I update my gift-giving list year-round and keep it on my phone so that when I get an idea for a special person, I can buy the thing or save a note. I’ve gathered some ideas for gifts for writers and readers in case you’ve got a book person on your list. But who are…
My creative writing students and I get along well. We don’t see eye-to-eye on every story element we discuss, and that’s good and normal. But there is a topic that always seems to elicit an argument with a student or two. Not a knock-down-drag-out (we save those for our fights over the use of exclamation…
Titling short stories and poems is an art. I was thinking about this when American Life in Poetry sent this lovely Barbara Crooker poem to my inbox. It’s full of beautiful imagery, moving metaphors, and effective line breaks. But what caught my attention and what I want to comment on is the title… And Now…
Michael Crichton famously said (although he wasn’t the first to say it), “Books aren’t written, they’re rewritten.” This idea that a piece of writing becomes the best version of itself, maybe even a new version of itself, in the process of revision is as true for blog posts as it is for bestsellers. In this…
I was watching an episode of The Voice last night and I was thinking how the job of those singers and the job of a writer is pretty much the same. You’ve got a hot minute—less than a minute—to create some sort of experience your audience wants. Contestants on The Voice start out by auditioning…