Writer's Digest

WD posed the question to readers on our social media: “How do you know when your story has found its perfect ending?” Readers responded: Follow @WritersDigest on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more writing conversations and prompts. ■

“I didn’t like the ending,” I said to my favorite college professor. It was my junior year of undergrad, and I was doing an independent study on Victorian literature. I had just finished reading The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, and I was heartb

Amy Jones Robert Lee Brewer Moriah Richard Sadie Dean Michael Woodson Wendy Dunning Tyler Moss Jessica Strawser Jane K. Cleland, David Corbett, Bob Eckstein, Jane Friedman, Steven James, Barbara Poelle, Elizabeth Sims, Jeff Somers, Kristy Stevenson,

ALLISON K WILLIAMS, author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book, has edited and coached writers to deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, and St. Martin’s, as well as literary and indie presses. After 20 years as a c

As you might expect, the editors of WD read a lot of books and not all of them make it into the magazine. Here are seven books from 2022 that we can’t get out of our minds. BY SHIRLENE OBUOBI (ADULT ROMANCE, AVON, JUNE 2022) “An incredibly sweet nove

The englyn penfyr is a Welsh form. While many englyns are quatrain (or four-line stanza) forms, this one is based around the tercet (or three-line stanza). Here are the guidelines: • Three lines per stanza• First line has 10 syllables• Lines two and

In her bestselling book Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott shares one of her now-famous secrets of good writing: shitty first drafts. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts,” she writes. So true. But Lamott has another piece of advice abo

Writing the end of a story isn’t always the end of the book. Even if there’s no sequel, there’s more to say, and it goes in the back matter. In marketing, it generally costs less to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. A book’s back ma

Anybody’s Daughter, Failure to Protect, +12 others (Legal thrillers; Goldman House Publishing) WHY SELF-PUBLISH? I didn’t choose self-publishing; it chose me. My first two books were traditionally published, but my publisher rejected my third. So did

At its very heart, I believe that there is only one story arc in the world: There’s a character in an uncomfortable situation and they must find a way to resolve it. They can do this either by changing the situation, changing themselves, or destroyin

Like all awesome things in this world,1 the freelance life is not for everyone.2 Making your living as a freelance writer takes a lot of hustle and stresstolerance, and it can be difficult to figure out how to freelance in the first place. There are

The Symmetry of Fish (Poetry, October, Penguin Books) WRITES FROM: Clemson, S.C. PRE-SYMMETRY: I followed the academic route by pursuing an MFA and Ph.D. This book was written during those times and when I wasn’t working on poetry. TIME FRAME: The ea

Many of my students and clients spend years working on a debut novel, only to discover that to get a literary agent’s attention they need to publish something—maybe a few short stories in literary magazines. But writing a great (or even publishable)

When I was a newer writer, I bought a drink for a famous old novelist at the hotel bar after a long conference day. When he’d consumed half of it, I asked him for advice on crafting good, satisfying final chapters. He snapped, “Your ending depends on

… and I lived happily ever after. If only writing the end of your memoir was that easy! But life doesn’t always resolve neatly. What if you didn’t make it to the top of the mountain or your child is still an addict? Writing about loss? Chances are yo

Maybe you’re ready to submit, but you’re still not in love with that working title typed across all your novel files. You might have even planned to change it all along, expecting the perfect title to fall in your lap one day, but those elusive words

Like most writers, Jill Madden Melchoir has been putting pen to paper for as long as she can remember. But perhaps unlike most writers, Melchoir’s writing didn’t start with stories or poems: “It was writing lists of stuff I liked, literally just list

Everything about writing, selling, and promoting a book is hard. And sometimes, no matter the diligence and creativity you bring to the project, success eludes you. If this describes your experience, you’re not alone. Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A.

Jonathan was fine with losing the house. He was completely fine with losing his marriage. But not Maya. She was the only reason Jonathan even tried to make it work with Tamara for two years too long. Hunched over the dining table with his face buried

I received a request for my manuscript from a top agent, and after two days, received a phone call about representing my debut novel and was presented a contract for the term of one year. A few days after signing, I received a list of around 50 edito

When I think about “The End,” I think of a good story. And while poetry and nonfiction are capable of delivering a good story, I wanted to focus on a few fiction magazines this time, though some of these markets do publish poetry and nonfiction as we

If you have had pitches accepted or published, based on my column, please email me at estellesedge2022@gmail.com with “WD Story” in the subject line, and you may be in an upcoming issue. Speaking of pitching editors, my Estelle’s Edge is to put the t

Truth be told, on the one hand, I’m terrible at journaling. Yet, on the other hand, if pressed to name my creative writing superpower … I’d answer “journaling.” There are all kinds of ways to journal—and one might just become your superpower. Traditi

When it comes to creating realistic vegetation for your world, you want just enough detail to give your world texture and believability without overwhelming the reader with a bunch of explanations that are not going to serve your plot. To do this, a

Open to writers (16 years and up) of all experience levels. Applications due Dec. 1, 2022. All applicants will be notified by Jan. 3, 2023. WHEN: Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2023. WHERE: Some meetings will be held at the Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning,