Imagine The Shining taking place in a shopping mall. Or the movie Se7en set in sunny Florida. It just wouldn’t work. The setting of a…
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Tag: story
The Hero’s Journey: The Key to Writing Your Hero Meeting the Mentor
Great stories are filled with great characters. One of the most common characters in any story is the Mentor, a must-include character if you’re writing…
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5 Inspiring Writing Quotes From African American Authors
This week, we lost an incredible writer. Toni Morrison was a novelist, essayist, editor, professor, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Her perhaps…
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Staff Picks: From Aphorisms to Zorn
While there are many things to say about philosophical weightiness of the aphorism, or about its particular wit, it is my personal feeling that…
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How to Develop Story Ideas Into Amazing Stories
I often hear practicing writers ask, “What if I can’t think of anything to write about?” Sometimes they even have notebooks full of observations, but…
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Staff Picks: Ballet, Bob Dylan, and Black Smudges
Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Photo: Erik Tanner. The legendary profiler Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s debut novel, Fleishman Is in Trouble, lives up to the hype. In it, the hardworking…
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Vote for the Winner of the Summer Writing Contest
Last week, hundreds of writers submitted their stories to the Summer Writing Contest. I’ve so enjoyed seeing how these stories have developed. Our contest Facebook group…
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Can Constrained Writing Make You a Better Writer?
Before we talk about the concept of constrained writing and tell you how it works, let me ask you this: Have you ever opened a…
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Enter Our Summer Writing Contest, Win Prizes, and Get Published
Have you ever wanted to write a story readers loved—and even win some amazing prizes for it? Join our Summer Writing Contest to write an…
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10 Critical Mistakes Writers Make in Writing Contests
You work hard to write your best story—and if you’re honest, you’re pretty sure it’s amazing. You share it with other writers to get their…
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