Don’t Write Alone: Toolkit

So You’re Writing an Essay. But What Is It Really About?

To get from a pile of ideas to one essay, I ask myself three questions: What is this essay about? What’s it really about? What is it really, really about?

Feb 09, 2023
Little Lessons from Writing Newsletters

Sometimes you just need to claw out a few paragraphs on the page and hit publish. A newsletter can teach you how.

Jan 19, 2023
How to Set Yourself Up for Success at Your Writing Residency

This guide is meant for writers who are dreaming of getting away to write—and addresses the anxiety many of us feel when we finally get that treasured chunk of time.

Jan 12, 2023
New Year’s Resolutions for Writers (That Aren’t About Writing)

This year, rather than making resolutions about how or when you write, consider focusing on the skills and habits that will help you maintain a career in the ever-changing world of publishing.

How to Track If You’re Writing “Enough”

I call my instincts to organize and categorize a project that feels out of control the Religion of Office Supplies.

Jan 03, 2023
How to Be a Writer When You’re Highly Sensitive to Rejection

Throughout my writing journey, I’ve been working hard to cope with the inevitability of rejection in ways that work for me. I hope that what I’ve learned can help others.

Dec 19, 2022
Writer’s Block? Try Talking to Yourself

The self-interview is a way to ask myself real questions about whatever I’m working on without it feeling like work.

Dec 08, 2022
How to Get a Literary Agent

Query smarter, not harder, to find the right agent for you.

Dec 01, 2022
The Dinner Table Problem

When you’re ready to pitch or publish your work, a good question to ask yourself is: Why does this need to be an essay rather than a story you tell to friends over the dinner table?

How to Workshop Stories About Trauma

Not all feedback, even from a reader you hold in high esteem, will be appropriate for the story you’re trying to tell.

Nov 14, 2022
How to Write a Novel (Or Anything, Really) with ADHD

Instead of fighting myself tooth and nail to subscribe to a neurotypical writing lifestyle, I’m choosing to expand upon my weird brain’s strengths and abilities.

Nov 10, 2022
Tiny Writing Tips from the Writers of ‘Tiny Nightmares’

“Write about the terrifying by writing about the alluring.”

Oct 26, 2022
How to Write Yourself an Edit Letter

Approaching your book as a reader rather than the author helps separate you from the emotional experience of putting your work on the page.

Oct 06, 2022
I’m Living in the Poems I Can’t Yet Write

How does one translate life into poetry, especially in seasons of total depletion?

Sep 26, 2022
How to Write a Novel In a Month

The fear that I might never write a book led me to develop a practical system of writing by numbers.

Sep 19, 2022
What We Talk About When We Talk About Book Titles

When a writing project has a good title, everyone can feel it. But getting there can be a struggle—for both the author and the publishing team, if your project happens to be a book.

Sep 06, 2022
So You Want to Apply for an MFA

For our Application Week series, MFA directors and professors discuss common misconceptions, how they support students, and answer that ubiquitous question: Is getting an MFA worth it?

Aug 15, 2022
Using Impatience to Help Your Writing

In this exercise, classes instructor Chaya Bhuvaneswar asks you to consider your impatience with not yet being where you want to be in your writing career and helps you use that as momentum.

Jul 25, 2022
How to Pivot from Writing Short Stories to Novels

If you’ve written short stories and are figuring how to get started on a novel, Erin Flanagan has some tips to help you get started.

May 23, 2022
In Praise of the Pomodoro, or Finding Writing Freedom Through Constraints

You might surprise yourself at how much you’re able to accomplish in short, focused periods of twenty-five minutes.

May 09, 2022