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
Five 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…
Flash 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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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.