Andrea CaswellA Craft Chat With Monique D. Clark Andrea: Congratulations on “The Love,” (Issue 44) which feels like a perfect short story. It’s got it all: deep love, disenchantment, humor, food, family secrets, and a profound moment of truth, encapsulated…
Andrea CaswellA CRAFT CHAT WITH SUE MELL In her flash CNF piece “Transported” (Issue 44), Sue Mell takes readers on a joy ride through a coming-of-age friendship. Mell shares insights about writing the story with senior fiction editor Andrea Caswell.…
A Writing Prompt by Layla MurphyHate Christmas, You’re Allowed Bah humbug—this again! Christmas is right around the corner, and whether you celebrate it or not, you’ve surely got some holiday sensory-overload by now. I thought we should turn things topsy-turvy…
A Writing Tip by Jen MathyBooster Clubs Don’t Just Sit in The Stands A successful writer today has a whole new set of responsibilities. Yes, your primary role is that of artist and writer. First, create. Then, with the understanding…
A Writing Tip by Layla MurphyWRITE LIKE YOU’RE DYING I never knew what a death doula was until I listened to an episode of NPR’s Life Kit the other day focused on relationship repair. It seemed odd at first that…
A Writing Tip by Michelle Bitting FINDING GOLD IN LOST TREASURE “There is something to be said for a boundary, there is something to be said for unbinding.” ~ Diane Seuss I remind myself and my students to write with…
A Writing Prompt from Anne AnthonyBEGUILING
A Writing Tip from Leonard KressHEADLINE POETRY I was driving to work a few weeks ago, listening closely to a news report about the survivalist Eric Frein, who had just murdered a Pennsylvania State Trooper and managed to evade capture…
A Writing Tip from Matt BroomfieldWRITE WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW Revoke the tired shibboleth, and write what you don’t know. But first, come to know it, as though it were your own. Live as you read and read as you…
A Writing Tip from Mark DanowskyDABBLE IN EKPHRASIS Ekphrasis provides an opportunity for artforms to engage with each other. As a poet, this often means engaging with visual art. Ekphrastic writing is an excuse to look at other artforms as…
A Writing Tip from Eileen ToomeyDEADHEADING You planted the mums the week before the early September heatwave. Even though you watered every morning, there are many withered blooms. Without thinking, you pull the dead buds from the stems, leaving…
In her short story “Home Away From Home” (Issue 43), Cecile Callan takes readers into a smoky bar in the city, where richly-drawn characters are thrown together and forced to face themselves. Callan shares insights about writing the story with…
A Writing Tip from Angelina SciollaGETTING INTO CHARACTER Often when you encounter a creative writer, you may be meeting a small business owner, a teacher, physician, or a parent doing any number of these things. As they orient themselves to…
A Writing Tip from Isabel LegardaWRITE LIKE AN ANESTHESIOLOGIST Write like an anesthesiologist. By this I definitely do not mean intentionally (or unintentionally) put someone to sleep, but rather, approach your writing project as a living, breathing being you put…
A Writing tip from Leonard KressPoetry as Meditation For several years I have been working on a series of sestinas that embody certain important aspects of Buddhist mindfulness meditation. Each sestina—and I have written nearly 100 so far—is a timed…
A Writing Tip from Andrea MarcusaDON’T FEAR THE WACKY STUFF Do you ever have wacky ideas or thoughts that you scribble down, but then decide they’re too awful to keep? If so, I have a suggestion for you. Put them…