Colum McCann: Literary treaty
Find out how this best-seller and National Book Award winner thinks about craft.
Alicia Anstead
Gene Perret, comedy veteran
This comedy writer for the stars says jokes aren’t magic. They’re hard work.
Dream big and be persistent
Don’t be intimidated by today’s publishing environment. The key is the same as it’s always been: dream big and never give up.
Lin-Manuel Miranda: Use your space
Lin-Manuel Miranda is the Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of “In the Heights.” He’s an actor and composer, who identifies as a writer.
Wake up wanting to work
Do you want to tell the story of your life?
The play’s the thing
Listening to someone else is challenging. Listening to myself required a new skill set of awareness and belief.
Mary Gordon: Dropped by an angel
In The Writer Interview, Mary Gordon talks with editor Alicia Anstead about crafting scenes and dissects a paragraph from her book “The Liar’s Wife.”
Beverly Jenkins: How I Write
“I revise as I go. It’s a slower process, but the manuscript is tight by the time I send it to my editor.”
Blending the boundaries of genre
Do you identify with a certain genre? Or do you shun labels for your work?
What does it take to write a book?
There’s something to be said for just sitting there.
Le rire mécanique
How can you make ‘em laugh?
Celebrating nature in writing
We hope you enjoy this issue’s stories about playwriting, role-playing, magical realism, the woes and wonders of a good editor, tips from paperback writers and much more about the life and craft of writers.
Madam, I’m Adam: An interview with Ariel Schrag
Editor Alicia Anstead talks about craft with Ariel Schrag.
The old house of poetry
Eliot said: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” We hope this issue finds you sitting with writers whose work engages you and pushes you far. And again farther.
Becoming fearless
Bravery may not always be easy. But it certainly forces us to prevail in the presence of danger and fear, which nearly every writer confronts.
Finding inspiration in everything
Whether on a beach watching the sunrise, around the table in the writers’ room, at your work space in the midst of family chaos or alone in your cave, inspiration is the invaluable element of all writing.
Your role in shaping the next generation
Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, librarians, friends and community leaders all play a role in literacy. And so do writers. That last group – the writers – is the topic for this issue. If you’ve written a children’s book, middle grade book or YA book – or if you want to – you’ve come to the right place.
A good way to end a year
While we were putting this issue together, we were thinking of the ways in which you as a writer might be assessing the last 12 months. What did you accomplish? What made you proud? How did your writing move to the next step, stage or discovery?
When you’re a writer, life can slip into strangeness
Making a work your own is what drives us, whether we’re employed by a corporate organization or slaving away at a desk in a living room in the Florida swamps.
What makes you squirm as a writer or editor?
To survive as creative people, we take risks. We stay up late. We teeter between worlds. Nearly every writer in this issue refers to the persistence you must have to be a writer.
The most influential people in your writing life
Since this is September, the official back-to-school month, we’ve had classrooms on our minds here at The Writer.
Not long ago, an out-of-town friend and I were sitting in a train station
I like to think of our magazine as being the same kind of “meeting at the depot” experience for our readers – except our topic is craft.
People who use language in unusual ways
Break the rules and discover a new truth.
Glen Duncan: Divided nature
Novelist Glen Duncan brings his vampire and werewolf stories to their final resting place.
Not long ago, I was sitting in the rush line
As I waited for the lights to come up, it struck me – not for the first time – that stories are utterly ubiquitous in the world.
The “cruelest month'”
Calling April the “cruelest month” has become a sound byte that creeps into nearly every National Poetry Month press release and blog post. Of course, … Read More “The “cruelest month’””
What are you searching for in your writing?
What are you searching for in your writing? That’s a question the best editors, writing coaches and our own instincts help each of us answer … Read More “What are you searching for in your writing?”
Monica Wood: Up in Mexico
Monica Wood talks about writing novels, researching personal stories and growing up in Mexico, Maine, the setting of her memoir.
For most of us, February is the dead of winter
For most of us, February is the dead of winter. Yes, there’s Valentine’s Day – a hot spot in one of the chilliest months. (And … Read More “For most of us, February is the dead of winter”
A new year is upon us
While we can’t say exactly what tomorrow will bring, we can do lots to point our compasses toward the brightest stars.
Proximity to accomplishment
Do you ever forget the first writing teacher who steered you toward a career?
Nancy K. Miller: How I Write
“I wanted to smoke in a left Bank café,” Miller says. “I wanted to be sophisticated and daring, nothing like my nice-Jewish-girl self and her nice Jewish parents from whom I longed to escape.” What she found in Paris, however, was a deeper connection to her parents – and a sense that liberté may lie elsewhere.
The “truth” about nonfiction writing
During the final stages of putting together each issue of this magazine, I am almost always surprised by a theme that stealthily slips into my … Read More “The “truth” about nonfiction writing”
Making novels
Last year, The Writer staff conducted a survey in which we asked readers what area of writing interests them the most. The largest percentage replied: … Read More “Making novels”
Years ago when my sister was visiting
Years ago when my sister was visiting, she deposited a lucky charm in my garden. The polished green glass stone remained hidden for a long … Read More “Years ago when my sister was visiting”
We’ve been thinking about structure
Here at the Boston office of The Writer, we’ve been thinking about structure. How do you structure a story, a pitch, a writer’s life? Within … Read More “We’ve been thinking about structure”
August. It’s a month like no other.
August. It’s a month like no other. And it has particular resonance for writers because of its heightened luminosity and vivid testimony to nature’s cycles. … Read More “August. It’s a month like no other.”
We’re entering the time of year
We’re entering the time of year many of us think of as vacation time. Or as I like to call it: reading season. For readers … Read More “We’re entering the time of year”
Get tweety
Attending a writers’ conference or book festival? Share the experience through Twitter.
A Capitol Poet
Poet Richard Blanco shared the stage with President Barack Obama on inauguration day. He’s hoping poetry will find its way from the Capitol steps back into daily life.
The Holy Grail of publication
Ever since writers have produced manuscripts, they have searched for the Holy Grail of publication. While the process has rarely been easy and almost never … Read More “The Holy Grail of publication”
As we were preparing this issue
As we were preparing this issue of The Writer, our editorial team gathered stories about craft and markets and trends and publishing. All worthy topics. After … Read More “As we were preparing this issue”
Nina Revoyr: How I Write
“The first draft is like throwing a hunk of clay onto the wheel. It’s literally getting down the raw material, and revision is my way of going back to shape something from that.”