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Online fiction writing course

Online Fiction Writing Courses: 8 Things to Know

Online fiction writing courses can wholly transform your writing journey—if you come into the course with the right mindset. Online fiction writing workshops can build community and fine-tune your craft, but you might not know how to make the most of your fiction writing classes. How do you make online fiction writing courses work for…

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word choice in writing | gems

The Importance of Word Choice in Writing

All strong writers have something in common: they understand the value of word choice in writing. Strong word choice uses vocabulary and language to maximum effect, creating clear moods and images and making your stories and poems more powerful and vivid. The meaning of “word choice” may seem self-explanatory, but to truly transform your style…

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best journals for short story submissions

24 of the Best Journals Accepting Short Story Submissions

Which journals are accepting short story submissions right now? There are tons of fiction journals out there looking for stories like yours, and finding where to submit short stories can leave you with too many options. We recently covered the best journals to submit poetry to, so let’s do the same for fiction. These are…

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From Our Instructors

The body and soul of your memoir | memoir writing course

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,…

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best gifts for writers

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…

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the setting of a story: functions of setting in literature

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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Character Development

Writing with Confidence

Writing Prompts

Jump-start your creativity with our writing prompts. Check back regularly for new prompts!

Show and Tell

Write a story or poem about an object with a lot of nostalgic value for you/the narrator. Do not, at any point, tell the reader explicitly what this object is.

Forgive and Forget

Write a story or poem about a time when you had to forget something to maintain a friendship or relationship.

Trash Day

Collect pieces of “junk writing”—spam emails, credit card advertisements, roadside billboards, bumper stickers, etc. Then, write a story or poem that uses all of the junk writing you collected.