From Our Instructors
Creative Nonfiction Writing Classes Online: 8 Things to Know
A great way to improve your writing, or even just to hold yourself accountable to writing creative nonfiction, is to take creative nonfiction writing classes online. If you haven’t taken creative nonfiction writing classes online before, though, it can be difficult to know if a particular creative nonfiction writing class is the right fit for…
Read MoreInterview: Jack Smith Talks Writing, Publication Process, and His New Book “If Winter Comes”
When Fanny Kemble, an acclaimed nineteenth-century British actress, marries Pierce Butler, a Philadelphia aristocrat, she is yoked to a philanderer, a liar, and, as she soon learns, a slaver. She must deal with a husband who expects her absolute obedience, as though she were one of his slaves. As an abolitionist, she feels compelled to…
Read MoreHow to Write About Yourself and People You Know: Interview with Margo Perin
In this wide-ranging and honest interview, Writers.com instructor Margo Perin explores navigating writing about our own lives, and about the people we know. Below is a selected interview transcript: What are the first things people should know about navigating writing their own stories? Often people are motivated to write because they want to write about…
Read MoreCharacter Development Advice: 5 Tips for Creating Characters that Breathe and Move and Can’t Stop Talking
Editor’s note: This is the second of two articles (first here) on the fundamentals of character development written for Writers.com by our instructor Gloria Kempton, in support of a full character development course she’s developing. In this article, Gloria answers a number of commonsense questions about character development. 1. What makes a character relatable? Vulnerability.…
Read MoreEssential Character Development Questions: 3 Questions to Ask Every Character You Write
Editor’s note: This is the first of two articles (second here) on the fundamentals of character development written for Writers.com by our instructor Gloria Kempton, in support of a full character development course she’s developing. In this article, Gloria covers the three essential questions you should ask each character you write. There are three questions…
Read MoreEight Questions About the Novella, Answered
In this interview, Writers.com instructor Jack Smith answers our top eight questions about the novella form—everything from “How many words in a novella?” to his best advice on learning the novella form, writing, and maybe even publishing your own novella. 1. What is a novella, and how many words are there in a novella? What distinguishes…
Read MoreOvercoming Writing Anxiety
Editor’s Note: In this article, instructor Dennis Foley gives his best tips and perspectives on overcoming writing anxiety. His advice is geared toward novelists, but is equally valuable for any form of creative writing. We’ve all been there. Writer anxiety Yep, at some point in the process of writing a novel, you will suddenly be…
Read MoreEmbodied Writing: Interview with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
In this interview, Writers.com instructor Rosemary Tantra Bensko discusses her practice of embodied writing, a creative writing process that uses movement exercises to access the wisdom of the whole body. How did you get interested in the relationship between writing and the body? Around five years ago, I was reading the new reports that came out…
Read MoreFive Tips for Aspiring Food Writers: Interview with Jennifer Billock
In this interview, Writers.com instructor and professional food writer Jennifer Billock shares her most important advice for anyone interested in food writing. 1. Don’t Be a Picky Eater The first thing is that you’d have to be willing to eat a lot of different things, and sometimes not super-pleasant things. For example, I was just…
Read MoreFlash Fiction Prompt: The Storyteller
Below is “The Storyteller,” a flash fiction prompt by Writers.com instructor Barbara Henning from her forthcoming The Prompt Book. Enjoy it as a jumping-off point for your creativity! — Think of a story that someone told you, maybe when you were growing up. Or retell a story that you have told others. Let the voice of…
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