Melissa Donovan | Writing Forward

Poetry: Making Music with Words

Most writers are primarily concerned with the meaning of the words they choose. Is the language precise and accurate? Do the words provide the best connotation for what the writer is trying to communicate? Does the language show, rather than tell? But poets take language a step further and push it into the realm of…Read More

Ideas for Writing Creative Nonfiction

In fiction writing, we’re often inspired by what-if questions: What if an innocent person is convicted of murder? What if humanity finds itself facing total extinction? What if that rabbit hole leads to a fantastical wonderland? Fiction is driven by imagination. Ideas for writing creative nonfiction often arise from experience and interest rather than imagination….Read More

Sneak Peek at “10 Core Practices for Better Writing” — Read More and Write Better

Today I’d like to share an excerpt from my book, 10 Core Practices for Better Writing. The book explores ten essential habits that every writer can adopt to become a master of the craft of writing. Today’s post features several excerpts from the first chapter, which covers the first and most important practice: reading. If…Read More

How to Prioritize Your Writing Ideas

There are always too many writing ideas or not enough of them. Some days, we writers are so overwhelmed with ideas, it’s impossible to get anything done. Should you work on your novel? That essay you’re writing for your favorite website? You have an original premise for a short story. And you feel a poem…Read More

Writing Resources: The Chicago Manual of Style

This post contains affiliate links. The Chicago Manual of Style is the most widely used resource for American English style, grammar, and punctuation. If you’re working on any kind of writing project and need a solid reference that provides answers for how to consistently apply style and grammar, then this is the book for you….Read More

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