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5 Lessons Writers Should Learn from the Best Obituary Ever
Most obituaries are about as warm as a cover letter. Maybe every obit-writer feels she has to be sober and staid out of respect for the dead, but the result is that a complex life of loving, striving,...
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What’s Your Perfectly Unique Pseudonym?
Writers don’t have time to come up with really great pseudonyms, being far too busy oiling their typewriters or smoking a pipe (or, you know, writing). Plus, there are already so many great pen names...
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5 Authors Who Used Pseudonyms
Over the weekend, word leaked out that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is the real author of The Cuckoo’s Calling, a crime thriller published under the very British pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Rowling...
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The 9 Weirdest Writing Habits Of Highly Effective Authors
It’s hard to imagine an author writing thought-provoking, deep, restful prose knowing they lived lives of complete chaos and alcoholism. And it’s odd reading murder mysteries full of unspeakable...
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The 25 Best Author Acknowledgements Ever Written
You might skip past the acknowledgement in a book, ready to dig into the good stuff. But don’t forget there’s often writing worthy of your attention before the story even begins—and here’s your proof!...
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8 Bestsellers Started During National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month starts today, kicking off that time of year when the insane among us commit to writing 50,000 words in 30 days (if you’re doing the math, that’s roughly 1,667 words a...
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11 Books on Writing for Your Post-NaNoWriMo Slump
If, at this moment, you’re ready to light fire to that steaming pile of mess that you called your NaNoWriMo project, don’t. If, at this moment, you’re poised to push SEND on an email to a New York...
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The Best Non-Book Gifts for Writers
“The only thing we have to fear,” President Roosevelt once said, “is fear itself.” But when you’re dating, friends with, or related to a writer, you know firsthand there’s much more to be afraid of....
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The MFA in a Box
So now that the whole “New Year, New You” thing has worn off, you’re second guessing your resolution to go back to school for your MFA, aren’t you? You started crunching the numbers. Your mom asked if...
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Joe Hill vs. Stephen King, and 4 More Father-Son Literary Rivalries
When the nominations for the 2014 Bram Stoker Award for Best Horror Novel were announced last month, it was a very good day for upstart novelist Joe Hill—his second full-length book, NOS4A2, earned a...
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Christopher Paolini On Finishing the Inheritance Cycle and Starting A New...
author photo © Elena Seibert Christopher Paolini will be appearing at the Bozeman, MT Barnes & Noble on Saturday, July 19, at 2 p.m., as part of Preview Weekend, the first event in #GetPopCultured!...
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Brandon Sanderson on Why We Still Read Books In the Internet Era
author photo © Isaac Stewart #GetPopCultured kicks off today with Preview Weekend! Come on in to your local B&N, where we’ll be featuring the works of many authors—including Brandon Sanderson,...
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Robert Jackson Bennett on What Makes a Book an Epic
Across five published novels, Robert Jackson Bennett has made it a point to never write the same book twice. His debut, Mr. Shivers, won the 2010 Shirley Jackson Award for best horror novel. A year...
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Try These Famous Authors’ Tricks to Slay Your NaNo Novel!
We’re about to enter the second weekend of National Novel Writing Month! Are you, the eager NaNo novelist: a. Looking forward to continuing your dedicated 1,667-word-a-day writing b. Looking forward to...
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5 Authors Who Only Wrote One Novel
It’s easy to write something bad and then never look at it again. Thousands of people did it just last month—it’s called NaNoWriMo. But to write an acclaimed, world-changing novel and then put down...
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6 of the Most Prolific Authors
Every day we get up, drink a gallon of coffee, and head to the computer to see if today is the day we’ll actually accomplish something. Spoiler alert, the answer is usually “not as much as we hoped,...
View ArticleBooks Every Writer Should Have on Her Bookshelf
Behind the supposed glamour, writers have one of the toughest jobs in the world. It’s not easy to experience life in all its harsh colors, think deeply about what it means, and then find the right...
View ArticleInside Baseball: Five Novels Where Making the Main Character a Writer Worked
If there’s great big red flag in fiction, it’s making your main character a writer. Making him not just a writer but a novelist is a flag so big and red it’s practically a hot air balloon rising off...
View ArticleFive Books that Tell the Story Behind the Story
Sometimes it seems like classic novels have just always existed: they were there before most of us were born, and seem an eternal aspect of the cultural landscape. But behind every novel is a second...
View ArticleHow My Book Was Born: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands Author Chris Bohjalian...
In four installments, author Chris Bohjalian is sharing the journey he took, from inspiration to publication, for his 2014 novel Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands, about a teen-girl runaway and aspiring poet...
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