Writing Tips
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Newest Articles
Writer’s Block: What Causes Writer’s Block, and How to Overcome It
Writer’s block—having difficulty producing new writing—affects almost every writer at some point, and it can be debilitating for our creativity. If you’ve explored creative writing, I probably don’t have to tell you how painful and challenging writer’s block can be. In this article, we’ll look at writer’s block more deeply, asking “What is writer’s block?”—beyond…
Writing About Real People
Sneak Peek: This essay is excerpted from some of the materials I’ll be sharing in my class, “The Body and Soul of Your Memoir: Shape, Focus, and Write Your Memoir” at Writers.com starting June 4. When my memoir, The Sky Begins At Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community and Coming Home to the Body,…
What is Free Indirect Discourse? Writing the “Intimate 3rd Person”
Free indirect discourse is a narrative technique in which writers employ the third person POV with the intimacy of 1st person perspective. While this technique became popularized in the 20th century, it has been used for generations of storytellers, as writers have experimented with exploring their characters’ interiorities. Also known as free indirect speech or…
From Our Instructors
Writing About Real People
Sneak Peek: This essay is excerpted from some of the materials I’ll be sharing in my class, “The Body and Soul of Your Memoir: Shape, Focus, and Write Your Memoir” at Writers.com starting June 4. When my memoir, The Sky Begins At Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community and Coming Home to the Body,…
The 35 Best Gifts for Writers in Your Life
Professional authors chime in on gift ideas for writers—both during the holidays and any time of year. If you’re looking for the best gifts for writers in your life, look no further. There are lots of great gifts for creative writers—you just need to get in a writer’s head. With the help of some lovely…
What is the Setting of a Story? 5 Functions of Setting in Literature
A short story or novel without a setting is one without context—it occurs nowhere and at no particular time. But every person and everything in our everyday world occurs somewhere at some given time. As in real life, characters are connected in some way, or ways, to a given place. They’re always aware of where…
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Writing Prompts
Jump-start your creativity with our writing prompts. Check back regularly for new prompts!
Light and Dark
Write a poem or story that begins in the dark and ends in the light, OR the other way around.
Dear John
Write a story or poem in the form of a letter, addressed to a specific person.
Magical Realism
Write a story or poem in which an element of fantasy acts as an extended metaphor. For example, a woman learns she can cry in taffeta, so she starts a sewing business where she knots her tears into dresses. Learn more about magical realism.