Creative Writing Blog | Writing Tips and Ideas

Writing Tips: Be Yourself

As writers, we strive to connect with a reading audience. After all, writing is all about communication. Whether we’re sharing our personal experiences, imparting ideas and information, or creating rich, compelling stories, we want our words to ring true. We want our work to be authentic. And there’s only one way to achieve authenticity: be…Read More

Thought-Provoking Creative Writing Prompts

Today’s post includes prompts from my book, 1200 Creative Writing Prompts. Enjoy! Writing is a tool we can use to express ourselves or share our ideas. But it can also be used to help us think. Writing forces us to articulate our thoughts and ideas, which in turn forces us to scrutinize our thinking. Tackling…Read More

Writing Resources: No Plot? No Problem!

This post contains affiliate links that earn commissions from qualifying purchases. 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…Read More

fiction writing exercise character struggle

Fiction Writing Exercise: The Internal and External Struggles of Your Characters

Today’s fiction writing exercise comes from my book, Story Drills: Fiction Writing Exercises, which offers lessons and exercises designed to boost your skills as a storyteller. Today’s exercise looks at characters’ struggles, which are essential to good storytelling. Enjoy! Characters’ Internal and External Struggles In order to develop a truly compelling character, it’s critical for…Read More

Genres: Literary Fiction vs. Everything Else

In creative writing, we talk about form and genre. Form is what we write: fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Genre is how we further classify each of these forms. In fiction writing, there’s literary fiction and everything else. In fact, literary fiction and all the other genres are so at odds with each other that…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

Homophones: Accept vs. Except

The English language is fraught with sound-alike words that look nothing alike on the page (or screen). These homophones have given many writers headaches as they agonize over word choice while composing poems, articles, essays, and stories. Accept vs. except is one such pair of words. Though not among the most commonly confused homophones, these…Read More

Unusual Writing Activities That Will Boost Your Creativity

Writing usually involves sitting in a chair and hammering away at a keyboard. It can get repetitive and mundane. I have often found that when I need a boost of creativity, removing myself from my normal writing environment is a good way to get ideas flowing. If you’re feeling stuck, try positioning your body differently….Read More

Five Grammar Habits Every Writer Should Adopt

Can you imagine a nutritionist who eats exclusively at fast food restaurants? A personal trainer who never exercises? A writer who can’t be bothered with grammar, spelling, and punctuation? In most professions, best practices and tools of the trade are mandatory. If you want to be a lawyer, you must pass the Bar exam. If…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