Eileen Pollack

Published in Index

·Jul 26, 2021

Love (Really) Is All Around

What ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ taught me about the life and death of the office family — Stir-crazy during the wintry months of the pandemic, I found myself gobbling up two or three episodes of the old Mary Tyler Moore Show every night. When the series originally ran in the 1970s, I was too wrapped up in my own teenage travails to really care. The lead character…

Work

12 min read

Published in Human Parts

·Jul 31, 2020

How Sweet the Sound

After years of silence, I’m finally conquering my fear of singing in public — We sat in a circle at the 92nd Street Y, recounting the traumas that had silenced us. “My music teacher told me to move my lips but not make a sound,” the first woman said. The rest of us nodded in recognition. Half of the fourteen members of that class…

Music

17 min read

Published in Human Parts

·Jun 10, 2020

On the Awkwardness of Talking About Creativity

Americans have always been suspicious of people who spend too much time in their heads — Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth. Dear Draft, When someone asks what I do, I never know how to respond…

Life

7 min read

On the Awkwardness of Talking About Creativity

Published in Human Parts

·May 27, 2020

How to Be Edited Without Losing Your Mind

You may disagree with your editor, but they’re (probably) right — Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth. Have a question? Share it with us. Dear Draft, I’m using the lockdown to…

Writing

9 min read

How to Be Edited Without Losing Your Mind

Published in Human Parts

·May 13, 2020

Why Endless Free Time Can Be a Curse for Creativity

If you want to write, give yourself some constraints — and, maybe, a day job — This is The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth. Have a question? Share it with us. Dear Draft, Can you talk about how…

Writing

7 min read

Why Endless Free Time Can Be a Curse for Creativity

Published in Human Parts

·Apr 29, 2020

It’s Okay to Be Irrelevant

Advice for promoting your work in the midst of a pandemic — Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth. Have a question? Share it with us. Dear Draft, What I write doesn’t have…

Writing

7 min read

Published in Human Parts

·Apr 15, 2020

The Best Thing You Can Do Is Keep Going

Don’t worry about being productive right now. Just be aware. — Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth. Have a question? Share it with us. Dear Draft, For the life of me…

Life

7 min read

Published in Human Parts

·Apr 8, 2020

You Don’t Have to Write About the Virus

But if you do, here’s how to find something new to say — Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth. Have a question? Share it with us. Dear Draft, I feel as if I…

Creativity

9 min read

Published in Human Parts

·Apr 1, 2020

How to Finally Finish Your Creative Projects

If you’re stuck at home, dig up a half-written draft and commit to completing it — Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth. Have a question? Share it with us. Dear Draft, Even when I have an…

The Draft

7 min read

How to Finally Finish Your Creative Projects

Published in Human Parts

·Mar 18, 2020

Why the Internet Is a Mixed Bag for Writers

Online, expression is ephemeral and lighting-fast. Maybe we should slow it down. — Welcome to The Draft, an advice column about writing and life from Eileen Pollack, former director of the University of Michigan MFA Program. We’re here to answer your questions about storycraft, writing, and telling the truth. Have a question? Share it with us. Dear Draft, How has social media changed…

The Draft

7 min read

Why the Internet Is a Mixed Bag for Writers

Eileen Pollack

Eileen is the author, most recently, of The Professor of Immortality, A Perfect Life, and The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys’ Club.

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Love (Really) Is All Around

How Sweet the Sound

On the Awkwardness of Talking About Creativity

How to Be Edited Without Losing Your Mind

Why Endless Free Time Can Be a Curse for Creativity

It’s Okay to Be Irrelevant

The Best Thing You Can Do Is Keep Going

You Don’t Have to Write About the Virus

How to Finally Finish Your Creative Projects

Why the Internet Is a Mixed Bag for Writers

Eileen Pollack

Harris Sockel

Yona Zeldis McDonough

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Michele McDonald