In A Mathematician’s Apology (1967), G. H. Hardy broaches the concept of “realness”: I often use the adjective ‘real’ and as we use it commonly in conversation. I have spoken of ‘real mathematics’ and ‘real mathematicians,’ as I have spoken of ...

I don’t speak much of poetry in this space. I’ve made a conscious “business” decision to focus on fiction, straightforward narrative (because we’re spinning narratives all the time—we’re selling ourselves stories always—repeating others’ stories—sto...

It was taboo to point right at a liar and refer to them as such. A child learning the world, learning to recognize and name my world, learning, especially through the curriculum of the Baptist private school I attended, to be truthful on all counts,...

Just who does your character think they are? (This just might be  the key to defining tension in literary fiction.) We tend to think of conflict as this big “blow up” scene, but that’s not necessarily it, is it? In character-driven fiction, con...

As an undergraduate studying creative writing, I remember a writing professor beginning a class by telling us, excitedly, some information she’d encountered about story—or about what makes a story—or about how to make a story. She’d recently heard i...

I saw an advertisement recently for an online writing business that enticed aspiring writers to purchase their advertised service by promising to teach them to “write like the greats.” We’ll Teach You How to Write Like The Greats. What a curious pro...

When “good things take time,” it’s because the better result was only possible precisely because there was no rush.  Folks who write are often made to believe that consistency means logging time. And that they should rack up time by clocking in...

For when you don't know where to start. WHEN (HOW) TO BEGIN WRITING Right away, if you haven’t already. And all day long. Seriously. “Writing” is far more than the physical act. “Writing” also precedes the choosing of the right words and spelling th...

There are things that only God knows. Yes, that popular adage—who knows why so-and-so had to pass away so early in life, or why they had to go in the manner that they did: only God knows. Only God knows why she’s still with that man. Only God knows w...

When we talk about believability in creative writing, we often misidentify what and who is at its center. The fiction writer “makes believe,” willing new worlds and characters into existence. However, the writer does not make belief. The writer is no...