Write Better Fiction / 115 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 […]
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: […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 10
I’m a big fan of love in all forms—familial, friendly, platonic—but as this is February, romance is a little more on the forefront of my mind. However, romance doesn’t always mean chocolate and flowers; everyone has quirks that their partners have to discover to best woo them. For today’s prompt, write something romantic. 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 […]
What Is a Drabble in Writing?
The first time I heard the word drabble, I was on Tumblr. It wasn’t totally surprising; this is back when I was very actively writing fan-fiction, and my mutuals were all fans of the shows and books I was into. If you’re a part of the fic community, you’ll know that sometimes people will write to you and request work based on a prompt, theme, or even something as vague as “angst with a happy ending.” When a writer I really admired announced that they were doing a 30-day drabble challenge, I was confused. They were kind enough to explain […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 9
I’ve always thought regifting to be an interesting subject; sometimes, something that meant little to you can be very meaningful to someone else. Sometimes, you accidentally give someone something that they’d given you, and it can cause hurt feelings. And if you have hoarders in your life like I do, sometimes the gifts that come your way can be truly wacky. For today’s prompt, let’s write about something being regifted. 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 […]
Research and Storytelling for Successful Historical Fiction
“It must be easy writing historical fiction. You already know what’s happened.” That comment always makes me laugh. When you write historical fiction, you wonder what really happened. According to historian Patrick Collinson, “It is possible for competent historians to come to radically different conclusions on the basis of the same evidence. Because, of course, 99 percent of the evidence, above all, unrecorded speech, is not available to us.” That 99 percent leaves a lot of gray areas. Happily, those gray areas are where historical novelists get to play. That’s where our imagination fills in what might’ve happened behind and […]
2022 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 8
For today’s prompt, let’s write about the grim reaper. 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 the grim reaper: Not Today She’s laying on the couch tonight. It’s late. Dark. The reflection of the TV makes her eyes look wet, though they’re blank. I take my usual spot on the floor […]
Writing Dark Fiction
People seem to like their content with a healthy side of darkness if you go by the books that linger at the top of bestseller lists and the TV shows that consistently draw big audiences. Personally, I am way too soft for actual horror (no thank you Stephen King or Stranger Things,) but I am attracted to stories that have an undercurrent of something frightening or shocking and, possibly, just a bit evil—especially if there are real people involved. Devil In the White City, The Girls, Dr. Death. (5 Tips for Writing a Domestic Thriller) When I first told the […]