Category Writing and Publishing

The Other By Ted Hughes

She had too much so with a smile you took some. Of everything she had you had Absolutely nothing, so you took some. At first, just a little. Still she had so much she made you feel Your vacuum, which…

Suiting Up For Battle

I looked down at my hand while I was line editing and had to chuckle. I look like I’ve had an injury, but in fact the three band-aids I have on are to protect my fingers from writing calluses. Who…

A Tip For Making Writing Goals And Being A Happier Writer

Here’s a tip for making writing goals in 2015: don’t focus on accolades and publications. Instead, focus on output. As a writer, you have no control over what people think of your work. That means you have no control over…

Every Day Failing For Five Years

Here’s part of an essay by Junot Diaz about the difficulty he had writing The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. It’s pretty astounding what he went through. This essay originally appeared in…

Jack London’s Writing Advice

Jack London may have been frequently drunk but he was also like the Stephen King of his day–the most famous, highest-paid writer around. He wrote 1,000 words a day, 6 days a week. This discipined practice allowed him to be…

Jack London Is Drunk

“I’se so drunk right now.” “Iz this sail-ma-bob thing help me stand?” “Whee I on a tree bench!” “Look at ma bootiful body. Athlete.” “These guys are the BEST. Best guys, youdon’tevenknow.” “Okay, horsie, you hold still, I’sa goin’ ride…

White Whale

One often hears of writers that rise and swell with their subject, though it may seem but an ordinary one. How, then, with me, writing of this Leviathan? Unconsciously my chirography expands into placard capitals. Give me a condor’s quill!…

I Took A Chance

From Margaret Atwood’s interview in The Paris Review: INTERVIEWER Has motherhood made you feel differently about yourself? ATWOOD There was a period in my early career that was determined by the images of women writers I was exposed to—women writers…

Should You Be A Writer?

Everyone wants to be a professional writer! Or so it seems sometimes. In my life, it’s more unusual to come across someone who doesn’t want to write than someone who does. I love my job, but writing is very difficult.…

The Giant Sloth of AWP 2011

I don’t have much to say about AWP 2011, the writing conference I attended last week. There are many posts on it out there, all similar in nature, with people name dropping the other cool people they hung out with.…

Ack! Ack! Ick!

I put a lotus flower in a piece of fiction I’m writing. In the scene, I started to describe the center of the lotus flower, but then I realized I didn’t have a clear idea what it looked like, so…