To touch readers' hearts, you need to "find the universal in the personal" and apply the tools of craft. Here's how.

How a systematic, trial-and-error approach helped a writer break into full-time writing.

A former newspaper editor shares important lessons she learned on "the other side of the fence"—lessons she's put into practice as a freelance writer.

What's a freelance writer to do when an assigned article sits and sits without pay?

For Tim O'Brien, the Vietnam War has remained a crucible in his fiction, but the power of imagination and memory, and "our elusive interior worlds," loom large, too.

By pairing an active imagination with what you already know, you can create an enjoyable, realistic story—even if you're writing a fantasy tale.

Whether your fictional place is real or made up, our much-published writer has faced the issue of setting many times.

"Toxic feedback" has justifiably gotten a bad name. But the more constructive variety, if you approach it right, can become an invaluable resource in helping you write more—and better.

Learn from this writer and others why it may help to get out of your comfort zone and write in many genres. Among other things, she says, it keeps your income varied and your mind fresh.

Learn how one freelance writer put her new knowledge to work in landing markets.

Here's one author's suggestion for a process you can use to improve your nonfiction.

In history-based novels and screenplays, how much can you embellish the facts? Our writer, who has worked in both genres, shares some observations.

From a top copywriter, tips on how to satisfy your clients with results-driven copy for direct mail, e-mail marketing and other assignments.

Assignments from regional publications can get you through tough economic times—and provide a sense of community, too.

Film and fiction merge provocatively in the year-old literary journal Electric Literature. Learn about its tone, editorial preferences and contributors.

How the Internet is tempting writers to rely on "somebody else's legwork," plus Stephanie Dickison's regular bimonthly column on the freelance life, how a "sniff test" can save old books, and more.

A review of The Weekend Novelist Rewrites the Novel: A Step-by-Step Guide to Perfecting Your Work by Robert J. Ray.

A review of Publish This Book: The Unbelievable True Story of How I Wrote, Sold and Published This Very Book by Stephen Markley.

For Audrey Niffenegger, author of the popular novel The Time Traveler's Wife, writing is "pure play, a way of recording daydreams."