What to do if you like the idea of writing daily but can’t seem to make it happen — I always wanted to be the kind of person who keeps a journal. I’ve played with journaling online and writing in a notebook, but it never seems to stick. When I read Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, I took her suggestion to write “morning pages” to heart. For several…

Surprising ways to discover plot opportunities hiding in plain sight — One of the most common complaints I hear from writers is, “I don’t know what should happen next.” Often when writers struggle with plots, it’s because we are overlooking hints and clues in our own work. A plot is just a series of events and the order in which those…

Can tech feed a writer’s soul? — One of the best things about co-managing The Writing Cooperative is connecting with writers from all over. Lisa Papademetiou writes for our publication but is also connected through other writing projects (if I can get my act together, you might hear her in a new season of our podcast). …

And three to start doing right now — The new year always feels like a fresh start. As Daniel Pink reveals in his book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, studies have shown that beginnings—of the year, month, or even week—can reinforce positive actions. But building new habits is extremely difficult, and many of us fall short…

Unlocking plot and character information with secrets The Ten-Minute Miracle These weekly mini-lessons/writing prompts are designed to jumpstart your thinking and help you practice the craft of storytelling. You should be able to read and complete the exercise in roughly ten minutes. Please post part or all of your response in the comments…

Using Light To Convey Emotion — The Ten-Minute Miracle These weekly mini-lessons/writing prompts are designed to jumpstart your thinking and help you practice the craft of storytelling. You should be able to read and complete the exercise in roughly ten minutes. Please post part or all of your response in the comments below for a chance to be featured…

Taylor Swift isn't just talking about an ex-boyfriend and a scarf, y’all You can always count on Dionne Warwick’s Twitter account.

Brighten up your poetry or prose with these fall items — Many writers resist using symbols in their work. It might seem high-flown or poetic, but the reality is that symbolism can have a tremendous impact on your reader. Symbols don’t have to feel forced; almost any setting can offer a wealth of opportunities for subtle symbols. Weather, for example, can…

Relationships and motivations are the keys to driving your plot forward — It can be hard to imagine plot points when we haven’t taken the time to fully explore our characters. That’s because every scene in your story depends on conflict to move the action forward, and where does conflict lurk? In relationships. All characters—even secondary characters—want something. They have an internal…