Consider This Before Killing a Character
[From KMW: I’m taking a quick sabbatical this week. I’ll be back next Monday with a…
Interrupted, Again
William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Work Interrupted (1891). I’m fascinated by interruptions. Things are running along one way, one…
Chasing It Down the Elevator Shaft to the Subconscious: Or, Getting Hypnotized
Flashes of light pulsing through the nebula surrounding the protostellar object LRLL 54361. Image from NASA‘s…
Undisputed: Fury vs. Usyk
At about 1 A.M. local time in Riyadh, on a Saturday in late May, Tyson Fury…
How Naming a Character Is Like Naming a Child | Jane Friedman
Today’s post is by author Ginny Kubitz Moyer. Over the course of my life, I have chosen…
I Cannot
Licensed under CCO 4.0, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Last year, a formal tone that sounded nothing…
When Writing Gets Hard: 3 Hidden Causes of Writer’s Block | Jane Friedman
Today’s post is by regular contributor Susan DeFreitas (@manzanitafire), an award-winning author, editor, and book coach. One newspaperman,…
Top Three Rivers
The Nile River. Photograph by Vyacheslav Argenberg. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CCO 4.0. “Top…
Writing Lessons from Jane Austen: Story Questions and Northanger Abbey | Jane Friedman
Photo by Paolo Chiabrando on Unsplash Today’s post is by book coach Robin Henry. In case you…
5 Strategies for Writing the Parts You Don’t Like
For all writers, there inevitably comes a time when we encounter aspects of the craft that,…
Dorm Room Art?: At the Biennale
Walton Ford, Culpabilis, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Kasmin, New York. Photograph by Charlie Rubin….
Feral Goblin: Hospital Diary
Hospital corridor. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, public domain. When I entered the emergency room at 3…
Crafting Memoir with a Message: Blending Story with Self-Help | Jane Friedman
Photo by Google DeepMind Today’s post is by Maggie Langrick, publisher at Wonderwell Press. In my…
Anne Elliot Is Twenty-Seven
Hugh Thomson, engraving for chapter 23 of Persuasion, 1987: “He drew out a letter from under…
Choosing Story Settings Based on Genre | Jane Friedman
Photo by Laila Gebhard on Unsplash Today’s post is by author Jane K. Cleland. Join her…
At the Webster Apartments: One of Manhattan’s Last All-Women’s Boarding Houses
All photographs by Tess Little. I am greeted by the same sight that greeted tens of…
Find a Writing Buddy (Latest Edition!)
Need a writing buddy? A critique partner? A beta reader? Here’s your stop! Writers need feedback….
“What a Goddamn Writer She Was”: Remembering Alice Munro (1931–2024)
Alice Munro. Photograph by Derek Shapton. I reread “Family Furnishings” this morning because it is one…
Inside Alice Munro’s Notebooks
All images courtesy Alice Munro fonds, University of Calgary Archives and Special Collections” For her twenty-first…
The Compounding Value of Small Group Writing Retreats and Intensives | Jane Friedman
Photo by Ray Harrington on Unsplash Today’s post is by retired doctor turned writer Sandra Eliason….
How to Stop Gaslighting Your Memoir Writing Process | Jane Friedman
Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash Today’s post is by writer and editor Lisa Cooper Ellison. Join…
Old Friends
From Cletus Johnson’s Details from “Winter,” a portfolio published in issue no. 68 of The Paris…
Is Your Story “Big Enough” to Write About? | Jane Friedman
Photo by Pixabay Today’s post is excerpted from Heart. Soul. Pen.: Find Your Voice on the…
Wild Desire
Abstract 2 from Awash by Will Steacy, a portfolio that appeared in issue no. 177 of…
Defining Negative Space in Story | Jane Friedman
Photo by Randy Laybourne on Unsplash Today’s post is by author and book coach Deborah Ann…
Televised Music Is a Pointless Rigmarole
Herbert von Karajan directing Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in Milan’s La Scala theater. Aired in West…
Troubleshooting Your Story’s Ending
Hello, everyone, today we’re going to be talking about how to troubleshoot your story’s ending. Today’s…
New Books by Nicolette Polek, Honor Levy, and Tracy Fuad
Mural at the Amargosa Opera House. Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Gia wants…
The Poetry of Fact: On Alec Wilkinson’s Moonshine
Abandoned shack in rural North Carolina. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain….
The Double-Edged Sword of List Building Promotions | Jane Friedman
Today’s post is by author Brenda E Smith. I realized a lifelong dream when I self-published…