![kill your darlings](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/kill-your-darlings-300x225.jpg)
Writing Tips: Kill Your Darlings
Kill your darlings. It’s a common piece of writing advice, but what does it mean? I once thought that “kill your darlings” was strictly for storytellers removing unnecessary or problematic characters. But this piece of wisdom has broader applications. It can be used by poets, nonfiction writers, and anyone who puts words on the page…Read More
![writing tips be yourself](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/writing-tips-be-yourself-300x225.jpg)
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
![how to write a book](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-write-a-book-300x200.jpg)
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
![tips for writing](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/tips-for-writing-300x200.jpg)
36 Tips for Writing Just About Anything
There’s a lot more to writing than typing words. Writing well takes years of study, practice, and experience. It requires diligence, attention to detail, and dedication to the craft. Each project has a unique set of requirements and different types of writing have different rules. For example, when we’re writing fiction, we have one set…Read More
![using metaphors](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/using-metaphors-300x200.jpg)
Using Metaphors to Enhance Your Writing
A while back, I wrote a piece that had nothing to do with food, but food became a running metaphor while I was revising. The food metaphor was so delicious (or maybe I was so hungry) that I rewrote the entire post with food on the brain. The blog posts I write with metaphors get…Read More
![writing tips: know your audience](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/know-your-audience-300x200.jpg)
Writing Tips: Know Your Audience
It’s an old adage for writers: know your audience. But what does that mean? How well must we know the audience? And does knowing the audience increase our chances of getting published or selling our books? Some writers insist that the best way to write is to just write for yourself. Sit down and let…Read More
![writing tips writing is rewriting](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/writing-tips-writing-is-rewriting-300x200.jpg)
Writing Tips: Writing is Rewriting
Those of us who spend a lot of time studying the craft of writing inevitably come across bits of writing advice that we hear over and over again: show don’t tell, write what you know, and kill your darlings. These writing tips can be a bit cryptic, but the one about revisions is crystal clear:…Read More
![write what you know](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/write-what-you-know-300x225.jpg)
Writing Tips: Write What You Know
A common piece of writing advice is write what you know. When I first heard this advice, I thought it was odd. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but I remember thinking that as far as writing tips went, it was absurd. What about writing from your imagination or your feelings? How do genres…Read More
![how to critique](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/how-to-critique-300x200.jpg)
How to Critique Other Writers’ Work
As a writer, it helps to be thick-skinned. Once you put your work out there, people will judge, review, and criticize it. But critiques are more helpful when they are received long before publication. In fact, critiques are one of the best ways to improve your writing. Many writers who want critiques that will help…Read More
![show don't tell](https://www.writingforward.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/show-dont-tell-300x200.jpg)
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