Don’t Preach: Craft an Emotional Experience When Writing Big Topics
In a post on Writer Unboxed, Kathryn Craft discusses the challenges of tackling important issues in your writing, while avoiding preachiness. Instead, Craft urges...
When Do You Know It’s Time to Cut Your Losses?
The sunk cost fallacy is a theory of human nature that says people will continue to invest in something - financially or emotionally -...
Jonathan Franzen: “The Novel Can Change Things”
During an interview with the Open Source podcast, Jonathan Franzen talks about the importance of writing about big ideas.
"I had this idea that the...
Marguerite Duras on Finding Stories Everywhere
In an excerpt from her book, Writing, acclaimed novelist Marguerite Duras shared how watching the death of a common housefly taught her that stories...
“That’s Not Writing, That’s Typing.”
Word count goals. NaNoWriMo. Writing sprints. Everywhere you turn, writers are told to ignore their inner editor, shut the thesaurus, tune out the world,...
Petty Slights or Systemic Violence: Vengeance Writing Can Help You Vent,...
Writers often joke about the role revenge plays in their writing. "Don't piss me off," they'll say, "or I'll kill you off in my...
How Much Honesty Can Your Writing Stand?
In a post on Writer Unboxed, Jim Dempsey writes about giving a colleague feedback on stories that fictionalize real people and events. The colleague...
Andrew Martin on the Fine Line Between Autofiction and Autobiographical Fiction
During a conversation with Lit Hub Radio's Thresholds podcast, Jordan Kisner, author of the new essay collection Thin Places, discusses the difference between autobiographical...
The Best Characters are Problematic
One of the key tenets of fiction is that your characters must be well-rounded. Your protagonists must have strengths and flaws. Your villains should...
Let Your Story Tell You What It’s About
Many writers don't fret about theme. They might have a basic idea about moral, but rarely delve into the meatier element of theme, preferring...
