Effective use of the hermit crab structure doesn’t have to be limited to standalone essays.
CRAFT: The Hermit Crab Essay: Forming a Humorous Take on Dark Memoir by Susan Mack
CRAFT: Tell Me Your Stories — Travel Among Friends and Family as a Research Methodology in Narrative Nonfiction by Sarah Einstein
The manuscript I’m working on both is and isn’t travel writing….
CRAFT: Of Fragments and Segments by Heidi Czerwiec
Essays that use a lot of white space are often described as fragmented. But Robert Root uses the term “segmented essay”….
CRAFT: Imagine You Are Ophelia in Hamlet’s Castle, and Other Craft Ideas Borrowed From Acting by Lori Yeghiayan Friedman
The professional actress was contractually obligated to share her expertise with us.
CRAFT: What’s the Difference Between Memoir and Personal Essay? by Suzanne Farrell Smith
What’s the Difference Between Memoir and Personal Essay? Suzanne Farrell Smith explores this popular question.
CRAFT: Brain Science, Mental Health, and Our Craft by Carina Sitkus
As writers, it can be helpful to acknowledge that in the same way we shape our sentences, our mental health impacts our craft in powerful, albeit not always positive, ways. Developing good habits that keep our brains healthy, and avoiding negative ones, is as important, if not more important, to our writing craft as correct…
CRAFT: Shape Is the Thing by Suzanne Farrell Smith
The first time I heard about shaping a piece was early in graduate school.
CRAFT: Deep Dialogue: Writing Principles That Go Beyond the Nuts n’ Bolts by Michelle Sydney Levy
Transposing taught me more about the structure of natural spoken language than any advice on the subject of writing good dialogue….
CRAFT: But Is It True? Fiction Techniques in Nonfiction by Jennifer Chong Schneider
You never see the characters in your favorite sitcoms use the bathroom as much as we use the bathroom.
CRAFT: The Grant Application as a Writing Exercise by Yolande House
A long time ago, I accepted that I would likely never make much income from my creative writing.
