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The thing about a well-developed setting is that in many ways it’s invisible: it’s hidden in a sentence that reveals a character’s flaw, it sits quietly beside an emotional truth, it’s the catalyst for a surprising behavior. Setting grounds us in a specific context so that we can believe and understand the narrative, but the…
If you didn’t have the pleasure of viewing “30 Rock” before its finale on January 31, allow me to introduce you to the funniest female sitcom character since Lucille Ball. Her name is Liz Lemon, and — as the head writer for “TGS with Tracy Jordan,” a live comedy show that airs Friday nights at…
Oh, television (they sighed collectively). Enemy of productivity, demise of the would-be genius. “Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest,” we cry, “some Cromwell ruined by The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” But why, then, have I learned almost as much about writing from reality TV in the past five years as from my collections of…
For Those About To Write (We Salute You) will present a writing exercise to the Ploughshares community every few weeks. We heartily encourage everyone reading to take part! I have a bookmark list on my browser that seems to scroll on forever. It consists almost entirely of creative writing tips and tricks culled from the…
In our new regular series, we’ll recommend the ideal music to accompany some of our favorite books. If you have Spotify, make sure it’s open and you can listen along below; otherwise, buy the songs, find a comfy chair, and get reading! —Andrew Ladd, blog editor. Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found…
Go into your local, independent bookstore (no, really), and you’ll easily be able to tell the difference between literary and science fiction — often it will be delineated for you, with sections of the store dedicated to each. Just as often, the difference will be found on the cover. Yet despite the strawman of genre,…
As we launch a new blog format for the new year, we’re also looking back at all the great posts since the blog started in 2009. Our roundups explore the archives and gather past posts around a certain theme to help you jump-start your week. This week we have posts on conversations and collaborations among writers….
Hey Writing World. I love you. You’re brilliant. You make amazing things happen on a page. But you have NO IDEA what to do behind a microphone. And so many of your venues are grim! They make us forget that there’s ever been magic in words. Basically, there’s an oozing sore on your writing, and…
The Literary Boroughs series will explore little-known and well-known literary communities across the country and world and show that while literary culture can exist online without regard to geographic location, it also continues to thrive locally. Posts are by no means exhaustive and we encourage our readers to contribute in the comment section. The series will run on our blog…
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