s going to happen in the story, then I already wrote the story. I have no idea how to […]
Writer’s Digest Presents: Flash Writing (Podcast, Episode 2)
In the second episode of the Writer’s Digest Presents podcast, Amy, Robert, Moriah, and Michael discuss flash fiction, short stories, and the origin of the February Flash Fiction Challenge. This includes sharing their own personal favorites and how reading short fiction is different than reading a novel. Then, Robert has a conversation about flash nonfiction with Gina Barreca, author or editor of more than 20 books, including Fast Funny Women: 75 Essays of Flash Nonfiction and They Used to Call Me Snow White But I Drifted: Women’s Strategic Use of Humor. Quote on writing flash pieces: “You have to see […]
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? […]
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, […]
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 […]