To be a writer, all you really have to do is write. But if you want to grow your audience, connect with readers, and sell more books, the best tool available right now is a newsletter. (Should Writers Use Social Media?) When I started writing my newsletter, in March 2021, I had a pretty straightforward idea: I’d share a poetry prompt each day for April, and anyone who wanted to join us could write along. For years I’d celebrated National Poetry Month by trading prompts with friends and writing a poem a day (or trying my hardest to), and I thought I could share that celebration with a wider gro ..read more

As we met to discuss her winning novel, Claire Fraise said something that resonated with every part of her writing and publishing journey: “I just try to keep a curious mindset and to explore and to keep doing something to move myself in the direction where I want to be going. Even when it can feel challenging.” After falling in love with dystopian YA fiction while reading series like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, she asked herself, “Why can’t I try writing one of my own?” For two years, she did nothing but think about her characters and write. Then she self-published that novel, titl ..read more

Alicia D. Williams is the author of Genesis Begins Again, which received Newbery and Kirkus Prize honors, was a William C. Morris Award finalist, and for which she won the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent; and picture books Jump at the Sun and The Talk, which was also a Coretta Scott King Honor book. An oral storyteller in the African American tradition, she lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram. Alicia D. Williams In this interview, Alicia discusses how a NaNoWriMo challenge in the early months of the pandemic led to her new middle-grad ..read more

Congratulations to the winners of the 11th Annual Self-Published E-book Awards! [WD uses affiliate links.] Grand Prize The Cruel Dark by Bea Northwick, NorthwickBooks.com Contemporary Fiction First Place Secret of the Hindu Kush by Anthony Stone, AnthonyStone-Author.com Honorable Mentions Jaguar Spirit by Zoe Hauser, ZoeHauser.com Pheidippides Didn't Die by Autumn Konopka, AutumnKonopka.com The Playgroup by Jami Worthington The Way It's Supposed to Be by April Garner, AprilGarner.com Fantasy First Place Children of Cain by S. L. Myers Honorable Mentions Find Them by Julia Ash, Jul ..read more

Well, we've only got a week of April remaining, so let's poem the heck out of the rest of this month. For today's prompt, write a maximum poem. Some people may recall that we wrote a minimum poem back on day 6; this takes that concept and brings it back the other way. In fact, one possible way into today's poem would be to see what you did on day 6 and turn it on its head. Or go somewhere completely new. Whatever you do, take it to the max. Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them. Note on commenting: If you wish to comment o ..read more

With the decline of traditional news media and the rapid rise of independent online reporting, journalism—as an industry and an institution—faces a huge crisis of confidence. (5 Different Forms of Journalism.) Technological advances and digitalization have drastically changed the way news content is created, disseminated, and consumed. Anyone with internet access can now reach a worldwide audience in seconds and receive immediate feedback. As a result, we’re seeing a proliferation of online independent and citizen journalists, and many consistently outperform their legacy media counterparts in ..read more

All freelance writers need to utilize some software packages (or apps), most commonly word processors, web browsers, and the Windows desktop PC platform. So, have you ever considered writing about software?  (What Are Software Articles, and Who Writes Them?) I’ve been a tech writer for many years and can confirm that software can be a reasonably lucrative online writing niche. Nor do you need to be a qualified IT professional to break into the software article writing market. It’s a reasonably accessible market you can break into by finding suitable tech websites (or blogs) to contribute ..read more

Photo by Salvatore Tonnara on Unsplash For today's prompt, write about the discovery of a lost world. Post your response (500 words or fewer) in the comments below ..read more

Zipora Klein Jakob holds academic degrees in Literature and History. She was a high school History teacher, a pedagogical counselor for university History education, and the manager of the Educator’s Promotion Division at the Open University. She also coaches memoirists. Zipora Klein Jakob Photo by Shirley Katzman In this interview, Zipora discusses the personal connection that drew her to write her new biography, The Forbidden Daughter, her advice for other writers, and more! Name: Zipora Klein Jakob Book title: The Forbidden Daughter Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher Release date: April 23 ..read more

Today is our fourth Two-for-Tuesday prompt, which would usually mean it's the final Two-for-Tuesday prompt of the month, but we're lucky this year: five Tuesdays! For today's Two-for-Tuesday prompt: Write a "(blank) of the Heart" poem, and/or... Write a "Heart of the (blank)" poem. Not sure what I'm talking about? Replace the blank in either of these phrases with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: "Total Eclipse of the Heart," "Coney Island of the Heart," "Heart of the Champion," and/or "Heart of the Nig ..read more