Creating a compelling main character is essential to any work of fiction, but creating a character that is perfectly good in every way can be a recipe for a dull story. That’s why it’s important to make your main character flawed. By making your main character flawed, you can create tension, conflict, and depth that […]
Writing is a hard way to make a living, which is why a whole ecosystem exists to help you feel like you’re succeeding at it. Hashtags like #amwriting provide steady pep talks for people wading through the muck of a first draft. Dubious-seeming ads on Facebook peddle frictionless methods for selling thousands of copies of […]
I began listening to Wicca Phase Springs Eternal’s Full Moon Mystery Garden after I took two road trips through Death Valley, the first literal (in California) and the second figurative (in a hospital). So when I heard him say, “On a mountain under full moon / I could say goodnight and mean it” and then, […]
If a group of people is presented with a body of text, will they be able to spot the human-written passages over the AI-generated ones? The answer is, well — maybe. AI detection work is at the center of a University of Pennsylvania study in its School of Engineering and Applied Science. Chris Callison-Burch, an […]
Tyler Cowen: “I’ve never been convinced that AI will rise up and destroy the world or turn us into paper clips.” Understatement as talisman When Clare Cavanagh was first invited by a mutual friend to translate the poems of Adam Zagajewski, who died two years ago this month, how did she respond? “I froze, answered […]
Kate Folk is the author of Out There, a story collection (Random House ‘22). She has written for publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, One Story, Granta, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, and Zyzzyva. A recipient of a Stegner Fellowship in Fiction from Stanford University, she’s also received support from MacDowell, the Headlands […]
ChatGPT is Not the End of Writing A longtime university president and writing expert advises against banning the new AI bot — but to use it to teach more effective thinking that is purely human A Writer’s Resource, my co-authored college writing textbook, is about to be published in its seventh edition. While finishing the […]
Don’t feel like writing? Join the club. Sometimes life is too busy, and our brains are too crowded with schedules, appointments and commitments. Sometimes we lack ideas or confidence. A clear mind allows room for inspiration, but how can we banish the mental detritus? Nature can nurture, so heading for an unpeopled locale can be […]
Over 30 years ago, I received my bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Tennessee. Despite the passing of time, I still hold dear two items from my five-year educational journey: my framed diploma and a small book entitled “The Word: An Associated Press Guide to Good News Writing” by Rene J. Cappon. This […]
The songwriting process can be difficult, and when you’re struggling to come up with the words, you can get demotivated to carry on. Whether you’re struggling to expand your song idea or you need a fresh one, there’s always a way to deal with writer’s block. Fortunately, you don’t have to be stuck with writer’s […]
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