Melissa Donovan | Writing Forward

Writing While Inspired

Today’s post is an excerpt from Ready, Set, Write: A Guide to Creative Writing. This excerpt is from a chapter titled “Writing While Inspired,” which explores the concept of cultivating creativity rather than waiting for inspiration to strike. Enjoy! Inspired Writing Sometimes, inspiration appears out of nowhere. You’re taking a walk, and you’re suddenly struck…Read More

Thoughts on Becoming a Writer

People often ask me how to become a writer. It seems like a simple enough question, until you start considering the semantics of the word writer. A writer can be someone who writes, someone who has written, or someone who writes professionally. Anyone who’s been to school has written something, so this is a very…Read More

How to Write a Book

Almost every writer on the planet wants to write a book. Some have finished a manuscript and others are already published, but many more dream, talk, and think about completing a full draft and seeing their name on a book cover. Some already have a book in the works while others have several half-finished drafts…Read More

Writing Resources: No Plot? No Problem!

This post contains affiliate links. There are a million ways to approach writing a novel. You can outline your plot. You can create a series of scenes and use note cards to organize them. You can use a tried and proven formula from any number of plotting resources. Or you can create a couple of…Read More

Character-Driven Fiction Writing Prompts

Most authors agree that fiction is primarily driven by characters. Authors will often talk about characters who take over the story, who have their own separate and independent consciousnesses. Outlines and plans for plot go out the window as characters insist on moving the story in a direction of their own design. Because characters are…Read More

From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Invention of Form

Today’s post is an excerpt from 101 Creative Writing Exercises, a book that takes you on an adventure through the world of creative writing with exercises that offer techniques, practice, and inspiration. This exercise is from “Chapter 7: Form Poetry.” It’s called “Invention of Form.” Enjoy! Invention of Form Who came up with the sonnet…Read More

How to Write Better Stories

This post contains affiliate links. You know that feeling you get when you read a novel and become completely lost in it? You can’t put it down, so you lose track of time. When you finally finish, you wish it would just keep going. Isn’t that the kind of story you want to write? Over…Read More

How to Start Writing Poetry

I occasionally receive an email or comment from someone who asks how to start writing poetry. These aspiring writers might have read some poetry, maybe even dabbled in writing it, but they feel disconnected from it. They want to write poems, but they’re not sure how to begin. Some are interested in producing publishable works;…Read More

Punctuation Marks: How to Use a Semicolon

Lots of people aren’t sure how to use a semicolon. The semicolon might be the most misunderstood punctuation mark in the English language. This dot-comma combination is often used where a period, colon, or even a plain old comma belongs. Underused and often abused, the semicolon is useful in a number of writing situations. Although…Read More

Writing Memoirs

Today’s post is from Ready, Set, Write: A Guide to Creative Writing. It’s from a chapter that is simply titled “Memoirs,” which explores and explains the craft of memoir writing. Enjoy! What is a Memoir? Memoirs are personal accounts—true stories—based on narrow themes and specific topics. They are usually the length of novels or novellas; shorter…Read More