With a nod to Tom Wolfe, one of America’s top writing coaches offers a close look at how round characters can be grown from the seeds of detail.

Here’s some advice on getting your materials into a “rough lump” of an article that can be shaped into a finished product.

If a free writing assignment will return multiple benefits to you, it can sometimes be the right thing to do, our writer found.

Why you don’t need a routine or a special place to write. Even a closet will do, our writer argues, and he’s not joking.

Better-than-average writing delivers some atmosphere and edge, and a little twist, too, our opening-page critiquer finds.

Four of our veteran contributors pick some choice online destinations for literary advice, inspiration and camaraderie.

For novelist Caroline Leavitt, her stories begin with a character and a question, and sometimes her own life or phobias.

There is nothing like a “There is” phrase to suck the energy right out of a sentence.

How one author overcame her reluctance to engage with social-media sites and instead developed a successful routine that puts them to work.

Our author shows you how to create this promotional tool at little or no expense.

After enduring an IRS tax audit, our writer has some tips for you on how to prepare and respond. They could save a big headache.

The writer’s advice and choice examples could add new energy to your stories.

Our writer has found it a great aid for her fiction and offers some useful tips for starting your own.

For screenwriter Ken Storer, the road to landing a staff-writer gig on a popular television drama all began with 9/11.

Amid all the changes in the book industry, here’s what you can do to make your fiction stand out.

Set in the heart of the publishing world, this event usually attracts around 25 agents.

Our busy Toronto correspondent tells you what you need to know about writing for readers north of the border.

This month’s spotlight is on the young literary journal Black Clock, describing its tone, preferences and contributors.

An astronomy workshop for writers, landing new gigs from local seminars, plus Stephanie Dickison’s Letter From Toronto column, a question for Ask The Writer, and much more.

Reviews of three newly released writing books.

This month, a list of agents, publishers, contests, conferences, magazines, writing programs and self-publishing services.

Jacqueline Winspear, creator of the Maisie Dobbs series, says there’s sometimes a silver lining in a writer’s day job.