Brave New Metaphors: Lessons From Science Fiction
No matter how you begin, pay attention as you write to the consequences of whatever newness you’ve introduced to the world of your story: How will life on Earth, or…
Seek the Unknown in the Familiar: Lessons From Historical Fiction
More than one hundred fifty years ago, Henry James wrote an essay about the art of fiction that remains today an important guidepost for all fiction—including the historical novel. And…
Cultivate Suspense: Lessons From Thrillers
What makes for a great thriller? In a word, suspense. Thriller writers know that readers expect high stakes, compelling characters, and a twisting plot to keep the pages turning. Top…
Embrace the “And Then”: Lessons From Fairy Tales
Years ago one of my students captured the idea of this slippery beauty. We were talking in class about “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” In the tale the princesses take boats…
Conjure the Strange: Lessons From Horror
Okay, you might be saying, “That’s all well and good, but how do you avoid the pitfall of exploitation, being gruesome simply for its own sake?” The genre is often…
Truing the Narrative: Revising for Symmetry to Make Your Manuscript Sing
I taught a seven-week course on revision in a church basement. I had about a half dozen students, all of whom brought either a chapter from a longer work-in-progress, a…
Dare to Defamiliarize: In Praise of Fluidity
Dissolving boundaries expands my craft arsenal. Openness to new mediums and genres expands my ideas and problem-solving. What if—for the sake of a good stretch and a cracked back, because…
Tumblr Dialogue how-to thread
“This is your daily, friendly reminder to use commas instead of periods during the dialogue of your story,” she said with a smile.
Our Opinions Are Correct: We’re Still Traumatized By This Writing Debate
Not long ago, everybody was arguing about whether characters need to be "relatable". We get to the bottom of a debate that still makes us intensely grouchy. Plus we talk…
5 Over 50: 2025
For a decade we’ve devoted space in each November/December issue to celebrate debut authors over the age of fifty with first books published during the current calendar year. The writers…