Melissa Donovan | Writing Forward

The Benefits of Keeping a Reading Journal

I’ve kept a journal on and off since I was a kid. My journals are full of poetry, drawings, story ideas, and random thoughts. I’ve always wanted to keep a reading journal, but I usually inhale books, leaving little time between chapters to jot down my thoughts. I like to read at night, and by…Read More

A Few Good Writing Tips to Keep You on Your Toes

Have you ever gotten stuck in a writing project, and just when your frustration reached its peak, you heard some bit of sage advice that helped you see how to move forward? There aren’t many writing problems that a few good writing tips can’t solve. Whether you need to develop your voice or use fewer…Read More

Creative Writing Prompts That Explore Society and Culture

Today’s post includes a selection of prompts from my book 1200 Creative Writing Prompts. Enjoy! The unofficial motto of the United States of America is E pluribus unum, which means, “out of many, one.” It’s sometimes translated as “one out of many.” The phrase can be interpreted many ways. According to Wikipedia: “The traditionally understood…Read More

How to Develop Your Creative Writing Process

Writing experts often want us to believe that there is only one worthwhile creative writing process. It usually goes something like this: Brainstorm Research Outline Rough draft Revise (repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat) Edit, proof, and polish This is a good system — it absolutely works. But does it work for everyone? Examining the Creative Writing…Read More

How Developmental Editing Improves Your Writing

We usually think of editing as a process that cleans up our grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. But developmental editing is a little different. A developmental editor looks at the content and structure of a writing project, paying little (or no) heed to the mechanics of the language. Developmental edits are for projects that…Read More

The Only Two Writing Tips You’ll Ever Need: Read and Write

I love collecting writing tips. You never know when you’re going to stumble across a golden nugget of wisdom that will make your writing richer and more vibrant. One of the reasons I started this website was so that I could share the many valuable tips that I’ve collected over the years. I figure that…Read More

Fiction Writing Exercises: Narrative Arcs

Today’s fiction writing exercise is an excerpt from my book, Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises. This one focuses on story structure and examines narrative arcs within stories and across multiple scenes and installments of a story. Enjoy! Narrative Arcs An arc has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The events within an arc result…Read More

Is It Plural or Possessed? When to Use Apostrophe -S

It’s one of those grammar glitches that makes English teachers twitch, and it’s a perplexing punctuation problem. Knowing when to use an apostrophe and when to use apostrophe -s can be tricky, but this grammar quickie provides all you need to know about plural versus possession when it comes to apostrophe -s. Pluralization You can…Read More

Debunking Common Myths About Writing

Myths abound in the world of the arts, and writers are not immune to them. Many of us succumb to the fallacies that are floating around about what it means to be a writer or what it takes to become a writer. So what’s the matter with falling for myths about writing? Myths about writing…Read More

What’s Wrong with Adjectives and Adverbs?

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” – Stephen King It’s not unusual for writing experts to recommend keeping adjectives and adverbs to a minimum. But many writers prefer to laden their language with modifiers, usually as a way to provide more detail and description for readers. And young and new writers tend to overuse…Read More