The Time is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem exploring the complexity of love, a short story that withholds the backstory of a character, or an essay considering a time in your life in which you wanted to become someone new.
Department: The Literary Life
The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem set in the imagined world of your favorite film, a short story in which a character spends the entirety of the story alone, or an essay about the stresses of the holiday season.
Making Space: A Farewell Ritual for the Debut Book
After months of writing, editing, and promoting, the author of Diaries of a Terrorist created a ceremonial practice that allowed him to say goodbye to his first book of poetry and open up to new dreams.
What Is Meant for You Is Always Meant for You: A Mindful Approach to Writerly Competition
Competition keeps us comparing ourselves to others writers—but what if in fact there’s plenty of opportunity to go around? An author and editor invites you to recalibrate your mindset by offering insights from his mindfulness practice.
Laugh Tracks: How Humor Works on the Page
Humans are pattern-making creatures—and upending patterns is one great way to leave your reader laughing. A former poet laureate of Mississippi deconstructs the brain’s desire to understand and explains how to craft the perfect joke.
The Pressure of Young Promise: What Is Success and at What Point Should We Give Up Trying to Attain It?
The author of The Evening Hero unravels the expectations that she carried with her in the nearly two-decade-long journey to the publication of her novel and shares some of the advice that helped her get to the finish line.
The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem that takes the format of your favorite game show, a short story around the protagonist’s relationship with a job, or an essay about your favorite objects at home.
The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem addressed to your younger self, a story about two characters entangled in a summery whirlwind affair, or an essay built around a road trip.
The Productivity Equation: Building a Writing Practice While Living With Limitations
The author of The Collected Schizophrenias explains how to take stock of your available resources, assets, and tools in order to develop a robust and sustainable writing practice that acknowledges limitations.
The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem about your vision of the future, a story around a single life-altering event, or an essay about an animated work that inspired you.
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