If your piece just crashed and burned, maybe it’s because one or more traffic cones stood in the way of a good read.

It was an incredible moment for the author of a young-adult novel: A whole school had read her book and wanted to engage with reading and writing.

The author writes a playful thank-you letter to you, a collaborator on his work.

Your readers have no particular emotional attachment to the person, place or thing you’re feeling compelled to write about. So why not first ask yourself three key questions to determine if your autobiographical subject is reader-ready?

Having trouble distinguishing a high-concept novel from an upmarket one, or voicey from airless? Our writer offers some useful definitions.

An editor took a chance on Margaret George, and good thing she did: George is now one of the leading authors in this demanding genre.

Give readers the right descriptive details so they can create a picture in their heads. And who should know better than our illustrious author?

Here are some tips on keeping your readers engaged in your voyage of personal discovery.

This roundup of gems from an array of accomplished authors, including Elizabeth George, Debby Applegate, Thomas H. Cook and Patricia Smith, will boost your motivation and strengthen your work.

Yes, there are some potential disadvantages to shorts, but their benefits may be worth the effort, as our writer outlines. Plus, see a sidebar by John K. Borchardt offering this veteran’s four strategies for succeeding with shorts.

Screenwriters Derek Haas and Michael Brandt have found Hollywood success with similar sensibilities—and a process that values strong characters, rapid drafts and endless revisions.

How an agent’s key question about characters, and what they have to lose, helped boost the quality of a published memoir. Any writer can put it to work.

Four freelance writers offer solid tips for branching out into a complementary field.

Here’s what you need to get your book on the shelves of this popular genre, from an author of three published memoirs.

This month’s spotlight is on the literary journal Grist, out of the University of Tennessee, describing its tone, preferences and contributors.

Tips on not dating your writing with overused words and phrases, plus other literary notes, Lisa Shearin’s regular bimonthly column, and an excerpt from a new writing book.

A review of The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage and Ed Gandia.

A review of Write Starts: Prompts, Quotes, and Exercises to Jumpstart Your Creativity by Hal Zina Bennett.

A review of The Secret Miracle: The Novelist’s Handbook, edited by Daniel Alarcón.

This month offers listings of agents, literary magazines and publishers, as well as publications on contemporary culture and current events/politics, and ethnic/multicultural magazines. Plus, find information on conferences and contests and tips from editors at Vista and Italian American.

For veteran short-story writer Mark Wisniewski, revision is “where a story comes alive.” Delete one phrase, he says, and you can “change an entire world.