What should you be writing? A blog post? A short story? A novel? A poem? A guest post for another blog? I believe in focused goals. To build a career in writing (if that is what you're going for), you need them. You have to write long pieces of work, books usually,...
Here to learn? You’re in the WRITE place!
At The Write Practice, we publish a new article each day designed to help writers tackle one part of their writing journey, from generating ideas to grammar to writing and publishing your first book. Each article has a short practice exercise at the end to help you immediately put your learning to use.
Check out the latest articles below or find ones that match your interest in the sidebar.
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How to Revise Your Writing: Quality Inspection
"I try to distinguish between a poem I like because it reminds me of a particular experience," said Paul Willis, "and a poem that works as a poem that anyone would like." How do you quality inspect your writing? I like to think of Paul in his clean room outfit—white...
Why Do You Write? [VIDEO]
Why do you write? You make sacrifices to write. You give up time you could spend with friends and family. You give up time you could be playing facebook games. You might take big risks to write, like living on less money than most of the people you know. On a bigger...
How to Avoid Making Sentimental Art
“An Artist,” said Ian Cron, “who has not done their 'work' will be doomed to be sentimental.” Sentimental. 2. (of a work of literature, music, or art) Dealing with feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia in an exaggerated and self-indulgent way. We all can think...
What It Takes To Write Like Francis Ford Coppola
“Making Apocalypse Now, Coppola famously shot over two hundred and thirty hours of film, unheard of at the time,” says Will Boast. Which is why you write write write. Load your page up with words (some of which you will never use). You will cut them out later. You...
How NOT to Introduce a New Character
Last night, I stayed up way too late finishing Ben Marcus’ short story, “What Have You Done,” in the New Yorker. Short stories like this one are studies in brevity. You have a lot to do in just a few pages.
And the first thing that gets cut is usually backstory.
Eleven Habits of Highly Effective Interviewers
This week, we’ve heard from some great interviewers—bloggers and journalists who have interviewed presidents (like G.H.W. Bush), celebrities (like Sting and Kevin Bacon), and niche celebrities (like Seth Godin and Steven Pressfield).
If you’ve been following along, you now know:
Interviews are a powerful promotional tool
You should never stake someone out for an interview
However, chasing busy interviewees into elevators and cabs is cool
Dumb questions make for great interviews
When interviewing liars, meet them in person (polar bears, too)
Should You Interview People In Person or By Email?
Most bloggers interview by email. Most journalists interview face-to-face or over the phone.
Why the split?
I don’t blame the bloggers. I once interviewed five Kashmiri men for an article in a newspaper. Kashmiri’s like to talk, and they talk fast. I tried to keep notes, but after each interview, my hand was so cramped it felt like Dauood—with his large, round belly—had sat on it for an hour.
What To Do When Your Interviewee Won’t Talk to You
What do you do when someone doesn’t want to be interviewed?
This has happened to me. When I began working on this series, I made some big asks. I emailed Malcolm Gladwell. His assistant emailed me back, “Malcolm asked me to thank you for your kind invitation to interview, and to apologize for not being able to accept it. Thanks for your understanding.”
You’re welcome, nice assistant. I do understand.
Why Interview Anyone At All?
When I did my first interview, I spoke with the star of a high school play (which I never saw). We sat on the grass outside the theater. “Um… What do you want to tell people about the play?” I asked. “Didn’t you come with questions?” she said. “Yeah. What do you want to tell people about the play?” I didn’t finish the assignment.
I didn’t read the newspaper, so why would I want to write for a newspaper? When we were supposed to be interviewing people in journalism class, Jess and I would walk around the school, sometimes stopping to play nibbles on our scientific calculators.
Why interview someone? How does it enhance a blog post or an article? What’s the motivation?