[FEATURES]

Taming the Beast
BY N.M. KELBY
The best ideas can start out running wild—but you'll need to train them onto the page if you want to write that novel you have inside of you. Here's how.

How to Make Your Novel a Page Turner
BY ELIZABETH SIMS
Never underestimate the power of suspense—in any genre. Use these surefire techniques to make your book one readers won't be able to put down.

Fact Into Fiction
BY KAREN DIONNE
Details, details. You need them to make your story believable, but too many can drag your plot to a halt. Here's how to strike that just-right balance of fact in your fiction.

Take Your Novel to the Finish Line
BY LIN ENGER
You need stamina to transform that out-of-shape first draft into a story with staying power. Use these four revision strategies to make your novel go the distance.

90 Secrets of Bestselling Authors
COMPILED BY JESSICA STRAWSER
Your favorite writers share their take on ideas and inspiration, style and craft, plot and characters, rituals and methods—and everything in between.

THE WD INTERVIEW: Lawrence Ferlinghetti
BY ZACHARY PETIT
An enduring icon of the Beat Generation, poet, artist and City Lights co-founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti reflects on literary uprisings—past, present and future.

[COLUMNS/DEPARTMENTS]

INKWELL
EDITED BY ZACHARY PETIT

• Inspiration vs. Perspiration
• Bob, The Column
• The Novel Afterlife
• You Are What You Read
• Poetic Asides
• Sea Change
• 4 Tips for Boosting Your YA

Ask the Pro: Chris Richman, Agent
BY KARA GEBHART UHL

Breaking In: Debut Author Spotlight
BY CHUCK SAMBUCHINO

MFA Insider: Low Residency, High Rewards
BY SENA JETER NASLUND

Questions & Quandaries
BY BRIAN A. KLEMS
When to query agents; copyrighting titles; MFAs

Your Story: My First Job as a Teacher
BY REBEKAH REAVES

Conference Scene: Can't-Miss Events
BY LINDA FORMICHELLI

WRITER'S WORKBOOK
Submitting Your Novel

Basics of a Solid 3-Paragraph Query
BY ANN RITTENBERG

Your Guide to an Effective Novel Synopsis
BY CHUCK SAMBUCHINO AND THE EDITORS OF WRITER'S DIGEST BOOKS

Make Rejection Into a Plan of Action
BY WENDY BURT-THOMAS