Writer's Digest

DERRICK CHOW (DerrickChow.ca) is a writer, comic creator, and illustrator. His debut prose novel, Ravenous Things, is out now from Disney-Hyperion. It is a middle-grade horror about grief, friendship, and the horrors lurking in the wild, uncharted su

Early on in my career, an agent asked me for a full outline of a novel I was working on. This person wanted to know what was going to happen, in what chapter, and to whom. This request was not intended to annoy or cause anxiety, it was so the agent c

“Keep an open mind about your writing. Getting too attached to a specific format, genre, or plot twist might prevent you from seeing other possibilities that could end up working out even better. If you get the opportunity to have your work critiqued

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Amy Jones SENIOR EDITOR Robert Lee Brewer MANAGING EDITOR Moriah Richard EDITORS Sadie Dean Michael Woodson ART DIRECTOR Wendy Dunning EDITORS-AT-LARGE Tyler Moss Jessica Strawser CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jane K. Cleland, David Corbett, B

I can’t connect with your characters.” I kept hearing the same feedback and was baffled. I was a character-driven writer. How could I mess up the one thing I was supposed to be good at? Like Anne of Green Gables, I sank into the depths of despair. Bu

Every author agonizes over a lack of promotion to some degree, and I’m no exception. But it occurred to me today, as I sat at my computer considering the best use of my time, that one of the biggest problems we have as authors is too much opportunity

WHY SELF-PUBLISH? I have created many books for other companies including entire series of books with product lines and merchandise. When the recession hit, my phone stopped ringing, and it was hard to find new work. It dawned on me to create my very

When I first started submitting my stories to magazines and publications, I believed, like many, that submitting was a numbers game. The more stories I had on submission, the higher my chances of getting a yes. I had a goal of having a minimum of 20

Whenever someone asks me for my go-to, tried-and-true writing advice, a lump will often form in the back of my throat. I know what they’re looking for. Little nuggets of wisdom such as you must join a writing group (meh), write every day (not really)

The Stranded (YA near-future thriller, January, Sourcebooks Fire) “In 2094, teenagers Esther and Nik struggle to escape the derelict cruise ship they were born on.” WRITES FROM: Lincolnshire, U.K. PRE-STRANDED: I wrote a few short stories that were p

Some authors resist the idea of plotting. They prefer to be guided by inspiration, and they worry that plotting will kill the spontaneity, the creative fire fueling their writing. If that describes you, you may be tempted to skip experimenting with J

In a college class called “Crafting Popular Fiction: The Anatomy of Suspense,” I shared the concept of TRDs. My students were asked to identify the TRDs in their assigned readings. Interestingly enough, they often didn’t agree, demonstrating that wha

Someone in my writing group has received an offer from an agent for a book she’s been working on for years. After we celebrated her success, I asked her what she was planning to ask the agent before she signs. She—and the others in my group—thought i

Publishing is a funny business. In many ways, it has very specific rules that writers must follow if they want to find success … that is, except for the times when they don’t follow those rules and still find success. As such, I want to share a few v

As I wrote the initial drafts of The Hollows, the second novel in my Kinship Historical Mystery series, I became stuck on how to reveal the backstory of the character who is the murder victim. Part of my challenge was that the victim, an elderly fema

The very first stories to enthrall me as a child were fables and fairytales. Engaging, efficiently told, and endlessly adaptable, these narratives gave me a taste of what makes a story tick. In a very real sense, they laid the groundwork for my liter

Produced by independent press Falstaff Books, this event launched in 2020 and focuses on writers of commercial fiction—thrillers, mysteries, fantasy, science fiction, horror, and romance. WHEN: March 10–12, 2023. WHERE: Winston-Salem Marriott in Wins

Creating an inclusive conference environment not only fosters camaraderie, but also enhances the success of your event. Most now operate with a non-discrimination policy. But many are taking diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) further with an acce

ANNUAL CALIFORNIA CREATIVE WRITERS CONFERENCE™, produced by West Coast Writers Conferences. March 2023. New Hilton Los Angeles Westside Culver City. Writers of all genres and disciplines will benefit from this educational and inspirational conference

These are just a few of the books inspired by (or are retellings of) Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that I’ve read over the years—and they never get old. Sure, I know the gist of the story and exactly how it’ll turn out. But that’s the point. I lo