Ah, that famous chicken, the one that crossed the road! We never really find out why it did what it did.
Craft: One Famous Fowl’s Trek into Traffic and What the Writer Can Glean from It
Category: Craft
Our Craft column archive, which features an array of guest contributors.
Craft: Back to the Beginning by Risa Nye
Last time, I wrote an essay about endings—and for this issue I decided to write about beginnings. Topsy-turvy thinking, or all part of my careful plan? Let’s go with the topsy-turvy thinking. But I have a great excuse for going in reverse order: once again, I’ve been given food for thought by some excellent writers.
Craft: Square One by Donna Steiner
There were no ideas, no sparks; the fallow months were piling up with alarming rapidity.
Craft: Making a List by Risa Nye
For me, a list is like a life preserver, something to keep me afloat when I feel like I’m sinking under the weight of “shoulds” and “gotta’s.”
Craft: All’s Well if it Ends Well by Risa Nye
If I had to name the most challenging aspects of writing—no matter if we’re talking about fiction or nonfiction—nailing the ending would come at the top of the list, followed by “getting started” and “doing the middle bit.” Coming up with the right ending can throw a writer into a tizzy.
Craft: Look it Up by Donna Steiner
We had two reference books at home when my siblings and I were in elementary school. One was a massive dictionary, the other was a massive encyclopedia. These two volumes must have each cost my parents a small fortune, but they were invaluable. Together, the tomes probably weighed more than any one of us kids. …
Craft: By the Book by Risa Nye
I own nineteen books about—or related to—writing, not counting the big fat Houghton Mifflin Dictionary that I rarely use since I now have the dictionary app on my iPhone.
The Writer’s Life: Beyond Words — Other Art Forms by Hilary Meyerson
We love the zing of a snappy line, the mournful tones of a somber one, the cadence of a staccato beat of dialogue. Once you’re hooked on language, it’s a drug.
Craft: Finding the Time to Write by Ally Bishop, Reviews Editor
Writing is like any relationship. You have to spend time on it and nurture it in order for it to stay healthy and grow. So it is no wonder that the longer we avoid it, the more terrifying it becomes.
Craft: Working on My Rewrite by Risa Nye
Changing titles and endings are just the beginning: spade work. Working on a rewrite requires serious machinery—the type of heavy equipment that allows us to dig deep and plow ahead.
