How I Write Archives

MK Asante: How I Write

“When I think of my memoir, I ask, what are the different layers that will help create an experience? I want you to be immersed in my world.” Read More “MK Asante: How I Write”

“What is most important is psychological or soul understanding of characters. I’m not very concerned with what they look like so much as I am concerned with who they are on the deepest level.” Read More “Ayana Mathis: How I Write”

Soman Chainani: How I Write

Chainani is the author of a New York Times bestselling young adult novel, The School for Good and Evil, which is the first in a trilogy and is being turned into a movie by Universal Pictures. We talked about his topsy-turvy path to novel writing and Hollywood. Read More “Soman Chainani: How I Write”

Tanis Rideout: How I Write

“Revision is where the magic happens. I try to get through a first draft quickly (though not quick enough), so I can massage it and make it work.” Read More “Tanis Rideout: How I Write”

James McBride: How I Write

The National Book Award winner talks writing, inspiration and overcoming failure. Read More “James McBride: How I Write”

Gaiutra Bahadur: How I Write

As Bahadur, a journalist, set out to discover the lost story of her ancestry, she realized her great-grandmother’s narrative was not unique; it was “emblematic.” Read More “Gaiutra Bahadur: How I Write”

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. Read More “Nancy K. Miller: How I Write”

Amor Towles Interview: How I Write

The bestselling author of Rules of Civility reveals his writing process. Read More “Amor Towles Interview: How I Write”

Jonathan Maberry: How I Write

“I’m one of those people who was born wanting to tell stories.” Read More “Jonathan Maberry: How I Write”

Alice Hoffman: How I Write

While studying for her master’s degree at Stanford University, Alice Hoffman was approached by Ted Solotaroff, founder of American Review literary journal, and she quickly learned two cardinal rules of publication: Write often and write fast. Read More “Alice Hoffman: How I Write”