April 27, 2021
Seven Tips From Ernest Hemingway on How to Write Fiction
Before he was a big game hunter, before he was a deep-sea fisherman, Ernest Hemingway was a craftsman who would rise very early in the morning and write. His best stories are masterpieces of the modern era, and his prose style is one of the most influential of the 20th century.
Hemingway never wrote a treatise on the art of writing fiction. He did, however, leave behind a great many…
April 20, 2021
What Writing and Chemistry Have in Common
by June Converse
Every day I want to become a better writer – deeper characters, more compelling plots, mesmerizing sentences. But that was not where I started.
Six years ago I wrote my first novel, not because I had any desire to be an author but because the main character kept coming…
April 13, 2021
How to Write a Short Story That Captivates Your Reader
by Jerry Jenkins
Editor's Note: We welcome submissions to Write City Magazine, the Chicago Writers Association online literary publication. If you have a short story you would like to submit, read this article first. If you're satisfied that you meet Jerry's requirements we'd love to read your work. Here are our
April 6, 2021
3 Techniques for Creating Tension
by Tim Storm
Let’s talk reader engagement. It comes from tension and from the reader’s anticipation of change. And there are three situations a writer can create in order to cultivate dramatic tension and to get readers anticipating change: mystery, suspense, and dramatic irony.
These labels name “story/audience relationships,” notes Robert…
March 30, 2021
What Photography Can Teach You About Writing
By Maggie Smith
Three years ago, my photography instructor gave our class this assignment: spend a day taking pictures which, when put in the right order, tell a story. And coincidentally, the next Sunday I was set to attend my first Green Bay Packer game at Lambeau Field where we were pitted against…
March 23, 2021
The Journal as Alter Ego
By Tina Jenkins Bell
When it comes to maintaining healthy emotional balance and sound mental health, the struggle is real for writers. This is a particular reality after being trapped in our homes for nearly a year during the pandemic with only our minds--- pregnant with creativity, self-criticism, and frustration--- and Netflix to turn…
March 16, 2021
Make the Unbelievable Believable
by Samantha Hoffman
We all know that truth is stranger than fiction. How many times have you heard someone say, "If I didn't know for a fact that was true I wouldn't believe it"? How many books have you read where something happens and you say,…
March 9, 2021
How to Begin Writing a Book
by Samantha Hoffman
Many of us have stories, personal and otherwise, that we think would make a great book, but not many of us ever write them because the process of writing a book seems so daunting. And it is. But if you never try, your story will never be told. Who knows?…
March 2, 2021
Cave Cities, Broken Elevators, and Robots
by Kristin Oakley
When I wrote God on Mayhem Street, I created Frank Townsend’s family farm even though I didn’t know a thing about farming. As part of my research, I toured a friend’s farm and recruited Veterinarian Bill Stork to read my manuscript. His feedback gave Frank’s farm the authenticity…
February 23, 2021
All Editors are not Created Equal
By Jim Dempsey
I got a worrying email from an author last week. He had contacted me about a year ago for a free sample edit. He mailed me back after I’d returned the revised text to say he was happy with my work, appreciated my insight, but he had decided to go…
