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How I Write

Working practices described by writers.

The Fabrication of Fiction

By Patricia Schonstein
patriciaschonstein

My novel, The Master’s Ruse, is set in a future time when the sea is biologically dead. It unfolds in a country ruled by a military junta. Literature and freedom of speech have been banned and the holdings of all libraries burnt. The narrative voice belongs to an aging authoress who lives on a vast [...]


The Soup Of My Boiling Imagination

By Kevin Shamel
kevin shamel head

It usually begins with Post-It Notes. They surround my monitor as I type this. If not those sticky, colored squares, then it’s a ragtag collection of paper bits that start my stories. I get ideas in droves and jot them down for later use. It’s also how I organize what I need to do. If [...]


Through A Dark Room With Arms Outstretched

By Beatrice Colin

I’m always amazed by people who tell me they have a whole book stored in their head – all they have to do is write it. When I start a novel I have only the vaguest idea of how it will turn out. I usually have a place I want to end up, a final [...]


I Don’t Want to Make This Comic

By Sarah C. Bell
Sarah C. Bell

I am a lazy artist. I get some silly/brilliant/stupid idea for a script and get really excited. Epiphany! Light bulb! Yes­ — this comic about a dead moth I saw must be drawn! The world simply must have it. Moaning and whining and procrastinating, however, quickly follow this bolt of inspiration. I want to sit [...]


The Meditative Mood

By Louise Shivers
Louise Shivers

The ideal writing day for me begins when I wake up naturally at eight o’clock. While I sip on a large cup of coffee I stare into space. This hour sets the tone for the day. About nine I eat some protein, cheese toast maybe. From nine to ten I go to the computer or, [...]


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