Business
Writer’s Digest
What Waiting for Godot Taught Me About Setting the Scene
Author Danai Christopoulou discusses tapping into techniques used in theater and film to write effective liminal spaces in fiction.
8 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
Setting the Scene
How travel, close quarters, and only-one-bed brought my characters together.
2 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
Surefire Ways to Sell Your Children's Book
In my 28 years editing children's books, I've learned that publishing exists at the intersection of art and commerce.
5 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
How to Write Amid Chaos
When times are turbulent, pinpointing why your work matters to yourself and to readers can provide the motivation you need to keep putting words on the page.
8 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
LEVELUPYOUR WRITING(LIFE)
Tips for Effectively Researching Any Writing Project (Part II)
5 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
The Difficulty of Writing Difficult Scenes
Nine tips from professional editors and bestselling writers to tackle scenes with sensitive material.
8 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
Why You Can't Stop Reading
How bestsellers hook readers and never let go.
7 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
How and Why to Use Electronic Press Kits
Let’s set the scene: It’s been several months since you self-published your first book.
5 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
BREAKINGIN
Debut authors: How they did it, what they learned, and why you can do it, too.
5 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
Poetic Asides
No matter what you write, a bit of poetic license can be a valuable asset to any writer's arsenal.
3 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
Eli Keren (he/him) CURIOUS MINDS
Eli Keren was born in London. Prior to becoming an agent, he designed and synthesized novel drugs as a research scientist.
1 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
AGENTALCOVE
How One Sentence of Setting Can Transform Your Query Letter
3 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
Praising the Beauty of Creation and Making in Poetry
Judith Chibante, winner of the 19th Annual Writer's Digest Poetry Awards, shares the story behind her winning poem, “Naïve Beauty.”
2 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
Incorporating Self-Care Into Your Writing Routine
If you feel like everyone around you is committed to being busy and doing more, you're not alone. It’s almost like a badge of honor to be spread too thin. This is especially true if you're in a creative field.
4 min |
July/August 2025
Writer’s Digest
Endless Fields
THE CHALLENGE: Write a drabble—a short story of exactly 100 words—based on the photo prompt below.
1 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
Use the Tools of Journalism to Sharpen Your Research Skills
I started college in an art conservatory, but after a string of straight Cs, quickly learned that life wasn't for me. In search of a new calling, I decided I wanted to write novels. But instead of creative writing, I switched my major to journalism.
5 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
Literary Legacy
The next generation of authors stepping into the worlds of Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and Vince Flynn share what it takes to write estate novels.
10+ min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
"Any Resemblance to Real Events ..."
Whether hot off the presses or on the shelves for years, a good book is worth talking about.
3 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
The Way We Were
How to use pop culture as an unexpected research vehicle.
7 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
Laurie Halse Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson's newest book didn't start as a middle-grade novel, though that's what it would eventually become.
10+ min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
Comp Authors: Building a True Platform That Actually Sells Books
What are authors like you doing to connect with their audiences and communities? Don't agonize about “platform”—your literary role models already drew the map.
8 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
"See" Your Story Take Shape With Visual Note-taking
Creating a sketchnote can provide valuable insights as you brainstorm or organize your story.
5 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
The True Subject of Discovery
Whenever I visit the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation, I feel like an outsider, and I am in many ways. Yet I will always have an irrevocable connection to the place.
2 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
Working Through Personal Change With Personal Essay
For F.A. Battle, the grand-prize winner of the Writer's Digest 5th Annual Personal Essay Awards, writing “Ground Zero” was a way to work through a change within herself—or perhaps truer, to come to terms with who she always was.
3 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
From Traditionally to Self-Published
Romance author Lucy Day shares why she switched to self-publishing, what her biggest challenge is, and how confidence has played a role in her success.
5 min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
Writer's Digest 27th Annual 101 Best Websites for Writers
For the 27th year, Writer’s Digest is shining a light on 101 websites with a goal of helping writers in a variety of ways.
10+ min |
May/June 2025
Writer’s Digest
Avoiding the Dreaded Info Dump
Pouring too many details into a few pages is both the sign of an immature writer and an unfocused story.
4 min |
March/April 2025
Writer’s Digest
FINDING LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
How comic Gary Gulman effectively blends humor into his story of overcoming major depression.
8 min |
March/April 2025
Writer’s Digest
Stephen Graham Jones
They say you should never meet your heroes. But speaking with Stephen Graham Jones is a lot like speaking with your local theater nerd about the history of Broadway, except with a lot more goosebumps and nightmares.
10+ min |
March/April 2025
Writer’s Digest
Failure Is the Foundation
I can recall exactly where I was when I came up with the idea for my adult fantasy series, Emily Wilde.
2 min |