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What to do with the sacred muse
Memoirs sometimes show you things the author didn’t intend. A painfully egotistical book is an obvious example. But in the case of a great talent, that unintended insight can be ...
Facing the final final deadline
The cover of Saving for the Future, by Dave Rose Dave Rose had his wry smile even as he told me why we needed to finish up his book faster ...
What prose styles tell us about our minds
English prose styles change through time like musical or artistic styles, but within the period of a dominant style people often don’t see it as changeable—they think the current style ...
Does it matter who’s real or fake?
Milli Vanilli, 1990 If you can’t tell the difference between a novel written by a human being and one written by AI, why do you care? We need a good ...
Why everyone needs an editor
A close friend or partner (in my case, Sarah is both) can be like an editor for your life, helping you avoid mistakes that you would regret. That happened a ...
How to record your elders’ stories before it’s too late
Hands of Mr. Henry Brooks. Library of Congress. Generations pass on funny stories and family myths without really trying. That’s not what I’m talking about. The truth is perishable. You ...
How and why I’m competing for your attention
To get people’s attention, you must give them something at least as valuable in return. Writing online makes that exchange explicit—brutally so, when a piece flops and the writer is ...
How to write about sex or boredom
Few writing tasks are as risky as describing sex. The task itself is easy and can be fun—but even celebrated writers make fools of themselves doing it, revealing their own ...
Charles Wohlforth has written many of his own books, has ghost-written others, and helps many writers find their own way into print. Learn how to work with Charles.
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