24 of the Best Places to Submit Creative Nonfiction Online

creative nonfiction abstract landscape

After weeks of deliberating over the right words and fine-tuning your creative nonfiction piece, you’re ready to begin submitting to literary nonfiction journals. The only problem is finding the right home for your creative nonfiction submission. What journals or literary nonfiction magazines should you prioritize submitting your work to? Find your answer here: we’ve searched…

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112 Common Literary Devices: Definitions, Examples, and Exercises

common literary devices

Common literary devices, such as metaphors and similes, are the building blocks of literature, and what make literature so enchanting. Language evolves through the literary devices in poetry and prose; the different types of figurative language make literature spark in different ways. Consider this your crash course in common literary devices. Whether you’re studying for…

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Creative Nonfiction: What It Is and How to Write It

what is creative nonfiction

What is creative nonfiction? Despite its slightly enigmatic name, no literary genre has grown quite as quickly as creative nonfiction in recent decades. Literary nonfiction is now well-established as a powerful means of storytelling, and bookstores now reserve large amounts of space for nonfiction, when it often used to occupy a single bookshelf. Like any…

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The Importance of Word Choice in Writing

word choice in writing | gems

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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How to Write a Story Outline

writing a story outline

The story outline is a great bridge between your story idea and a polished work of fiction. When you’re not sure how to start writing a story idea you might have, working on an outline will save you time and frustration, while also generating new ideas. Some writers balk at the idea of using a…

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What is Autobiographical Fiction? An Introduction to the Genre

writing autobiographical fiction

At some point along your fiction journey, you may have considered writing autobiographical fiction—perhaps writing an autobiographical novel, or a shorter work based on your life experience. Many famous authors have turned their life stories into compelling works of prose, from Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield to Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time…

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24 of the Best Writing Exercises to Become a Better Writer

24 writing exercises

The best writing exercises bring out our latent creativity. Especially if you ever feel stuck or blocked, making creative writing exercises part of your daily writing practice can be a great way to both hone your skills and explore new frontiers in your writing. Whether you’re a poet, essayist, storyteller, or genre-bending author, these free…

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Why Learn Creative Writing?

learn creative writing woman painting

Why learn creative writing? Truthfully, creative writing is one of the most misunderstood disciplines in the 21st century. When people think of a creative writing course, they often imagine a group of lofty, out-of-touch people who wear argyle sweater vests and have unproductive conversations about abstract concepts. In reality, nothing could be further from the…

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How to Be Confident in Your Writing

how to be confident in your writing

At some point early in our writing careers, we find ourselves asking a painful question: What if I’m not good enough? It’s an early indication that writing confidence—the ability to write freely, unimpeded by self-doubt—can be hard to come by. The focus of this article is learning how to be confident in your writing, and…

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