Open Thread

There are times when we write simply because we have to. We have something coiled up inside that we want to express, so we scribble it into a journal, or scrawl notes in a notebook, and afterwards we feel better. In these cases, the writing itself was the point. But…

Highlights from our May open thread — Just the other day, I gave a writing student of mine some advice: “Don’t worry so much about publishing,” I told her. “First, focus on writing the best thing you can write.” As soon as I said it, I realized this was the very same advice a graduate school mentor…

Let me start by thinking about what kind of baby-writer I was. — In secondary school, I had an English teacher who loved the stories I wrote. I never felt deserving of the top marks she awarded me as the source of my ideas were the books and stories I enjoyed reading rather than something originating from me. …

What kind of baby-writer were you? Did you start filling notebooks as soon as you could write? Did you think you actually hated writing until you read that one special oddball book that cracked it all open for you? Did some astute English teacher identify that you were a writer…

Highlights from our April open thread — A few weeks ago, we asked you: “What’s the Best Piece of Writing Advice You’ve Ever Gotten?” We wanted to create a space for writers to share advice that resonated with them and maybe even pick up an additional tip or two. We’ve highlighted a couple of them here, and…