There’s a reason it’s called the rough draft – it’s not easy. We’ve all been there – your head bursting with ideas, you sit down at the keyboard, fingers poised for action and then nothing—cue anxiety. Claire Maloney offers some tips to overcome first-draft anxiety. Experiencing anxiety while writing is regular and is a feeling […]
Are you struggling to write your first novel? Tired of not knowing if your idea is any good or how to tie up all those half-written chapters? Well, we’ve got a solution for you. The Writers College Global Novel Writing Competition is open for entries. We are searching the world for the next big thing […]
Boston University’s Creative Writing Program held its annual faculty reading on Feb. 10, what Annaka Saari — the program’s administrative coordinator — called “a buffet of inspiration.” 2023 marks the first year the event has been in-person since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Your voice is your instrument,” said Saari. “Hearing people read their […]
There is a yearning in us — in me, I should say, but I’ll stick with the presumption of “us” — for closeness. A closeness so true we might be able to stave off loneliness, if not permanently, for long enough to forget its concept entirely. We, humans, write poems, make love, play music, hold […]
‘I am obsessed with violence,’ James Ellroy once said in a TV interview. ‘I am obsessed with twisted sexuality. I am obsessed with jealousy, greed, overweening ambition.’ These are excellent qualifications for a crime writer, and Ellroy has often been called America’s finest. Steven Powell’s brilliant, unflinching biography reveals how the novelist’s obsessions are rooted […]
Learning to write trains your imagination to construct the person who will read your words. As the first student papers of the academic semester come rolling in, college and high-school teachers are expressing concern about ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence interface that responds to queries with competent, if boring, paragraphs. It opens up whole new vistas […]
Aside from the corporate gimmicks, Valentine’s Day is about treasuring love. In the age of digital communication, a handwritten letter is the last thing on anyone’s mind. But the physicality of a page filled with prose straight from the heart makes it an appealing gift. But of course, writing vulnerable feelings elegantly is a tough […]
