Writing Tips
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Newest Articles
How to Write a Query Letter: Your Guide to Publishing Success
This article gives you everything you need to know on how to write a query letter. In the highly competitive world of traditional publishing, where aspiring authors must vie for the attention of literary agents, the query letter is a writer’s first step toward making their publishing dreams a reality. A well-crafted query letter can be…
How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily
If you’re exploring how to start a journal, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Journaling has transformed my life, and it can do the same for you. In this article, I’ll walk you through how to journal daily, drawing on my own experiences, and point you to key choices you’ll want to make as you…
Ghazal Poetry: How to Write a Ghazal Poem
The ghazal poem is an intricate, richly symbolic poetry form that finds its origins in 7th century Arabia. Ghazal poetry typically ruminates on matters of love (both divine and earthly), and while the ghazal form has some strict requirements, it is also incredibly rewarding to write. What are ghazals, and how do you write one?…
From Our Instructors
How to Write a Short Story: The Short Story Checklist
The short story is a fiction writer’s laboratory: here is where you can experiment with characters, plots, and ideas without the heavy lifting of writing a novel. Learning how to write a short story is essential to mastering the art of storytelling. With far fewer words to worry about, storytellers can make many more mistakes—and…
Learn to Write! 8 Tips on Learning How to Write
Learning to write is a process, one that requires consistent hard work and determination—and perhaps some magic! But, as with any other skill, it’s important to work hard on the right thing. Instead of providing a list of pointers on how to learn to write for general purposes, this guide will offer eight key tips…
Interview: Barbara Henning’s “Ferne: A Detroit Story”
Equal parts biography, fiction, and an ode to family and Detroit, Barbara Henning‘s Ferne: a Detroit Story captures the Midwestern magic of mid-century Michigan. Barbara retells the life of her mother, Ferne, through a series of vignettes, news clippings, photographs, and biographical details, fleshing out the contours of Ferne’s life from the 1920s through the 50s….
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Writing Prompts
Jump-start your creativity with our writing prompts. Check back regularly for new prompts!
Show and Tell
Write a story or poem about an object with a lot of nostalgic value for you/the narrator. Do not, at any point, tell the reader explicitly what this object is.
Forgive and Forget
Write a story or poem about a time when you had to forget something to maintain a friendship or relationship.
Trash Day
Collect pieces of “junk writing”—spam emails, credit card advertisements, roadside billboards, bumper stickers, etc. Then, write a story or poem that uses all of the junk writing you collected.