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Workaday Writer: The Importance of Routine
December 02, 2022
That’s what a routine helps you do: it is a ritualized action that gets baked into your day so that you don’t have to spend any time thinking about whether you feel like doing it or would rather go have coffee with friends.
- On the craft
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Story Skeleton—The Great Gatsby
November 18, 2022
Keep in mind that story structure is more about convincing readers to keep turning pages than it is about how to write a story. Within the dimensions of narrative structure, there are still limitless possibilities.
- On the craft
- Story Skeleton
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Everything I Know About Writing I Learned from the Rolling Stones
November 15, 2022

Mick Jagger probably never realized this, but he and his bandmates knew a lot about how to write a good novel.
- On the craft
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- 1 comment
Writer's Block—Myths & Realities
November 08, 2022
Good things take time. And writing, like any craft, involves an apprenticeship period. It’s not a block. It’s a learning curve. Embrace the mess.
- On the craft
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- 1 comment
Setup Is Not Stasis: How to Write a Gripping First Chapter
October 12, 2022
Context plays an important role in fiction and narrative nonfiction. It adds depth to the characters, the setting, and the conflict. Context is also your best tool for creating in readers a sense of participation. The trick lies in subtlety.
- On the craft
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Five Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Dialogue
September 28, 2022
A sign of well-written dialogue is when you’re reading it without making any active effort to understand who’s speaking or what their mood is like.
- On the craft
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Should you pay for beta readers?
July 10, 2022
Readers are diverse; they each bring their own expectations and preferences to any story they read. As such, it's best to get a wide range of opinions about your narrative.
- On querying
- On the craft
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How to self-edit your novel like a pro: the two pillars of storytelling
July 06, 2022
The author’s first job, whether they are writing fiction or narrative nonfiction, is to transport readers into their characters’ world.
- On the craft
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Story Skeleton: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
May 29, 2022
What Oates controls so beautifully in this story is the quality and intensity of escalation.
- On the craft
- Story Skeleton
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Resource Review: George Saunders' Story Club Substack
May 06, 2022
Comments are supportive and personable and warm; it truly does feel as though we’re all in a giant MFA cohort together, and remarkably, I often fall into thinking Saunders is speaking directly to me.
- On the craft
- Resource review
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Five Things to Do in Preparation for Working with an Editor
April 26, 2022
Getting your book professionally edited is crucial if you want to be able to compete with other titles in the market, but it can also be daunting when you’re doing it for the first time.
- On the craft
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Story Skeleton: Stargirl
April 11, 2022
We don’t particularly need subplots or B-stories or great complexity because the character of Stargirl herself is so compelling, so glowingly fresh and well-drawn, we are charmed into turning each page.
- On the craft
- Story Skeleton
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