Personal Essay
Stick Figures
12Grandmother. Ten years old and I’m kneeling on the carpet next to her. She smells like flowers with English Garden names: peony, jasmine, narcissus; she smells like black and white…
Read MoreProof of Life
There is a tiny person under my roof this morning. She arrived two days ago, and I fussed and worried and sterilized and kept the appropriate social distance, until finally…
Read MoreMy Blessed Boy on the Streets…and my Teacher of all Things Good
Previously Published in U.S. Catholic. A sometimes lonely leftover phone booth stands on a street corner in Portland, Oregon. When a street person feels so inclined, he or she can…
Read MoreInterview: Barbara Henning Discusses “Prompt Book” and Finding the Inspiration to Write
If you’re a writer looking for prompts, inspiration, or lessons on literary movements, then writers.com instructor Barbara Henning‘s new book Prompt Book (Spuyten Duyvil Publishing, 2021) is your solution. Naturally, we…
Read MoreProse vs. Poetry: Their Differences, Overlaps, and Writing Each
The difference between prose and poetry seems easy to explain: one has blocks of text and fully-fleshed characters, the other has line breaks and pretty words. That’s it, right? Despite…
Read MoreHow to Avoid Clichés in Writing
I hope this isn’t unoriginal, but reading clichés in writing make me feel like I’ve woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Really, clichés in writing are a dime…
Read MoreHow to Read Prose: Close Reading Strategies for Prose Writers
In this article, we’ll give you strategies to begin reading prose like a writer. We’ll discuss applying close reading strategies to prose: that is, to anything that isn’t written in…
Read MoreConcise Writing: How to Omit Needless Words
This article is all about concise writing, summed up in the timeless phrase “Omit needless words.” We’ll examine some of the best advice on writing concisely, define what concise writing…
Read More10 Important Literary Devices in Prose: Examples & Analysis
Any writer looking to master the art of storytelling will want to learn the literary devices in prose. Fiction and nonfiction writers rely on these devices to bring their stories…
Read More24 of the Best Places to Submit Creative Nonfiction Online
After weeks of deliberating over the right words and fine-tuning your creative nonfiction piece, you’re ready to begin submitting to literary nonfiction journals. The only problem is finding the right…
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