Creative writing is hard. Like, really, really hard. While I can bang out an academic paper in no time at all, I find myself agonizing over the keyboard for hours just to churn out a couple measly pages. Oftentimes, I … Continue reading
When you read a book, what’s one of the first things you notice? Is it the setting? Is it the use of concrete versus abstract details? Is it the way the writer chooses to open the story? Or is it, … Continue reading
Writing is dangerous business. Throughout history, ranks of frustrated and despondent novelists and poets have made the image of the down-and-out writer a pop culture fixture. The value of literacy is self-evident, but let’s face it: many of us writers … Continue reading
I usually have no problem taking criticism. Well, not when it comes to my writing at least. I know the value of a workshop class and I like the fact that I am able to get feedback on my stories … Continue reading
We writing tutors can all appreciate how difficult it is to explain to outsiders everything that goes into our art. Plus, it’s one of the ironies of the job that we always seem to have an easier time helping others … Continue reading
Revising has always been tough for me. I always bleed out my papers very slowly, revising as I go. When the paper’s finished, then, I have a hard time changing any of it. After all of the time I put … Continue reading
Football season may be over, but it’s worth talking about something that made this season a little unusual: it seems more and more athletes are speaking their minds. There are many likely reasons. The strike Social media, in particular Twitter, … Continue reading
A friend of mine who is a prolific writer had his apartment broken into not very long ago. Being a writer, he obviously didn’t have many valuables–except that laptop computer of his. When he arrived home to find it had … Continue reading
Recently I had to complete an assignment I had no interest in. As it happens, it was not so much the subject matter which bothered me, but the lack of direction given to me by my professor. I wanted to … Continue reading
Last month, the DePaul Humanities Center invited George Saunders to read from his newest story collection, The Tenth of December, which is, according to The New York Times, already the best book of 2013. But despite all the clamor, Saunders is a pretty … Continue reading