J. S. WonginThe Writing Cooperative·Mar 2Member-onlyHow To Write Flash Fiction5 tips on writing stories with less words — Flash fiction is a type of short story usually 1,500 words or less. Sometimes they might only consist of a few words. Despite their brief length, they’re complete stories. Although writing shorter fiction has its own challenges, it’s good practice for any writer to sharpen their focus, tighten up their…Flash Fiction4 min readFlash Fiction4 min read
Flynn HannaninWriters Republic·Aug 23, 2022Essentials of Direct CharacterizationOne of the key elements in writing that helps readers visualize a fictional character is through direct characterization. The primary objective of the writer is to enable readers to visualize who certain characters are and how they will interact with each other. …Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
J. S. WonginThe Writing Cooperative·Feb 11Member-only4 Tips To Start Writing Your MemoirA guide for writers who want to share life stories — A person’s life holds so many stories. However, have you considered writing about any of them? Whether you’re interested in sharing tales from your life, want to make sense of the past, or simply desire to record your experiences, you might choose to write a memoir. Unlike an autobiography, memoirs…Memoir5 min readMemoir5 min read
Margery Bayne (she/her)inThe Writing Cooperative·Jan 25Member-onlyWords I Use Other Than “Said”My dialogue tag confession — One common guideline in the world of fiction writing regarding dialogue is to only use “said” in your dialogue tags. …The Short Of It4 min readThe Short Of It4 min read
Diane Callahan·Feb 2, 2022Member-onlyBuilding Tension in a Scene: “The Queen’s Gambit” by Walter Tevis“Suspenseful” is not how I’d describe a game of chess, but Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel The Queen’s Gambit is the exception. The incredible popularity of the Netflix show, which is a beat-for-beat adaptation of the book, proves that the source material succeeds in creating narrative tension. “Tension” can be defined…Fiction8 min readFiction8 min read
Flynn HannaninWriters Republic·Dec 20, 2022How to Efficiently Use a Comma in your writingAs a writer, it is important that you know how to use all the tools at your disposal. Remember that writing is very technical, and one misplaced comma or misused word could change the entire tone of your work. The comma is a particularly important tool, and has a lot…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Diane CallahaninThe Startup·Mar 26, 2020Member-onlyThe Complete Guide to Writing Fiction in First PersonIn terms of point of view (POV), most authors either write in first person (using the pronoun “I”) or third person (using the pronouns “he,” “she,” or “they”). Here, I’ll cover the ins and outs of first person, including: Advantages and disadvantages of a close POV Types of first-person narrators…Writing13 min readWriting13 min read
J. S. WonginThe Writing Cooperative·Dec 2, 2022Member-onlyHow To Write a VignetteSharpen your prose by capturing snapshots in time — I first encountered vignettes when I was writing short stories and discovered a publication dedicated to the literary form. I ended up writing a few pieces for fun and submitting them. As my first foray outside of fiction, I discovered the benefit of vignettes in improving my prose. …Vignette4 min readVignette4 min read
Courtney MauminCreators Hub·Apr 15, 2021Member-onlyThe Revision Tool Your Frazzled Brain NeedsWhy a beat sheet is the best way to see the forest for the trees — Vaccinated or not vaccinated, employed or underemployed, it is really hard to write right now. And it’s no picnic to revise. Your mind wanders, the very act of writing feels futile, maybe irrelevant. But you must create — you must! When we write or revise well, it takes us out…Kiwi20214 min readKiwi20214 min read
Aigner Loren WilsoninThe Writing Cooperative·Jan 31, 2021Member-onlyThe Complete Alpha and Beta Reader GuideEverything a writer needs to understand, find, and use alpha and beta readers to foolproof their story — When you complete a story and edited it to the point where you think it is good, that is when you turn to beta and alpha readers. Critique groups aren’t the same as beta and alpha readers, however. …Writing9 min readWriting9 min read
Kelly Eden | Essayist | Writing CoachinInspired Writer·Aug 28, 2021Member-only5 Perfect Stories for Weekend Escapist ReadingMy favorite Medium contest entries this week — I can’t stop reading the Medium contest entries. I always say contests bring out our best work as writers, and this has certainly been true on Medium this month. Grab a comfy chair and let these incredible writers wrap you up in their worlds. Each essay is a few minutes…MWC3 min readMWC3 min read
Boateng SekyereinInspired Writer·Aug 25, 2021Member-onlyI’m Surprised Many Writers Are Sleeping on This Free ResourceYou need to open a separate file for it — My heart beats as I drive the cursor towards the draft. To click or not to click? I dread reading the private note the editor may have left on my latest article. I change my mind. I ignore the draft, and I get back to typing another one. I tell…Writing4 min readWriting4 min read
Nicole BianchiinCopywriting Secrets·Aug 20, 2021Member-onlyHow to Use Close Reading to Improve Your WritingGet more out of the books you read — Many famous writers have stressed the importance of reading to become a better writer. Stephen King observed is his memoir On Writing, “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. …Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Shaq CherisinCreators Hub·Apr 20, 2021What Makes for a Great Personal EssayExpert advice from a roundtable of editors — There once was a time where journalists were proclaiming that the personal essay was dead. In 2017, Jia Tolentino wrote in the New Yorker that, “The Internet made the personal essay worse, as it does for most things.” Now, in 2021, that couldn’t be further than the truth. The first-person…Writing6 min readWriting6 min read
Mike B.inThe Writing Cooperative·Jul 23, 2020Member-onlyStop Telling Writers to Show, Not TellHow a well-meaning piece of advice gets twisted around — We’ve all been there. You find yourself a beta reader, or you swap manuscripts with another writer, or you take a creative writing class. You share your story and wait for feedback and eventually, inevitably, you get the following advice: “Show, don’t tell.” Ugh. This is the most common advice…Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
David W. Berner, The Writer ShedinThe Writer Shed·Aug 18, 2021Member-onlyYou Don’t Need a Writing CoachAt least … not yet … I recently saw a post on one of my social media feeds from someone asking if other writers offer ideas on who he should hire as a writing coach. …Writing Tips3 min readWriting Tips3 min read
Lauren McMenemyinLondon Writers’ Salon·Aug 7, 2021Up Close With: Nicola SlawsonMeet the wonderful writers and patrons behind LWS. — Fairy Godmother to singles everywhere, Nicola Slawson is one of our community’s leading journalists and life writers. She is spurred on by the human experience, and is driven to tell very real stories with empathy and intelligence. …London Writers Salon6 min readLondon Writers Salon6 min read
Amy ShearninCreators Hub·Aug 5, 2021How to Master the Art of the EssayOr at least write a pretty good one — It’s officially Hot Word Summer around here — right? can we get that going? no? hm — what with our Summer Creator Workshops, The Medium Writers Challenge, and the ongoing Write Here prompts. Somehow I feel like I’ve been through a lot in the past pandemic-and-a-half. And writing is how…Writing5 min readWriting5 min read
Amy ShearninCreators Hub·Jul 29, 2021How to Write an Essay Everyone Wants to ReadFive steps to creating a meaningful personal narrative — My colleague Harris Sockel and I recently facilitated a workshop about essay writing as part of Medium’s Creator Workshop Series, and we wanted to share some of the takeaways here. (The workshop was recorded, too — you can watch it here, and we’re embedding it below.) As editors at Human…Writing8 min readWriting8 min read
