Improve Your Writing

Brooke McIntyre of Inked Voices explains what to look for in a critique group and how to find the best writing critique group for you.

Writers aren’t born fully formed. Talent exists, but good writing rests on wide reading, learning the rules, and steady practice.

The philosopher Seneca advised studying few writers rather than skimming through many, but authors must read broadly to develop their craft.

When turning real life into historical fiction, being clear about the story you want to tell will help inform how to go about your research.

Some see “plotter or pantser” as an identity, but it’s really just a method applied after ample preparation either in your head or on the page.

Sylvester Stallone offers a masterclass in something we don’t talk about often enough: writing is a learned skill.

Like a Slinky, a good memoir has moments of expansion and contraction as it reaches its goal, slowing down or speeding up when necessary.

Writing short pieces based in your novel’s world can spark ideas that might add depth and nuance to your main story’s characters.

What makes a travel memoir unique isn’t the places you’ve been but what you’re wrestling with inside that the journey illuminates.

Specific context about your characters helps readers understand them within the backdrop of their lives, bringing your stories fully to life.

The essay is like any other literary genre: There are guidelines worth following, and style choice dictates different points of view and structures.

A standout writing voice is a mixture of your natural style and sentence-level decisions that bring who you are to life.

Whether or not your memoir is published, it’s important to get it off your chest before the rest of your life’s work can come through.

An effective case study allows your reader to connect with what works and what’s possible for them, and most importantly, keeps them turning pages.

A premise is the seed of a story, not its structure. Learn how to turn a what-if into a plot.

Any element of a story has the potential to be positive or negative, helpful or harmful. Your character’s context provides the frame of reference.

When writing about a significant relationship, here are some tips to make sure you don’t end up a supporting player in your own story.

The TV-book subgenre has grown harder to break into as rewatch podcasts and celebrity memoirs crowd out journalists. Here are practical tips for choosing a show and pitching a proposal today.

Transitioning from one scene to another may seem trivial, but it’s crucial to help orient readers and conduct them smoothly through the story.

For an anecdote (“You won’t believe what I saw!”) to grow into an impactful story, a surprise element isn’t enough—real change needs to occur.

Life experiences are what create your voice, brand you as an author, and make your writing worth reading.

Before writing your novel, imagining the first and last scenes can help clarify the story’s point and the reader’s emotional journey.

Pay close attention to any surprising details or patterns in your memoir’s scenes—they often point to the story that really wants to be told.

With other essential elements in place, short story writers can consider leaving an ending ambiguous, with room for the reader to ruminate.