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Add spice to your writing with metaphors!

By Mina Vora If you have read Shakespeare or Dickens, you may have come across the metaphor; ‘as dead as a doornail.’ By and large, door nails are neither alive nor dead, unless you are caught in a mystical realm of elves and gnomes. But you have to agree, the metaphor evokes ideas in the…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty Seven

Creative Writing Scholarships for BIPOC Writers

By NmaHassan Muhammad The following four scholarships are open to writers who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC). The final scholarship opportunity is also open to LGBTQ+, neurodiverse writers, and writers with disabilities. All the information below is as detailed on the scholarship websites. Gotham Writers’ BIPOC Scholarship 2021 The Gotham Creative Writing…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty Seven

9 Spooky Places to Submit Your Writing this October

— By Kallie Falandays If you’re like us, the chill air has you reaching for the spookiest books on the shelf. And as the pumpkins, skeletons, and ghouls make their way out this October, you may even find them creeping into your own poems. We may not be able to gather round the fire for…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty Six Special Feature

5 Benefits of Joining a Writers’ Group and 6 Considerations When Selecting One

by Robert Villanueva Joining a writers’ group might be intimidating and finding the right one can take a little effort, but the benefits of doing so can be worth it. As founder/facilitator of The Bard’s Corner Writers’ Group in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, I have witnessed members, including myself, reap these benefits firsthand. Here are five benefits…

Issue Four Hundred Forty Seven

The Problem With Inspiration (And What to Do About It)

By Karen Hanson Stuyck Every writer knows that exhilarating moment when inspiration hits. Aha! Eureka! All those unconnected thoughts at last are woven together into a cogent—quite possibly brilliant—narrative. You dash to your computer or the closest piece of paper to capture the flood of words. After so many unsuccessful attempts, the story seems…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty Five

How to Successfully Encourage Preorders

By Aliya Hall Preorders are an integral part of the publishing process, whether you’re publishing traditionally or indie. That said, it can be a challenge to encourage readers to order your book early instead of waiting until after its release. Preorder incentives are one way to not only draw more hype around your book, but…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty Four Special Feature Uncategorized

Easy Character Creation Through 25 Core Elements

Sarina Byron Have you ever discarded manuscript after manuscript owing to a lack of that special something? Everything you write seems to be missing that special zest, that soul and you don’t know what it might be. Well, let me assure you that you are not alone. Every writer has gone through this and there…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty Three Special Feature

The Creative Unconscious in Writing

— By Clive Matson In her presentation of books for writers, Van Baalen’s choices suggest spells, enlightenment, nefarious doings, and lighthearted play. What would you think of “Cozy Mysteries,” “Steal Like an Artist,” “Beyond Fear,” “Bird by Bird,” and “Bones”? Adult versions of Dungeons and Dragons? These books deal with magic. The ones I most…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty Two

What Writers Need to Know About Newsletter Service Providers

By Olaitan French Many contemporary writers build their audience and supplement their income by creating a newsletter and sending it through a subscription service. Newsletter service providers allow content creators and individual writers to carve out a revenue program either as a side hustle or as a full-time business venture. Very little technological knowledge is…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty One Special Feature

5 Types of Editing That May Help Your Manuscript

By Zenstateofmind Editing is part of the writing process. It is something every writer must do in order to polish their work and help readers connect with the stories they are telling. Editing takes many forms, some focusing on the story on the sentence level, and others from an overarching structural level. Below I break…

Issue Four Hundred Thirty

3 Effective Ways to Boost Your Writing Productivity

By Abdulraheem Jameel Ango It is a not-so-hidden secret that writing takes more than just the ability to write. The ability to write, ideas, resources, all these are part of the ecosystem of writing; the largest and arguably most important part of this ecosystem is productivity. Productivity is simply the act of producing quality work…

Issue Four Hundred Forty Five

Why Writers Should Take Online Writing Classes

By Nancy Franklin There is nothing like staring at a blank screen for hours on end, especially if you’re a beginning writer. If you find yourself procrastinating in ways that range from obsessively checking Facebook and Instagram, hitting the delete key on everything you’ve written, to wearing a path to the refrigerator for snacks, taking…

Issue Four Hundred Twenty Nine

Clubhouse for Authors

By Bhupinder Singh As new and emerging writers, and aspiring authors, we all know the power of a platform and an audience base that can later be converted into a reader base To grab a deal, especially for traditional nonfiction publishing, a platform plays a vital role. For indie authors, the platform is a major…

Issue Four Hundred Twenty Eight Uncategorized

What an Author Needs to Know (from the Editor’s Perspective)

By Colin Newton It’s perfectly understandable. An author, hot on the high of getting their work published and their online presence in shape, might start to keep a tally of how many clicks to affiliate links they’re registering. And while their click count goes up, their sales do not, at least not as much. “I’m…

Issue Four Hundred Twenty Seven Special Feature

25 Books That Writers of Fiction Should Consider Reading

By Theresa van Baalen The number one way to improve your writing is to write. But equally as important is learning more about your craft. There are many books on the subject of writing. Whether it is inspiration you seek; advice on harnessing your creativity; or information on plotting, characters, genres and other aspects of…

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Articles by A Guest Author