Pro Tips

Everybody is expecting presents soon. Pressure mounts. With each passing day, more and more Maria Carey songs are added to store playlists. Soon it will be an all-encompassing mission; what to get for who?

There is an age-old conundrum confronting writers of personal essays and memoirs. Should the writer change the names of persons who may come off negatively in the piece, or should the subjects be identified? I have done both during my five-decade writing career.

Marginalization is often magnified by societal invisibility for the disabled individuals. Even initiatives and organizations committed to championing inclusivity often overlook those who have different access needs.

For most of my writing life, I’ve participated in critique-based workshops. I still do. They go like this: You write a story. A week before your workshop date, you send .docs of your story to your fellow writers in the class. (Back in olden times, you prayed your ink was full.)

The resources found at the Loft were invaluable for Amparo and her niece while writing their book. Read on to learn more about their journey, what they learned, and how they ultimately published their children's book.

What exactly is a digital story, and why might digital storytelling be of interest to writers? Digital stories can be any digital media that tell a story. We see these stories every day in advertising, corporate and nonprofit video, motion poems, and short personal documentaries.

The COVID-19 Pandemic grounded flights, canceled events, and hit budgets hard. Writers who’d planned to travel around the country to write in new locales feel the loss, too. Author Vanessa Blakeslee and Loft teaching artist Robin Rozanski talk about the importance of writing retreats.

A few weeks ago, we listed the best virtual fests you could tune into in May and June. Now July is up. Keep on reading to find ways you can stay plugged into the lit scene even while you're staying home.

For many people, writing is more than work—it means producing true works of art. Though many perceive literature as an art form of a bygone era, that is definitely not the case. In fact, quality writers can simultaneously produce artistic content while also making a great living.

One of the pandemic silver linings that Wordplay 2020 really highlighted is that a virtual community can exist anywhere and everywhere. You didn't need to buy a plane ticket or gas up your car to attend—it was all happening right there in your home. Well, Wordplay isn't the only virtual lit fest.

It's a strange time to be a writer. At a quick glance, it seems like we should all be getting so much done because we're home all the time. But in reality, there are approximately one hundred thousand other things to do at home, and if you have kids/jobs/pets, those may all come first.

There’s a bag in my freezer full of chicken bones and odds and ends of veggies. When we dice a little more onion than we need, we toss the extra in there. We add the nubs of the carrots. Even the stems of herbs. When it’s full, we make stock. And from what? Basically a bag of garbage.