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In praise of long sentences
Shorter sentences aren’t always easier to understand, whatever you may have heard from your composition teacher or writing software. The best writers generate meaning using sentence length as a stylistic ...
Almost everyone lies to aspiring writers
Some writers I coach need me to be a teacher, mentor, or therapist. Others are just looking for someone to tell them the truth. I might make more money by ...
My dad’s big gamble and how he told of it
As Charles's father demonstrated, quality matters even for a self-published memoir ...
How thoughtful stories knit our minds
The decline of literary fiction and serious film has contributed, in part, to America’s current social and political division. These art forms once helped glue us together through empathy and ...
Is a good book a window or a tile?
Bird mosaic by Jean-Michel Folon in front of the Fondation Folon museum (La Hulpe, Belgium) My son Robin was about five years old when he asked me at bedtime one ...
How permission can lead to more authentic truth
Winning permission to enter whaling camp and the promise of honesty ...
Who are better writers, the old or young?
From the cover of The Wild Braid by Stanley Kunitz. Young people have more vivid imaginations—there’s neuroscience on that—sharper memories, and quicker access to information. Old people know more—not more ...
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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