Literary Hub » The Craft of Writing

Rachel Beanland on Managing Time in Fiction

Rachel Beanland on Managing Time in Fiction

On the Careful Balance Between Scene and Summary

By Rachel Beanland | April 14, 2023

Dani Shapiro on Letting Structure Reveal Itself

Dani Shapiro on Letting Structure Reveal Itself

“You don’t know—you can’t know—whether the bricks you’ve laid on top will be supported by the bricks at the bottom.”

By Dani Shapiro | April 7, 2023

Idra Novey on the Conjuring of Haunting Characters

Idra Novey on the Conjuring of Haunting Characters

“To come convincingly to life, characters have to consist of mixed-up inextricable elements.”

By Idra Novey | March 17, 2023

Xiaolu Guo on Translating<br> the Self

Xiaolu Guo on Translating
the Self

“I want to talk about the possibilities of translation.”

By Xiaolu Guo | March 10, 2023

Rebecca Makkai on the Most Underutilized Tool in Fiction: Setting

Rebecca Makkai on the Most Underutilized Tool in Fiction: Setting

“Your setting is so alive, it’s almost a character!”

By Rebecca Makkai | February 24, 2023

Quan Barry on the Benefits of Writing Across Genre.

Quan Barry on the Benefits of Writing Across Genre.

“Try it all on for size. Take risks in your writing, and reinvent yourself constantly.”

By Quan Barry | February 3, 2023

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

Peter Turchi on the Power of the Literary Aside

By Peter Turchi | January 27, 2023

Toni Morrison on Breathing Life into Clichés

By Toni Morrison | January 13, 2023

Gerald Stern on the Accidental Beginnings of Poems

By Gerald Stern | January 6, 2023

Judith Thurman on Elena Ferrante and Writing That Rattles the Cage of Gender

Judith Thurman on Elena Ferrante and Writing That Rattles the Cage of Gender

"This body of work defies the conventions of writing 'like a woman' as radically as did Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein."

By Judith Thurman | December 23, 2022

Jess Walter on the Highsmithian Principles of Suspense

Jess Walter on the Highsmithian Principles of Suspense

On Drama, Suspense, Violence, Psychology, and a Dose of Soul

By Jess Walter | December 16, 2022

Anna Hogeland on the Rewards of Procrastination

Anna Hogeland on the Rewards of Procrastination

"The answer lies in the need to inquire."

By Anna Hogeland | December 2, 2022

Celeste Ng on Writing With a Plan

Celeste Ng on Writing With a Plan

"I think about it as scaffolding."

By Literary Hub | November 23, 2022

Eileen Myles on Writing With Political Meaning

Eileen Myles on Writing With Political Meaning

"Reading is a collaborative act."

By Eileen Myles | November 18, 2022

Christopher Isherwood on What Writers Can Learn from Theater

Christopher Isherwood on What Writers Can Learn from Theater

“The effects are created by means of claustrophobia:
you can’t get out.”

By Christopher Isherwood | November 11, 2022

History, Conflict, and Myth-Making in the Cityscape of Berlin

History, Conflict, and Myth-Making in the Cityscape of Berlin

Kirsty Bell's View from Her Window

By Kirsty Bell | November 4, 2022

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