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Capturing the Art of Storytelling: Techniques & Tips

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It is hard to measure the art of storytelling, but you know it when you see it. You read a passage of prose and it raises your arm hairs, makes your blood tingle, gets your heart racing; suddenly you’re swept up in the experience of beautiful writing. Indeed, writers seem to possess a certain magic […]

Literary Fiction vs. Genre Fiction

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The world of fiction writing can be split into two categories: literary fiction vs. genre fiction. Literary fiction (lit fic) generally describes work that’s character-driven and realistic, whereas genre fiction generally describes work that’s plot-driven and based on specific tropes. That said, these kinds of reductive definitions are unfair to both genres. Literary fiction can […]

What is a Prose Poem? Understanding Prose Poetry

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Few literary genres allow for experimentation quite as easily as prose poetry. Blending the techniques of prose with the emotion and lyricism of poetry, the best prose poems uncover subconscious thought with searing originality. Poets looking to break free from form, and prose writers seeking new means of expression, will absolutely find creative freedom in […]

What is Theme? A Look at 20 Common Themes in Literature

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When someone asks you “What is this book about?”, there are a few ways you can answer. There’s “plot,” which refers to the literal events in the book, and there’s “character,” which refers to the people in the book and the struggles they overcome. Finally, there are themes in literature that correspond with the work’s […]

Leaving

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He’d be leaving town soon. He’d be leaving, lightly loaded, on the bus. Two items still to part with: A car with bad breaks, significant steering problems, and bald tires. That poem that ran much longer than Poe would ever allow. Epic. Five hundred pages of it. It was the last of his stuff. After […]

What is Tone in Literature? 

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Everything you read has a tone. Blog posts will have an engaging and conversational tone; Textbooks often have an informative, matter-of-fact tone. A piece of satire might have a humorous or ironic tone. Tone in literature encompasses the wide variety of moods, thoughts, and feelings that authors imbue their work with. But, what is tone? […]

How to Submit to Literary Journals

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For the last few months, you’ve opened the document on your computer and spent time constructing sentences, reading, researching, and working on the right metaphor for your poem, short story, or nonfiction essay. This writing is done in isolation, with no one witnessing late nights, pages of revision, and of course, frustration. You’ve finally revised […]

Simile vs. Metaphor vs. Analogy: Definitions and Examples

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The simile, the metaphor, and the analogy are some of the most common literary devices, giving writers the tools to compare different ideas, concepts, and experiences. Yet, because these three devices are all comparisons, it can be difficult to keep track of which device means which. What is a simile vs. metaphor vs. analogy? Whether […]

Dad is Inside Mom

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Dad is inside Mom. They are so far up each other’s business that Mom engulfs Dad like a sausage casing. They operate in stereo now, in layers. The heft of them, standing on one pair of feet wearing Mom’s blue Keds, takes up space in the kitchen. Stretched and misshapen like an old man’s track […]
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