
I just need to find the right way to write this. This is the refrain that comes up sometimes when I open a new blank document for an old story I’ve tried to write about seven times over the course…
I just need to find the right way to write this. This is the refrain that comes up sometimes when I open a new blank document for an old story I’ve tried to write about seven times over the course…
Greetings, Hugo House members and friends! We’re bringing books to incarcerated writers, and we’re reaching out to our community for help. Our partner program, the Golf Pencil Group—a creative community for incarcerated writers—leads a weekly class at King County Jail. Students…
One of the most challenging parts of writing a poem is figuring out how to end it. You want the ending to be poignant or beautiful or subversive, but how do you do that? These suggestions are by no means…
In the beginning of my writing career, it was a given that I’d say “Absolutely” or “Yes” to almost anything asked of me—oftentimes watching others reaping the benefits or, even worse, finding out that the heartfelt energy I’d put into…
Characters are the reason I write. Their voices lodge themselves in my brain. They tug on my sleeve and insist that I tell their stories. The greatest compliment that I can get as a writer is that my characters stay…
Have you ever picked up a book—a romance, one that the blurb promises to be a story that’s right up your alley—and found that it just doesn’t do it for you? The story, the theme, even the author, they all…
Emily’s take: When I say poem, it sounds like pome. I can easily mimic Frances McDormand when she says, “What’s in your BYAG, MA’AM?” (Fargo). My sharp “a’s” (grating to some) are sheep bya, byaing and not bah, bahing. That’s…