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
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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