by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 30, 2025 | Editing, Encouragement, First Drafts, Getting Feedback On Your Writing, Learning from Other Authors, Practicing, The Craft of Writing
In the last few articles, I’ve talked about how to learn from great books as well as how to learn from books you don’t like. There are lots of other ways to learn about the craft of writing, including but not limited to taking classes, attending conferences, reading...
by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 15, 2025 | Learning from Other Authors, Reading, The Craft of Writing, Writing Life
Since I recently talked about learning from great writers and books you love, it seemed fitting that we should also talk about learning from books you don’t like. Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned as a writer are from books that I never finished reading....
by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 1, 2025 | Learning from Other Authors, Mentor Texts, Practicing, The Craft of Writing
Last week, I had the privilege of visiting the Louvre and Orsay art museums in Paris. One of the sights I most enjoyed was the art students sitting in front of sculptures with their sketch pads on their laps. This feels like a sensible way to learn as an artist,...
by Stephanie Morrill | Sep 17, 2025 | Author Life, Getting Published, Learning from Other Authors
Two weeks ago, I had lunch with a writer who I met a few years ago when I was teaching at a conference for teen writers. That lunch is the reason why there’s a new article on the website today, so if you’re excited about fresh content, you can say,...
by Jill Williamson | Jan 31, 2024 | Creativity, Elements of Fiction, Fantasy, Guest Posts, Learning from Other Authors, Plot, Speculative Fiction, Story Ideas, Story Structure, Writing
Ellen McGinty is an author and editor of Young Adult fantasy and historical fiction. She lives in the Tokyo metropolis with her husband, three boys, and a hypoallergenic cat. When not writing or editing, you can find her exploring the wilds of Japan with an abundance...
by Jill Williamson | Jan 17, 2024 | Description, Editing, Learning from Other Authors, Point of View, Writing
Becky Dean is a fan of adventures both real and fictional. She writes contemporary stories of teens finding themselves and falling in love in fun, far-off places and science fiction stories about young people traveling to new planets (and also falling in love)....
