Talya JankovitsTHE DENOUEMENT: HOW DOES IT END FOR REJECTED WRITERS? I have been having a hard time with endings lately. Poems, short stories, dare I admit, essays. I’ve been considering this a lot, what this could mean, all these unfinished…
A Writing Tip by Federico EscobarDIM THE SCREEN TO TURN OFF YOUR BRAIN There is a well-intentioned person who gets in the way of my ideas bursting onto the page. This person is eager to please, wants to make sure…
Andrea CaswellA CRAFT CHAT WITH KIM MAGOWAN In her story “The Back Nine” (Issue 45), Kim Magowan shows us a character with a growing list of personal losses, trying to come to terms with the lost connections that still haunt…
A Writing Tip by Clifford ThompsonDUALITY IN THE PERSONAL ESSAY Duality is the soul of the personal essay. I sometimes tell students that while the province of speeches and op-ed articles is certainty, the domain of the personal essay is…
A Writing Tip by Snowden WrightTRIAL AND ERROR At an Oxford, Mississippi, courthouse last summer, I sat in on the trial for the most recent person to try to assassinate my father, a circuit court judge. Things went poorly for…
A Writing Tip by Jess SilfaCREATING READER INVESTMENT IN YOUR CHARACTERS As I write (or rewrite) a piece of fiction, I ask myself a few questions: Why does the story start when it does? What does my chosen point of…
Andrea CaswellA CRAFT CHAT WITH RICHIE ZABOROWSKE Andrea Caswell: “Stay on the Line” begins in media res, in a hospital during a medical emergency. What made you decide to start there? With short stories, it can be hard to know…
A Writing Tip by Layla MurphyIN A WRITING RUT? TRY FREE ASSOCIATING The idea that psychoanalysis and the art of writing have significant common ground is not revolutionary. What is explored, what can be learned, what challenges must be faced—in…
A Writing Tip by Chuck AugelloBeat the Clock Estimated reading time: 3 minutes During my years as a working writer I’ve had opportunities to participate in public readings and open mic nights, including a “slam” in which I placed second…
A Writing Tip by Moriah HamptonWhen Willpower Isn’t Enough Recently, I set aside a story I’d been working on for over a year. I did so reluctantly after revising the opening section to build to certain plot points I selected…
Andrea CaswellA CRAFT CHAT WITH HANNAH SMART Hannah: I developed the concept for this story first. I knew I wanted to write a piece that questioned the nature of truth, and I knew that in order to do that, I’d…
A Writing Tip by Shoshauna ShyThe Almost-But-Not-Quite Poem Three weeks of wrangling words into position—and still when you cap your pen or click Save, there’s a crumpled shirt tag chafing at your neck. Something isn’t right. Why does your poem…
Andrea CaswellA Craft Chat With Monique D. Clark Andrea: Congratulations on “The Love,” (Issue 44) which feels like a perfect short story. It’s got it all: deep love, disenchantment, humor, food, family secrets, and a profound moment of truth, encapsulated…
Andrea CaswellA CRAFT CHAT WITH SUE MELL In her flash CNF piece “Transported” (Issue 44), Sue Mell takes readers on a joy ride through a coming-of-age friendship. Mell shares insights about writing the story with senior fiction editor Andrea Caswell.…
A Writing Prompt by Layla MurphyHate Christmas, You’re Allowed Bah humbug—this again! Christmas is right around the corner, and whether you celebrate it or not, you’ve surely got some holiday sensory-overload by now. I thought we should turn things topsy-turvy…
A Writing Tip by Jen MathyBooster Clubs Don’t Just Sit in The Stands A successful writer today has a whole new set of responsibilities. Yes, your primary role is that of artist and writer. First, create. Then, with the understanding…
A Writing Tip by Layla MurphyWRITE LIKE YOU’RE DYING I never knew what a death doula was until I listened to an episode of NPR’s Life Kit the other day focused on relationship repair. It seemed odd at first that…
A Writing Tip by Michelle Bitting FINDING GOLD IN LOST TREASURE “There is something to be said for a boundary, there is something to be said for unbinding.” ~ Diane Seuss I remind myself and my students to write with…
A Writing Prompt from Anne AnthonyBEGUILING
A Writing Tip from Leonard KressHEADLINE POETRY I was driving to work a few weeks ago, listening closely to a news report about the survivalist Eric Frein, who had just murdered a Pennsylvania State Trooper and managed to evade capture…
A Writing Tip from Matt BroomfieldWRITE WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW Revoke the tired shibboleth, and write what you don’t know. But first, come to know it, as though it were your own. Live as you read and read as you…
A Writing Tip from Mark DanowskyDABBLE IN EKPHRASIS Ekphrasis provides an opportunity for artforms to engage with each other. As a poet, this often means engaging with visual art. Ekphrastic writing is an excuse to look at other artforms as…
A Writing Tip from Eileen ToomeyDEADHEADING You planted the mums the week before the early September heatwave. Even though you watered every morning, there are many withered blooms. Without thinking, you pull the dead buds from the stems, leaving…
In her short story “Home Away From Home” (Issue 43), Cecile Callan takes readers into a smoky bar in the city, where richly-drawn characters are thrown together and forced to face themselves. Callan shares insights about writing the story with…
A Writing Tip from Angelina SciollaGETTING INTO CHARACTER Often when you encounter a creative writer, you may be meeting a small business owner, a teacher, physician, or a parent doing any number of these things. As they orient themselves to…
A Writing Tip from Isabel LegardaWRITE LIKE AN ANESTHESIOLOGIST Write like an anesthesiologist. By this I definitely do not mean intentionally (or unintentionally) put someone to sleep, but rather, approach your writing project as a living, breathing being you put…
A Writing tip from Leonard KressPoetry as Meditation For several years I have been working on a series of sestinas that embody certain important aspects of Buddhist mindfulness meditation. Each sestina—and I have written nearly 100 so far—is a timed…
A Writing Tip from Andrea MarcusaDON’T FEAR THE WACKY STUFF Do you ever have wacky ideas or thoughts that you scribble down, but then decide they’re too awful to keep? If so, I have a suggestion for you. Put them…