Play It Again, Sam: Tackling the Rewrite
In:
Rewriting
Sometimes the best way to tackle a revision is to just start over.
Typos: Funny or Foul?
In:
Grammar
Typos are a part of everyday life, but sometimes they can be downright dangerous. Here are three types, from the innocent to the egregious!
The Curious, Poetic Lives of the Rossetti Siblings
In:
Research
Born to a literary scholar obsessed with the works of Dante, siblings Christina and Dante Rossetti would respectively become some of the most famous poets of the Victorian era.
On Research: The World is Full of Experts
In:
Research
The author of 'The Last Policeman' trilogy extolls the virtues of going out into the real world for your research.
Edit My Paragraph! Episode Three
By Gayle Towell
In:
Rewriting
This monthly column explores writing craft by offering detailed edits of paragraphs submitted by readers.
Take Your Characters Out to Lunch: 5 Development Exercises
In:
Character
Like going on a date, character exercises are part of the process of getting to know another person better (in this case, an imaginary person).
Edit My Paragraph! Episode Two
By Gayle Towell
In:
Rewriting
This monthly column explores writing craft by offering detailed edits of paragraphs submitted by readers.
Live Dangerously with Second-Person Perspective
In:
POV
Second-person perspective is one of those things that becomes more intriguing the more you are told not to use it.
Storyville: How to Put Together an Anthology
Tips and information about how to put together an anthology of short stories.
Slipping Into Someone Else's Skin
In:
Character
Great characters aren't just words: they're living, breathing people, as real as you or me. But where do they come from? How does one birth a character with depth and soul?
Believing In the Nonexistent: An Introduction to Fictional Realism
In:
Abstracts
Have you ever wished that Rivendell existed so that you could go there next spring break? Fictional realists argue that technically, it does.
Storyville: Death in Fiction
Death in fiction — who, what, when, where and why.
Seven Songs, Seven Literary Devices — Celebrating the Poetics of Songwriting
In:
Literary Devices
Songs are poems, too. Or, the article in which I mention Katy Perry, Yeezy, Ezra Pound, Dante, and Flight of the Concords.
The Archetypes of Hayao Miyazaki
In:
Character
Revered Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement, but not before years of contribution to the art of storytelling.
Edit My Paragraph!
By Gayle Towell
In:
Rewriting
This column illustrates editing techniques by offering detailed edits to paragraphs submitted by the readers.
How To Break Up With Your First Draft
In:
Rewriting
You're staying with your first draft for all the wrong reasons. It's time to break free and get to the story you were always meant to write!
Storyville: Putting Your Life in Your Fiction
Some helpful tips for working your life into your fiction.
Library Love: America’s Athenaeums
In:
Research
Today's athenaeums are based on a four-thousand-year-old idea: that reading can be a social activity, and one that is necessary for the advancement of civilization.
It's Made Of SCIENCE: The Vacuum Of Space
In:
Research
Everything you need to know about the vacuum of space, its effects on the human body, and SCIENCE!
The Eternal Duel: A History of Commas
In:
Grammar
The Oxford comma has been a highly divisive issue within the literary community for many years. But how did it come to be this way, and is one side actually correct?
Storyville: Kill Your Darlings—How 'Game of Thrones' Can Change Your Writing
We can learn some valuable lessons about plotting, characters, and expectations from watching (or reading) 'Game of Thrones.'
Is Print the Popular Kid Again?
In:
Research
Print was supposed to die with the new millennium, but a number of digital publications have recently opted to go against the grain and begin production of hard copy editions.
Ask the Grammarian: How "snuck" sneaked in...
In:
Grammar
How "snuck" sneaked into the English language and we totally let it.
