Writing Tips
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The 35 Best Gifts for Writers in Your Life
Professional authors chime in on gift ideas for writers—both during the holidays and any time of year. If you’re looking for the best gifts for writers in your life, look no further. There are lots of great gifts for creative writers—you just need to get in a writer’s head. With the help of some lovely…
Inciting Incident Definition: The “Why” of Fiction
“The inciting incident is how you get [your characters] to do something…. It’s the doorway through which they can’t return, you know. The story takes care of the rest.” —Donald Miller The inciting incident in a story plays a central role in that story’s structure. It provides the “push” that gets the story rolling—it sets…
Symbolism in Literature: What Symbolism Is, and How to Use It In Your Writing
Symbolism describes the use of concrete images to convey abstract ideas. Because this literary device is widely open to interpretation, and because many readers form different relationships to concrete objects, this is one of the more slippery elements of literature to both understand and convey to an audience. Nonetheless, understanding symbolism, and knowing what is…
From Our Instructors
The 35 Best Gifts for Writers in Your Life
Professional authors chime in on gift ideas for writers—both during the holidays and any time of year. If you’re looking for the best gifts for writers in your life, look no further. There are lots of great gifts for creative writers—you just need to get in a writer’s head. With the help of some lovely…
What is the Setting of a Story? 5 Functions of Setting in Literature
A short story or novel without a setting is one without context—it occurs nowhere and at no particular time. But every person and everything in our everyday world occurs somewhere at some given time. As in real life, characters are connected in some way, or ways, to a given place. They’re always aware of where…
Becoming a Poet: Learn to Write Poetry!
Becoming a poet is no simple task, but with careful attention to language and the world around us, anyone can learn to write poetry. Even so, sitting down to put feelings to stanzas can seem impossible. With so many possibilities to tinker with language, where does the poet even begin? Whether you’ve just begun your…
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Writing Prompts
Jump-start your creativity with our writing prompts. Check back regularly for new prompts!
Kafkaesque
Write about waking up, only to find that you are something you’re afraid of.
Second Test Writing Prompt
Sed id purus sit amet ipsum tincidunt convallis. Cras auctor porta pellentesque. Aenean tempor tellus vitae pulvinar rhoncus. Duis mollis rhoncus lacus, sed egestas erat accumsan in. Aliquam viverra a orci eu gravida. Etiam sit amet scelerisque quam, non fringilla libero.
Test Writing Prompt
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean auctor urna quis risus ultrices, nec ultrices neque ultrices. Sed id purus sit amet ipsum tincidunt convallis. Cras auctor porta pellentesque. Aenean tempor tellus vitae pulvinar rhoncus. Duis mollis rhoncus lacus, sed egestas erat accumsan in. Aliquam viverra a orci eu gravida. Etiam sit amet scelerisque quam, non fringilla libero.