How to Use a Writing Workshop Critique
How to give and take a writing workshop critique without ego or hurt feelings, so feedback actually improves your draft instead of stalling your writing.
Take Notes on Your Writing Without Losing Voice
Learn how to receive feedback on your writing without losing your voice. A practical filter for notes, a real example, and mistakes to avoid when revising.
How to Write Your First Ten-Minute Play
A step-by-step guide to writing your first ten-minute play: structure, a worked example, common mistakes, and a checklist to finish a tight one-act.
Self-Editing Your First Draft: A Simple Order
A clear, repeatable order for self-editing your first draft so you fix structure before commas and keep your voice intact through every revision pass.
Writing Dialogue That Sounds Like Real Speech
Learn how to write dialogue that sounds like real people talking. Practical techniques, a worked example, and common mistakes writers make with dialogue.
How to Fix a Sagging Middle in Your Novel
Why does your novel lose steam halfway? Learn practical fixes for a sagging middle, from midpoint reversals to raising stakes and cutting filler scenes.
How I Built a Writing Habit That Finally Stuck
For years I treated writing like a special occasion. I waited for the right mood, the empty afternoon, the surge of inspiration that would carry me through a thousand effortless…
Writing Dialogue That Sounds Like People Actually Talk
Bad dialogue is easy to spot and hard to fix. It is the moment a reader's eyes glaze over, the line that makes a scene feel like a school play.…
How to Read Fiction Like a Writer, Not a Reader
Most people read fiction to find out what happens next. That is a wonderful thing and the reason stories exist. But if you want to write, you eventually need a…
Submitting to Literary Magazines Without Losing Your Mind
Sending your work out to literary magazines is one of the strangest parts of a writing life. You spend months making something private and true, and then you mail it…