Love and Its Representations in Literature
In my very first college English lit class, the teacher asked us to write a poem on sexuality, and I wrote a limerick about a turtle. It was the only thing I could think of that rhymed with fertile. Of…
Category: Fiction
Everyday Expressions of Emotion & Other Wearisome, Well-Worn Words
I’m at that point with my manuscript: banging my head against the wall as I flag and purge repetitive words and replace all those well-worn expressions: he smiles, she grins, he laughs, they frown, she shrugs, he furrows his brow,…
An Interview with Alexander Chee, Author of The Queen of the Night
Alexander Chee’s second novel, The Queen of the Night, has topped nearly every “2016 must-read” list that flooded the Internet in January, and the response to each was ecstatic. Chee is not only a writer’s writer, but a great friend…
Confessions of a Story Slam Winner
I am sitting in the audience waiting to see if Steve Almond will call my name. After years of listening to the Moth Radio Hour and going to Story Slams, I have finally gotten up the nerve to put my…
Point of View: Omniscient
“Partway through writing my first novel, I had a terrifying realization: I needed an omniscient narrator.” -Celeste Ng, Dead Darlings post April 7, 2014. Writing a novel is all about making a series of decisions that add up to a…
Six Tips for Building a Fantasy World
Every novelist builds a world, but if you’re writing fantasy or science fiction, worldbuilding is a bigger job—one I’m often tempted to skimp on. It’s great fun to think about magic in a new world—not so fun to figure out…