Melissa Donovan | Writing Forward

Poetry Prompts for Paying Tribute

Writers have been expressing their feelings through poetry for centuries. Rant poems release anger, melancholy poems reveal sorrow, and love poems declare affection. Some poems are meant to make readers laugh. Other poems make people think. Tribute poems (or odes) express praise for the poem’s subject. Odes can be written to honor people, animals, objects, and abstract…Read More

From 101 Creative Writing Exercises: You’re the Expert

Here’s an excerpt from 101 Creative Writing Exercises, a book that takes writers on an inspired journey through different forms and genres of writing while offering comprehensive writing techniques, practical experience, and ideas for publishable projects. Each chapter focuses on a different form or concept: freewriting, journaling, fiction, poetry, creativity, and article writing are all covered….Read More

Writing Description in Fiction

Today’s post includes excerpts from What’s the Story? Building Blocks for Fiction Writing, chapter eight: “Description and Exposition.” Enjoy! Without description, readers wouldn’t be able to visualize what’s happening in a story. We need to see the setting and the characters. Because there are no visuals in prose, writers must use words to describe a…Read More

Grammar Rules: Capitalization

Proper capitalization is one of the cornerstones of good grammar, yet many people fling capital letters around carelessly. Not every word deserves to be capitalized. It’s an honor that must be warranted, and in writing, capitalization is reserved only for special words. Most of the grammar rules are explicit about which words should be capitalized….Read More

Do You Need a Creative Writing Degree to Succeed as a Writer?

Young and new writers often ask whether they need a creative writing degree in order to become an author or professional writer. I’ve seen skilled and talented writers turn down opportunities or refuse to pursue their dreams because they feel their lack of a creative writing degree means they don’t have the credibility necessary to…Read More

The Benefits of Keeping a Reading Journal

I’ve kept a journal on and off since I was a kid. My journals are full of poetry, drawings, story ideas, and random thoughts. I’ve always wanted to keep a reading journal, but I usually inhale books, leaving little time between chapters to jot down my thoughts. I like to read at night, and by…Read More

A Few Good Writing Tips to Keep You on Your Toes

Have you ever gotten stuck in a writing project, and just when your frustration reached its peak, you heard some bit of sage advice that helped you see how to move forward? There aren’t many writing problems that a few good writing tips can’t solve. Whether you need to develop your voice or use fewer…Read More

Writing Resources: The Crafty Poet

This post contains affiliate links. One of my favorite classes in college was a poetry writing workshop. Sometimes we did poetry prompts or exercises. Occasionally we read and analyzed poetry. But mostly we shared our poems and received feedback that would help us see the strengths and weaknesses in our work. And then we could…Read More

Creative Writing Prompts That Explore Society and Culture

Today’s post includes a selection of prompts from my book 1200 Creative Writing Prompts. Enjoy! The unofficial motto of the United States of America is E pluribus unum, which means, “out of many, one.” It’s sometimes translated as “one out of many.” The phrase can be interpreted many ways. According to Wikipedia: “The traditionally understood…Read More

Poetry Writing Exercise: Creative Wordplay

Charles Dickens invented the word boredom. Sylvia Plath coined the term dreamscape. William Shakespeare gave us bandit, swagger, and gossip, along with over 1,700 other words that previously didn’t exist in the English lexicon. Writers have a long history of inventing new words, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. When we encounter an idea or…Read More