July/August 2013 Issue
July/August Issue
Writer's Digest Magazine
Preview the Issue
Buy It Here
Give a Gift SubscriptionSave 58%!
Website of the Week
Writing Genres
Narrow your search:
Literary Fiction | Young Adult/Children | Science Fiction/Fantasy | Short Story/Essay | Romance
Articles/Freelance | Memoir | Nonfiction | Mystery/Thriller | Horror | Spiritual | Humor | Poetry | Script Writing
Writing Gender-Specific Dialogue
Writing dialogue to suit the gender of your characters is important in any genre, but it becomes even more essential in romance writing. In a romance novel, characters of opposite sexes are … Read more
5 New Year’s Resolutions for Writers
A new year, a new writerly you. New Year’s Day is a time for reflecting on the past year while thinking about the goals, wishes, and hopes for the new year ahead. … Read more
How to Write a Reader-Friendly Essay
Powerful, surprising, and fascinating personal essays are also “reader-friendly essays” that keep the reader squarely in focus. So how do you go about writing one? In this excerpt from Crafting the Personal … Read more
Reject a Hit: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Let’s step once again into the role of the unconvinced, perhaps even curmudgeonly or fool-hearted editor: What harsh rejection letters might the authors of some of our favorite hit books have had to endure? This contribution comes from Chris Gay of Manchester, Conn., who found Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol to be as tedious as a bowl of plum pudding. Read more
Writing for the Young Adult Audience
There’s no question about it: The young adult (YA) audience is a hot market, one that is steadily growing in popularity and garnering attention from young readers as well as literary critics. … Read more
4 Ways to Revise as You Write
Writers differ in their opinions of the revision process. Some balk at it–they see it as the “no fun” part of writing, and much prefer drafting and creation to fixing and rethinking. … Read more
How to Write a Romance Novel: The Keys to Conflict
Conflict is the core of any work of fiction. Here are tips to improve your romance novel’s conflict so it catches the eye of agents. Read more
Write Fiction that Grabs Readers from Page One
In your novel, the inciting incident is the first sign of trouble for your protagonist: it’s the catalyst, the chemical reaction, that sets the plot into motion. But the inciting incident isn’t … Read more
Selling Your Book’s Movie and TV Rights – What You Need to Know
If you’ve ever wondered how something gets made into a film—and how your work can be tapped for one, too—here’s the inside scoop on options. Read more
What is the Throughline of a Novel? (And Why It’s Important You Have One)
The best way to travel the length of your story is to grab hold of the throughline—the driving force of the book—and refuse to let go. Understand the throughline of your novel by studying these examples. Read more
Namedropping: Finding Solid Names for Your Unique Characters
What’s in a character’s name? Everything. Here’s how you, the writer, can master the neglected art of moniker-making. Read more
The 3 Skills Every Successful Freelance Writer Must Have
Today’s writing tip discusses freelancing for a living. If you are thinking about becoming a freelance writer and wondering what skills you need to survive within the freelancing world, today’s writing tip … Read more
Writing 21st Century Fiction: A Sneak Peek
Donald Maass, bestselling author of Writing the Breakout Novel and The Fire in Fiction, now takes an in-depth, comprehensive look at the craft and method of writing 21st century fiction. You might … Read more
Questions to Ask (& Strengthen) Your Minor Characters
If your supporting characters aren’t working toward an understanding of the main character or situation in some way, you might ask yourself what they’re really doing there, hogging time and space in your book. Here are questions to ask about your minor characters to make sure they have a purpose. Read more
The 21 Key Traits of Best-Selling Fiction
Do you wonder want readers want? In today’s writing tip, you’ll discover the 21 key traits of best-selling fiction excerpted from The Writer’s Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr. The 21 … Read more
16 Blogging Tips For Writing Fresh Content & Attracting Readers
If you already write a blog or are thinking of creating one, you’ll need to know how to attract and keep your readers interested. Today’s tip comes from Christina Katz’s book Get … Read more
Meet the Real Andre Dubus III
He did not set out to follow in his famous father’s footsteps, nor is he as dark and brooding as his own House of Sand and Fog. And those are just the first of many things that will surprise you about the bestseller. Read more
Starting a Freelance Career: A Couple Frequently Asked Questions
Are you new to writing and exploring what type of writing you want to do? This eBook excerpt, How Do I Start a Freelance Career?, from the Beginning Writer’s Answer Book, covers everything … Read more
How to Write Like Sandra Brown, RL Stine & David Morrell
Sandra Brown, R.L. Stine and David Morrell got together for a chat on the craft of writing. Here are their writing processes and where they get their ideas. Read more
5 Ways to Balance Writing and Life
In her insightful panel “Life or Work? Balancing Life’s Demands With Writing,” moderator Joan Johnston (Shattered, Hawk’s Way) quizzed a group of established publishing pros about how, exactly, you can quiet daily demands so that you can get those voices in your head down on the page and into the hands of readers. Read more
The Key to Thrilling Readers
When it comes down to it, how do action scenes actually thrill, and how do they keep readers hooked? Read more
Lee Child Debunks the Biggest Writing Myths
Like his famous protagonist, Jack Reacher, Lee Child is a bit of a rogue badass—especially when it comes to his thoughts on writing, and debunking popular writing rules. In his ThrillerFest session “Tell, Don’t Show: Why Writing Rules are Mostly Wrong,” Child battled a few of the biggest writing myths out there, and explained what really keeps a reader reading until The End. Read more
Ann Rule on Breaking Into True Crime
Bestseller Ann Rule had a heck of a journey to becoming a writer. Here is her incredible personal saga, and her tips on how to break into true crime. Read more
