Let’s face it; sometimes we just don’t know the first word to type. That’s fine if you’re a mathematician, but as a writer, words are as necessary as air to breathe. Instead of fuming at your desk, staring at a cursor that’s mocking you with every blink, try your hand at one of these fiction writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing. Feel free to tell us how your story ended in the comments below! 1.) Write a scene using only dialogue, and start with the line, “He was just here two minutes ago!” 2.) Paint the picture…
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If you haven’t hopped on Twitter yet, you are seriously missing out on some wonderful connections in the online writing community. The key to successfully benefitting from Twitter is engagement, and hashtags make finding your tribe even easier—if you know where to look! Here are five trending hashtags to help you get inspired, find writing tips, and connect with readers and other authors. 1.) #WritingTip or #Writetip This is pretty self-explanatory, but there are some real gems under this tag. Writers are using this to share everything from inspirational quotes to practical advice about evolving and refining their craft. 2.)…
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Jump-starting the writing process can be difficult sometimes, which is why writing prompts are so popular. They give spark to the imagination, and provide the starting point to a story road map that only you, the author, can finish drawing out. Whether you simply use them to get your creative juices going, or the prompt triggers a memory that would serve as a perfect beginning, a little help with your writing topics might be just what the doctor ordered! For today’s free writing prompts, I’ve started with a descriptive paragraph. Read the paragraph, then write it out in your notebook…
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What’s the latest buzz amongst readers and writers alike? The Litsy app! Readers use it to find recommendations on the best books to add to their Amazon carts; writers and publishers can use it to connect with fans and each other. Publisher’s Weekly calls it “Instagram for books”, and BookRiot says it’s like “Instagram and GoodReads had a perfect baby.” Of course, we had to find out why it’s one of the fastest-growing literary apps around (and what that could mean for our authors) so Xulon Press sat down with one of the app’s creators, Todd Lawton, to chat about…