Creative Writing Blog | Writing Tips and Ideas

Making the Right Word Choices for Better Writing

Have you ever read a sentence and wondered what it was trying to say? Ever gotten hung up on a word that felt out of place because the meaning of the word didn’t fit the context? When was the last time you spotted a word that was unnecessarily repeated throughout a page, chapter, or book?…Read More

Writing Tips: Show, Don’t Tell

The first time I heard the advice “show, don’t tell,” I was young and it confused me. Show what? Isn’t writing all about telling a story? At the time, I shrugged it off as some kind of mysterious double-talk, but the phrase kept popping up: show, don’t tell. It rolled off my teachers’ tongues. I…Read More

Writing Resources: The Elements of Style

This post contains affiliate links that earn commissions from qualifying purchases. Writing resources are easy to come by. But good writing resources, ones that will truly help you improve your writing, can be difficult to scout out among the many books on writing that are available. Originally published in 1959, The Elements of Style has…Read More

Five Poetry Prompts

You know what’s great about writing prompts? On those days when you’re feeling uninspired but you want to write, they’re there for you. On days when you want to get your writing practice in but don’t particularly feel like writing, they’re there for you. Writing prompts give you a little push to kick-start a writing…Read More

From Story Drills: Deathtrap and Deus Ex Machina

Today’s fiction writing exercise is an excerpt from my book, Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises. This exercise presents two storytelling devices: the deathtrap and deus ex machina. Enjoy! Deathtrap and Deus Ex Machina If you’ve ever read a story in which characters are rescued from a dire situation in a way that is truly unbelievable,…Read More

Plot vs. Character in Storytelling

Have you ever struggled with a story idea only to give up because it seems like every plot has already been done? Maybe you focus on character development to make up for a weak or formulaic plot. Or maybe you focus on plot, only to end up with characters that feel flat, stereotypical, or unsympathetic. Some stories…Read More

Denotation and Connotation in Poetry Writing

Most people go through life using language haphazardly. That’s how we get words like irregardless, which has the exact same meaning as regardless. But writers, and especially poets, don’t have the luxury of throwing words around indiscriminately. Clear and compelling prose and verse demand that we pay due diligence to the words we choose. We…Read More

Share Your Writing

Putting yourself out there isn’t easy. When you share your writing, you open it up to criticism. What if people don’t like it? What if it gets negative reviews? What if nobody reads it? I share my writing all the time, thanks to this blog. In the early days, shortly after I launched Writing Forward,…Read More

How to Get the Most Out of Your Writing Practice

Everybody wants to know the secret to success, and writers are no exception. We often talk about all the things one must do in order to become a successful writer. From studying grammar to working through multiple revisions, from sending out submissions to building a platform, writers must wear many hats if they hope to…Read More

Artistically Inspired Journal Prompts

We, the people of the arts, feed off each other. A painter is inspired by a song. A musician is inspired by a novel. A photographer is inspired by a sculpture. So we come full circle by inspiring one another. Journal prompts are a useful tool for getting inspired. When you want to write but…Read More