In July, my fellow Story Street Writer, Margaret Speck Ogawa, wrote the article, “Get Inspired and Find Your People: Attend a Writers Conference.” After reading about her enriching experiences at events across the country, I decided to try a conference but stay in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia.…
A Conversation with New York Times Best-selling Author: Jess Walter
Jess Walter is the author of eleven books that include a #1 New York Times best-seller (Beautiful Ruins), an Edgar Award winner (Citizen Vince), a finalist for the National Book Award (The Zero), and an NEA Big Read (The Cold Millions).…
5 Important Craft Books Every Memoir Writer Needs
Whether you’re crafting your first personal essay or wading into the depths of a book-length memoir, here are five books for guidance and inspiration.
3 Steps to Hook the Heart of Your Reader: Advice From Brandon Sanderson
When was the first time a book broke your heart? Is its memory still vivid enough to pinpoint where you were, what time it was, the moment that the crest of emotion forced you to put the book down for several deep breaths? …
Ending Stories with Style
Coco Chanel famously said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” Meant to curtail over-accessorizing, her fashion advice, a mantra for simplicity and elegance, can, in many ways, be applied to writing. From the sentence level to complete manuscripts, writers are encouraged to strive for concision—replacing a dull string of words with one perfect pearl or an awkward stitching between paragraphs with a seamless transition.…
How to Write Your Way to Carnegie Hall
Yes, you can get better at writing the same way you can get better at other skills. The key is deliberate practice.
We’re leaving Hemingway writing trends behind — and that’s a good thing
Modern English writing trends enforce a Hemingway dogma that is far out of step with human experience. Fortunately, we are leaving all that behind. I hope. I think we are. Aren’t we?
All of us amateur writers have heard things like:
- Don’t use purple prose (and, swear to God, if you rhyme, we’re getting pitchforks)
- Don’t use too many adverbs (you get one ‘‘-LY’’ token per page)
- Don’t ever use a big word if a smaller word will do
- Be concise
and be brief and be minimal - Cut anything unnecessary
These modern English writing trends result in manicured gardens.…
What I Learned Judging a Flash Fiction Contest
Several judges contributed to the first “Story Street Writers’ contest, the Nightmare on Story Street 100 Word Horror Story Contest.” I was the loudest proponent of the contest and due to my Catholic guilt, I poured myself into the shared task of judging the first two rounds.…
Bringing first person intimacy into third person narratives: a lesson from Ha Jin
I like the intimacy of first person. The direct connection with a character, the lack of any barriers between us – this tends to be what sucks me into a book. (It’s even better when the lines between reader and protagonist blur entirely, as in Ulysses or Liu Yichang’s The Drunkard.)…