Articles
On the beauty of a failed chapter that led to a better oneSome stories begin with a clean premise and end exactly where the writer expected. Others arrive as tangled drafts, unfinished relationships, abandoned plans,…Why I wear my grandfather’s watch when I write about the pastWhen I sit down to write about the years before I understood them, I fasten my grandfather’s watch around my wrist. It is a small, mechanical thing with a…The Art of Writing a Love Poem That Isn’t About AnyoneA love poem does not require a beloved with a name, a face, or a place in your phone. Sometimes affection begins as an atmosphere: the hush after rain, the…How to Turn a Friendship Into a Story Without Ruining the FriendshipA close friend can give a writer everything fiction needs: familiar gestures, private jokes, complicated history, and the emotional tension of two people who…What my bookshelf says about my relationship historyI used to think a bookshelf was a record of taste: a tidy arrangement of novels, essays, poetry collections, and books I had promised myself I would finish.…The Manuscript I Keep Behind Closed DoorsThere is one story in my files that has never appeared on this blog, in a literary journal, or even in a private reading shared with friends. I wrote it years…The Joy of Discovering a New Word When You’re HeartbrokenHeartbreak makes ordinary language feel strangely insufficient. “Sad” is too small for the ache that arrives in the grocery aisle, the silence after midnight,…How to Write a Scene That Makes You Feel Everything AgainSome scenes stay alive long after the event itself has ended. A glance across a room, a suitcase left beside the door, or the silence after an unanswered…What a Broken Watch Taught Me About Time and LoveThe watch stopped at 4:17 on an ordinary Tuesday. I noticed it while reaching for my keys, annoyed that I had once again misjudged the hour. Its hands had…The Best Accessories for a Writer Who Never Leaves the HouseA writer’s home can become an office, library, dressing room, café, and private theater all at once. When the commute is limited to the distance between the…