https://brevity.wordpress.com/feed/
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Where We Write: A Desk in the FamilyBy Thomas Reed A friend was showing me his old barn-turned-writing-study in rural Virginia when I had one of those rich moments...
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Just Show Me the Good Parts: Deconstructing Situation and StoryBy Brooke Champagne Which sounds the most engaging: Situation or Story? Don’t overthink it. First thought, best thought....
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Don’t Ever Tell Me What To DoBy Natalie Serianni Sometimes, there’s a logical way of doing things, and sometimes, you just have to feel your way through. This...
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Generational WealthBy Katy Goforth After I hit 40, my relationships started to change. I’d heard this can happen, but I thought it was one of those...
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A Letter to the Brevity Blog Community—Let’s Keep TalkingDear Writers, Thank You—let’s start there. Thank you for being part of the Brevity Blog, as both writers and readers. We...
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The “Ugly” Route to a Beautiful MemoirBy Jennifer Cramer-Miller “You’ve got to be uglier,” Kate said. As my editor and friend, she advised me on how to improve my...
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Meno-specula-pause: How the Speculative Makes the Impossible PossibleBy Laraine Herring It is inconceivable that I am aging. That my eggs are gone, along with my knees, my ability to sleep through the...
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On Little Libraries and the Divine UnrestBy Thomas Rayfiel I have many extra copies of my own books. What was I thinking? That I would magnanimously inscribe copies to...
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Seeing Through the Dark: Revision and ResearchBy Tamara Dean Long ago, as a beginning writer, I dreaded revision. I believed the axiom, “All writing is rewriting,” but I wasn’t...
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What Can Happen When You Share Your Writing With a TherapistBy Rachel Weinhaus When I started therapy in 2019, my therapist asked what I did for a living. I dreaded the question. It would...
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Olive Oyl and the Golden TrophyBy Mary Hannah Terzino I’m putting together my first query letter for publishers I hope will be interested in my book manuscript....
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I’m Writing to Help Our PlanetBy Whitney Brown My favorite thing to write is a travel essay. That’s because travel writers never take a trip just once. We...
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I Have the BeatBy Jan Pezarro “A few beats missing here.” In the first year of my MFA program, after 40 years in business and on my way...
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Write Whatever the Heck You Wantby Allison Williams Last weekend, I tweeted some writing advice : I’d watched the beginning of a movie; a detail that seemed off...
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Bingeing on BiographiesBy Kat Meads Amused to see me clutching yet another Brontë biography, a pal of mine remarked: “Still hoping that story will come...
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What Substack Taught Me About Nimbleness, Improvisation, and the Absolute Necessity of MistakesPart I of II By Jeannine Ouellette I recently launched a Substack newsletter, Writing in the Dark, based on the premise...
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Making it BehaveBy Sandra Hager Eliason I woke up mad at Writing. Writing Personified. Anthropomorphized. Writing, this companion and...
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How I Edited My Late Brother’s MemoirBy Donna Papacosta When we were kids growing up in Astoria, New York, I was a reader. Mom plunked down the carton of milk at...
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Final Dress Rehearsal: On Finishing My MFA ThesisBy Ann V. Klotz It was July 2020 when I, head of a private school, and already weary of protocols involving masks and social...
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Can Book Critics and Writers Be Friends?By Jenn McKee Early this year, when my family agreed on a new-to-us spring break destination, my first thought was, “Oh! I know a...
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AWP: A Numerical ReckoningBy Brian Watson Morgayne Kelley and Brian Watson A couple of months have passed since I attended the 2023 AWP Conference in my...
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What to Expect When People Learn You Write Humor…By Shannon Reed They will expect that you will be funny. As in, they expect you to be funny, to them, right now . Context...
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Don’t Let Statler and Waldorf Frame Your WritingBy Amélie Baker I imagine the two old men in the balcony – Statler and Waldorf – from the Muppets would have no patience for a...
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Talking to My Friends on the Phone Led to My Calling—Writing and TeachingBy Andrea Askowitz My daughter, Tashi, just finished her first year of college. Over spring break, my dad asked her what she wants...
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Notes from a Writing Teacher: One Final LessonBy Jamey Temple It’s the time of year when students send me letters. They thank me for their growth, for finding their voice. By...
