Whenever the world feels particularly cruel, when the news cycle is at its harshest, people often turn to novels for comfort or escape. It’s not a bad way to show yourself some kindness. Many years ago I suffered an early miscarriage and stayed in bed for days reading The Chronicles of Narnia. Although I’m a…
I recently learned that the Japanese have a word—“tsundoku”—for the habit of buying reading material and letting it pile up. I love that someone named this phenomenon. I adore my baskets of magazines, shelves of books, and nightstand pile. Until now, my word for this has been “decorating.” Every new book in my hands is…
You’ve dumped the clay on the table. You’ve sculpted it into a story, an essay, a memoir. You’ve reconsidered it and reworked it. You’re happy with it! Now it’s time to revise. We’ve all got to get through the next step, and I’ve collected some advice from writers who know a thing or two about…
I love first sentences, first paragraphs, first pages. I love the promise of transport and transformation for the reader and I love the creative opportunity and challenge for the writer. I love good story beginnings. The stakes are high—with all the work that goes into writing a book, or even an article, what if no…