Welcome to Writing Forward
Welcome to Writing Forward, a creative writing blog packed with tips and ideas that will inspire and inform your writing projects. You’ll find posts on grammar, good writing habits and practices, plus tons of writing prompts and exercises to keep your pen moving. Whether you’re looking for fresh ideas or trying to improve your writing, you’ve come to the right place!
Writing Forward’s mission is to share helpful and inspiring creative writing tips to benefit the greater writing community and to advocate on behalf of all writers and artists.
Writing Forward launched in September of 2007.
Meet Your Host
Hi there! My name is Melissa Donovan, and I’m a writer. I studied creative writing at Sonoma State University, earning a BA in English with a concentration in creative writing. Since then, I have worked as a technical writer, copywriter, professional blogger, and writing coach.
My poetry has appeared in convergence: an online poetry of journal and art, and my debut novel, Engineered Underground was released in March 2015.
Blogging is one of my favorite writing passions, along with writing fiction and poetry. I have written a number of guest posts for some pretty cool blogs.
I am the author of several books on the craft of writing, including Ready, Set Write, 101 Creative Writing Exercises, 1200 Creative Writing Prompts, and 10 Core Practices for Better Writing. I am currently working on the Writer’s Toolbox series, which includes What’s the Story? Building Blocks for Fiction Writing and Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises.
As an advocate for animal welfare, I support the No Kill movement, which seeks to end the practice of killing homeless animals in shelters. I am also an anti-censorship activist supporting free speech for writers and artists and working to maintain an open and free Internet via Net Neutrality.
Coaching
I offer coaching in fiction and creative nonfiction writing.
Coaching is flexible and tailored to your goals and skill level. Whether you want to develop a novel, structure a manuscript, or write blog posts that will draw readers to your website and keep them there, I can help.