Writing Tips
Expert advice on all aspects of writing, updated weekly. To get Writing Tips in your inbox for free, join our newsletter.
Newest Articles
Negative Capability: What It Is and How to Access It
What is “negative capability”? In brief, when we as writers or artists are able to allow complexities and uncertainties in our work—without trying to resolve them—we are expressing negative capability. This phrase, famously associated with the poet John Keats (and Keats’s own admiration for William Shakespeare), can unlock for writers new ways of thinking about…
What is Free Writing? + Prompts to Elevate Your Writing Process
If you’re trying to write but can’t get the words flowing, free writing can jumpstart the writing process. Free writing is a no-pressure method of simply getting words on the page: similar to stream-of-consciousness, the writer simply lets their pen flow with whatever thoughts arise in the mind. It might seem silly to just write…
How to Write a Podcast Script: A Step-by-Step Guide
Want more advice on how to write a podcast script? Check out Cara Stevens’ Zoom webinar How to Start a Podcast. Cara J. Stevens is an author, editor, podcaster and book coach. She has written more than 80 books for young readers based on video games, pop-culture trends, and beloved characters including Pokémon Go, Terraria, and…
From Our Instructors
Overcoming Writing Anxiety
Editor’s Note: In this article, instructor Dennis Foley gives his best tips and perspectives on overcoming writing anxiety. His advice is geared toward novelists, but is equally valuable for any form of creative writing. We’ve all been there. Writer anxiety Yep, at some point in the process of writing a novel, you will suddenly be…
Embodied Writing: Interview with Rosemary Tantra Bensko
In this interview, Writers.com instructor Rosemary Tantra Bensko discusses her practice of embodied writing, a creative writing process that uses movement exercises to access the wisdom of the whole body. How did you get interested in the relationship between writing and the body? Around five years ago, I was reading the new reports that came out…
Five Tips for Aspiring Food Writers: Interview with Jennifer Billock
In this interview, Writers.com instructor and professional food writer Jennifer Billock shares her most important advice for anyone interested in food writing. 1. Don’t Be a Picky Eater The first thing is that you’d have to be willing to eat a lot of different things, and sometimes not super-pleasant things. For example, I was just…
Writing Tips Series
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How to Read Like a Writer
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Writing with Confidence
Writing Prompts
Jump-start your creativity with our writing prompts. Check back regularly for new prompts!
Show and Tell
Write a story or poem about an object with a lot of nostalgic value for you/the narrator. Do not, at any point, tell the reader explicitly what this object is.
Forgive and Forget
Write a story or poem about a time when you had to forget something to maintain a friendship or relationship.
Trash Day
Collect pieces of “junk writing”—spam emails, credit card advertisements, roadside billboards, bumper stickers, etc. Then, write a story or poem that uses all of the junk writing you collected.
