So You Want to Write? Blog

The Top 10 Tips For Writing Great Short Stories

Guest post by Willie Handler, author of two satirical novels, The Road Ahead and Loved Mars Hated The Food. Not every writer has the passion and...

Character Checklist Fiction Short Stories Tips

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The Ultimate Guide To Writing YA Fiction [2020]

This is a comprehensive guide to writing young adult (YA) fiction, designed to help you form your thoughts into a shape that will hook your readers and keep them flipping the page!

Character Fiction Guide Mackenzie Belcastro Publishing Tips YA Young Adult

Rejecting Rejection

Guest post by author Samantha Dodd. Twitter: @authordodd So you’ve finally finished your manuscript, poured your time, energy, heart, and soul int...

Author Fiction Motivation Publishing Tips

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[UPDATED] Online Writers’ Conferences you can Attend in a Pandemic

Guest post by author Phoebe Yu. Twitter: @writersdayjobs. Updated August 28, 2020. As schools and businesses shutter amidst the COVID-19 pandemic...

Fiction Guide Nonfiction Publishing Workshops

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3 Ways Successful Writers Show Up For Themselves

Guest post by Jordin James. Twitter: @justjordinjames "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the grea...

Author Fiction Motivation Nonfiction Publishing Tips

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Plotting & Pantsing: The Hybrid Method of Writing

Guest post by author Cal P. Logan. Twitter: @CalPLogan I’ve noticed something funny on Twitter recently—the plotter vs pantser debate ha...

Author Fiction Guide Tips

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Short Stories: An Interview with Novelist Dennis Bock

This article appears in Vol I., Issue III of Raconteur Literary Magazine, our in-house LitMag (available December 2019). Interviewed by Tevis Shko...

Author Fiction Interview

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How Much Character Development is Too Much?

Guest post by author Chase Connor Writers should develop characters like they do their relationships. We meet a coworker, a new friend, a romanti...

Character Fiction Manuscript Publishing Tips

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The Submission Package: Your One Chance to Impress

By Jessica De Bruyn, Professional Editor The scariest time to be a writer is when you’re sending your work out into the world for the first time...

Editing Fiction Jessica De Bruyn Manuscript Nonfiction Professional Editing

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9 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Editor (by a Professional Editor)

By Jessica De Bruyn, Professional Editor As an editor, one of the most common questions I get is, “When should I hire an editor?” This is not a q...

Editing Fiction Jessica De Bruyn Manuscript Nonfiction Professional Editing

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An Interview with Literary Agent & YA/Kidlit Expert Ali McDonald

For this post we interviewed literary agent Ali McDonald. She’s the lead agent specializing in YA (Young Adult) and children’s literature at lite...

Ali McDonald Fiction Literary Agent Query Letter Tips YA Young Adult

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The Top 10 YA Tropes & How to Avoid Them

No time to read this article? Download it as a PDF checklist! Download this Checklist! By Michael Pietrzak The Young Adult (YA) ge...

Checklist Fiction YA Young Adult