Guest Post

Just as coaches help athletes, writing coaches can help authors be more productive, proficient, and proud of what they accomplish.

Only a fraction of participants reach the finish line. Setting your sights on the more compact novella form might help you go the distance.

When sociopolitical discourse seems entrenched, good fiction can dig deeper with honest curiosity about all facets of the human experience.

Being a freelance editor requires lifelong curiosity, persistent self-education, ruthless support—and the ability to do all this quickly.

In this excerpt from her book The Joy of Writing Journal, Lisa Tener offers three prompts to help you see story ideas all around.

When your ms is complete, it's time to think about semantic structure—a digital map that allows computers to identify the parts of your book.

Despite pre-publication buzz, one author found her book orphaned when the publisher was fired and the imprint dissolved.

Whatever your writing goals are in November, a bit of planning can help set you up for success.

Identifying your story’s “why”—why it haunts you, why you care—will give your book power that readers can feel.

As an author’s career progresses, the publicity needs change—and what worked for the first book might no longer be appropriate for the third.

Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century troll, virulently critical of other writers—but also engaged in literary citizenship for work he admired.

An author who only set out to write one book wrestles with the question—do I really have a second book in me?

One successful self-publishing author discusses the importance of multiple formats, licensing, thinking like a publisher, and much more.

Time reshapes how we view and frame the chapters of our lives. Since a memoir inevitably can’t tell the whole story, we keep writing.

One self-publishing author who opted-out offers a dozen other avenues on and off the Internet to help spread the word and drive book sales.

In the last of a three-part series we examine the advantages and disadvantages of starting with theme, as opposed to character or plot.

Framing the overall story, as well as each scene within it, through these key elements will help create a consistently propulsive plot.

Literary agents Michelle Brower and Jennifer Chen Tran discuss the pros and cons of small presses, querying strategy, and much more.

Writing in dual perspectives can easily tie you in knots, but it also opens the door to new opportunities between characters and story lines.

Both writing coaches and therapists dig deep, listen attentively, and meet regularly. But hiring one versus the other depends on your goals.

Masterful writers keep their readers in a constant state of tension. How to get tension on every page? By focusing on microtension.

What makes readers open a book and keep turning the pages? In part, curiosity and tension.

The author and podcaster discusses what she learned from going the wrong kind of viral, the power of vulnerable truth in writing, and more.

Writers focused on plot are often strong when it comes to world-building and “big ideas,” but there are inherent challenges as well.

Developing voice is important, but finding a topic that excites you—and others—could be a better first step for a new writer.