How to Write a Novel: 10 Steps

How to Write a Novel

The Spark File

Looking back at all the tools and techniques that I've developed over the years as a writer, it occurs to me that most of them are, in one way or another, grappling with two critical mental forces: the power (and weakness) of human memory, and the sometimes overwhelming drive to procrastinate.

So this is what a heart attack feels like.

“Babe, babe, something is terribly wrong with me. I need to go to the hospital, like now. I seriously can’t feel my legs...I can’t feel my legs! I think my arms are going numb too. We need to go, now. I can’t really breathe. Babe, I can’t breathe. I’m…

Tell a four-word story.

Forget the elevator pitch. You only get four words.

What I Learned Building Medium (So Far)

As of November 2012

We’re now eight months into building Medium, having started in earnest in February of this year. In August, we launched what I call the “preview” version—which included viewing content publicly and creation for a…

My Luke Wilson Story

Eight years ago, I was at a birthday party with a girl I had a crush on, when I got a text from a friend that said, "Luke…

Please don’t say “tranny”

Would you call an effeminate man a fag? Would you call a woman with short hair a dyke? Of course you wouldn’t. So…

Barrel of a Gun

How much can you really know about yourself until you’ve looked down the barrel of a…

Budget your time, design your life

We only have a little bit

I once read something like, “You’ll only see a full moon X number of times before you die.” I don’t remember what X is, but it was surprisingly small. And it was true. Or, at least the point was true…

On Dilettantism and the Virtues of Pursuing Multiple Interests