My Favorite Writers’ Favorite Books: Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay was sitting outside Hugo House one night when I went to a reading. My friend Jessica and I chatted with her about student loan debt. When we said…
My Favorite Writers’ Favorite Books: George Saunders
George Saunders is an uber-favorite: kind, brilliant, hard-working. I've never met anyone who said a bad word about him, and he was very generous when I met him outside a…
Tools to Write Without Distraction
You know that feeling like you want to just head out to a cabin in the woods and just write? Well you can get a little bit of that with…
The Next Books I’m Buying for My Writing Business
The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone Ask by Ryan Levesque Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port Getting Things Done by David Allen
Read This to Learn That: Free Indirect Discourse in “A Changed Man”
There's a style of third-person in fiction that frees up your narrator to let the characters indirectly share their thoughts, without all the clunkiness of “she thought” or “he imagined.”…
Show Your Work: How I Finally Got Published in McSweeney’s
Here’s how I got into McSweeney’s: 1. I submitted about 10 pieces over the last 10 years. 2. I joined a group of comedy writers and saw other people getting…
10 of My Favorite Seattle Writers
When you get live in a certain place, you get to know the writers who aren't necessarily the biggest names (though some are). Here are 10 writers I would love…
My Favorite Writers’ Favorite Books: Susan Orlean
Susan Orlean is a force. The author of The Library Book, The Orchid Thief, and Rin Tin Tin. I once got to sit near Susan Orlean, after an event at…
10 Tools Writers Need for a Healthy Workspace
If you want to be a writer, you want to be writing for the rest of your life. As someone who's had to wear a wrist brace and endure the…
10 Books of Poetry for People Who Aren’t “Poetry People”
When you think of poetry, you probably think of the things that come up when I looked for stock images for "poetry." Feather quills. Roses. Soft focus dreamscapes. I like…
10 Books George Saunders Loves
I'm so mad I just found this list. I was thinking about how people should search out the favorite books of their favorite authors. I realized I'd never done this…
The 10 Greatest Books of All Time
Have you ever wondered what the best books ever are? I found out! There's a whole website dedicated to it, TheGreatestBooks.org. They took more than 100 best book lists, weighted…
The 10 Most Hilarious Books I’ve Ever Read
Do not listen to David Sedaris on a bus. I tried to enjoy The Drama Bug, and nearly convulsed as he described picking up Elizabethan English. I twisted toward the…
marine plot with pages of water
10 Books That Have Legit Changed My Life
Here are 10 books that have shaped who I am today: Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi An unprecedented international publishing event: the first and only diary written by a…
10 of The Best Books in First Person
First person can be a tricky road, but when it's done well, we are along for the ride, no questions asked. You've probably read a few first-person classics in school,…
10 Books to Make You a Hustling Artist
These books helped me increase my earnings or lower my costs, making the writing life more feasible: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. Ugh,…
10 of The Best Books to Inspire Your Creative Life
If you ever feel lost, these authors will help you find your way and remind you that you’re not alone in your struggles. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This…
A Year of Craft – 12 Wonder Craft Books
Craft books are an essential part of any writer's reading regime. Don't let your ego get you all excited about "being self-taught." There are instructions. Read them. Here are…
The Best Literary Magazines
The good people at Every Writer’s Resource rank the best literary magazines in the country using twenty data points, including how long the publication has been around and how often…
Book Recommendation: The Future is Feminist
Who gets to tell the story has an immense effect on what story gets told. In this stunningly designed book, which I was so lucky to be invited to be…
My Favorite Writer Toys (and Gifts!)
In my book, I talk about how there's no need to go nuts buying fancy writerly accoutrements. By fancy, I mean expensive. I do not mean this ridiculous feather pen I…
Beautiful smart woman reading a boog and laughing in the green park outdoors
20 Books I Think You’ll Like
I picked out some books I thought you might like.
How to Finally Finish Your NonFiction Book
I feel so lucky to have been included in this story in The New York Times about how to finally finish your non-fiction book. Of course, they could only use a…
Pretty woman works from home or startup coworking space, sits barefoot on bench and writes code or blog on laptop, her best friend dog puppy lays next to her on pillow
5 Books to Give You an Edge as a Freelancer
If there's one thing I know about being a freelancer, it's that the C players are not going to make it. You can be a C player in a corporate…