“Do the things that do not compute. Be earnest. Be devoted. Be subversive of ease. Read aloud. Risk yourself,” writes Colum McCann at the start of Letters to a Young Writer, encouraging aspiring writers not only to learn the rules, but also to break them. Each short essay in this collection examines different aspects of both the craft and the profession of writing fiction, with titles such as “Don’t Write What You Know,” “Finding the Right Editor” and “To MFA or Not to MFA?” The book offers inspiration and concrete examples, welcoming writers to trust their own voice and most importantly, to write.
