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If your writing project has hit a wall, consider whether it really wants to be a different form than the one you’re trying to shape it into.

Building up courage to own your identity as a writer starts when you realize you need to ask someone for an objective opinion on your work.

Asking yourself the right questions about why, when, how, and how much your characters speak will help you craft more powerful dialogue.

One of the hard parts of working on a book is that day-to-day progress isn’t readily visible. Give yourself credit for all the small achievements.

With a regular five-minute meditation you’ll become a master of focus, able to dismiss distractions before they even fully form as thoughts.

When we lean into stigmatized topics, we invite readers to wrestle with the same complexities we’re examining in ourselves.

Writers of both genres have to make decisions that somehow mold real people and events into a story with a shape, an arc, and meaning.

A Choctaw author offers tips on researching and connecting with First Americans in order to write respectfully and without stereotypes.

Consider the benefits and limitations of each POV, along with the feel each might lend to your story and how well it fits the tone, tenor, and genre.

Having a gut-punch reaction to being edited is part of the cost of doing business for writers. Here’s advice on how to survive the process.

To truly put your reader in the emotional position of your POV character, focus on conveying body language and internal narration.

Acknowledgment pages allow us to peer into authors’ lives, and reveal the fascinating web of the publishing world.

Memoirists can take steps throughout the writing and publishing process to minimize fallout and family strife.

Focus on the main story’s forward momentum, and use backstory as the seasoning that makes the stew.

Your audience won’t remember the chapter where your hero took a breather. What’s memorable are the forces of antagonism, and how your hero reacted.