Resources
From Category: Advice for Writers
Ride the Pen
Analyzing great literature for technique and writing prompts | Visit source
Tim Weed’s Storycraft Blog
Novelist's blog analyzes fiction from a craft perspective | Visit source
Purity and Nonsense
Brian Brodeur's essay on the aesthetics of nonsense verse | Visit source
David Biespiel: Follow Your Strengths, Manage Your Weaknesses
How to focus on your strengths as a writer | Visit source
Christopher Fielden’s Writing Advice and Competitions Listings
British writer-editor's blog links to top fiction competitions | Visit source
Advice from the Judges of the North Street Book Prize
What Jendi Reiter and Ellen LaFleche like to see in self-published books
Amorak Huey on Writing Funny
Musings on the role of humor in poetry | Visit source
Necessary Fiction
Online journal publishes original fiction, book reviews, essays on writing | Visit source
Now What? The Creative Writer’s Guide to Success After the MFA
Book and companion website on opportunities for professional writers | Visit source
Advice from Ellaraine Lockie, Judge of the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest
Ellaraine Lockie describes the kinds of work she likes to see in the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest
Advice from Arthur Powers, Judge of the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
Arthur Powers shares advice on the kinds of stories and essays that win contests
Ingrid Wendt: “The Unknown Good in Our Enemies”
This essay honoring the poet William Stafford reflects on how literature can foster mutual understanding and empathy in order to break the cycle of violence | Visit source
Facing Altars: Poetry and Prayer
Poet and memoirist Mary Karr muses on the resemblance between poetry and prayer as "sacred speech" that eases the soul's isolation | Visit source
The Poetess in America, an essay by Annie Finch
A well-researched defense of poets who fell out of fashion with the rise of literary modernism | Visit source
The Fortunes of Formalism
Poet and critic David Yezzi makes the case for mastery of verse forms and prosody as essential to the education of a poet, and gives a historical perspective on formalism's loss of status | Visit source
The Chapbook Review
The name of this monthly online journal is self-explanatory | Visit source
Text Etc
Formerly Poetry Magic: A large collection of articles on writing poetry, understanding poetry and getting published | Visit source
Terrible Minds
Fiction writer and "freelance penmonkey" Chuck Wendig delivers ballsy, bracing advice for writers at his entertaining and useful blog | Visit source
Stages and Pages
Writer, editor, and theatre professional Francine L. Trevens reviews books, movies, and stage productions at her blog | Visit source
Silliman’s Blog
Thoughtful reflections on contemporary poetry and poetics from award-winning poet and editor Ron Silliman | Visit source
Rhyme or Reason - What Makes a Good Poem?
J. Paul Dyson, editor of FirstWriter magazine, discusses how to integrate rhyme more effectively into your poem and choose the right style for your subject | Visit source
Recovering the Lost Joy of Poetry Games
This essay by poet Marcus Goodyear from the magazine Books & Culture celebrates the playful spirit in poetry and contends that it can be a necessary leaven for poems that address difficult themes | Visit source
Poets & Writers: A Frequent Winner’s Advice
In this interview with Poets & Writers Magazine from January 2009, award-winning poet Cynthia Lowen offers tips for maximizing your success with writing contests | Visit source
Poetry’s Perilous Popularity
From Slate, A.O. Scott and Katha Pollitt probe the gap between 'official' poetry and poetry's stealth bestsellers, and the challenge of teaching classic work without scaring students away | Visit source
Poetry Debates & Manifestos
Thirty-one younger American poets take on some of the great debates and literary manifestos from the history of modern poetry | Visit source
Poetic Asides by Robert Lee Brewer
Poetry blog on the Writer's Digest website features interviews with contemporary authors, writing prompts, advice on the craft, and introductions to exotic poetic forms | Visit source
On the Idea of Order: Manuscript Advice from Tupelo Press Editor Jeffrey Levine
In this blog series, the editor of prestigious literary publisher Tupelo Press offers advice on the ordering and editing of a poetry manuscript | Visit source
On Making the Poetry Manuscript: Advice from Tupelo Press Editor Jeffrey Levine
Jeffrey Levine, editor of the prestigious independent publisher Tupelo Press, offers solid advice on collecting your poems into a coherent manuscript and presenting them to best advantage | Visit source
Lemon Hound
Poet Sina Queyras runs this blog about the theory and practice of poetry criticism | Visit source
Kate Greenstreet’s Poetry Interviews Blog
Poet Kate Greenstreet blogs at Every Other Day, where she's compiled an archive of over 100 interviews with contemporary poets about the road to first-book publication and how it changed their life (or not) | Visit source
Jeff Goins, Writer
This literary blog features profound reflections on creativity and spirituality, along with more practical advice about good writing habits and marketing your work | Visit source
Interviews with Practicing Writers by Erika Dreifus
Fiction writer Erika Dreifus publishes the Practicing Writer e-newsletter, a monthly roundup of markets, contests, and writing advice, in which these interviews first appeared | Visit source
How to Write in 700 Easy Lessons
In this essay from The Atlantic's 2010 fiction issue, novelist Richard Bausch argues that writers' manuals are a poor substitute for honing one's aesthetic sense through immersion in great literature | Visit source
From Page to Pixels: The Evolution of Online Journals
In this article from the May/June 2009 Poets & Writers Magazine, award-winning poet Sandra Beasley discusses the growing prestige of online publication and the advantages it offers for disseminating your work | Visit source
FlashFiction.net
Updated daily, this site features short craft essays on writing and marketing your flash fiction | Visit source
Essay Daily
Curated by DIAGRAM editor Ander Monson, Essay Daily is a space for ongoing conversation about essays and essayists of note, contemporary and otherwise | Visit source
Does Poetry Matter? an essay by William Waltz
Prizewinning poet William Waltz investigates why there are more writers than readers of poetry. Today's highbrow poets, he ventures, should plumb their playful side | Visit source
Djelloul Marbrook
Award-winning poet and journalist's weblog features essays on contemporary poets, contextualized with reflections on politics and culture | Visit source
Dispoet
Insightful blog about poetry and disability includes brief reviews and discussions of contemporary poets writing about the subject | Visit source
Death to the Death of Poetry, an essay by Donald Hall
Poetry has been dying all its life | Visit source
Daily s-Press
Dorothee Lang, editor of BluePrintReview, an English-language online literary journal based in Germany, began this blog in March 2010 to review new books of poetry and prose from small independent presses | Visit source
Comstock Review: The Poet’s Handbook
Detailed guidance for poets from the Comstock Writers' Group | Visit source
Can Poetry Matter? an essay by Dana Gioia
Poetry is imprisoned in the cozy cells of academia and specialty publishers | Visit source
Boston Comment
Hard-hitting essays on the state of contemporary poetry, by poet and critic Joan Houlihan | Visit source
Bad Poets, a short essay by Randall Jarrell
Mr. Jarrell (1914-1965) was a leading American poet and critic | Visit source
Anatomy of a Poetry Contest
See how a judge weighs poems in this essay by Virgil Suarez | Visit source
An Honest Answer by Ginger Andrews, reviewed by Dr. Joseph S. Salemi
Poet and classical scholar Joseph Salemi (see bio and poems) probes the limitations of contemporary free- verse confessional poetry | Visit source
An ABC of Translating Poetry, an essay by Willis Barnstone
Master poet Willis Barnstone explores the act of translation, "a friendship between poets...a mystical union between them based on love and art | Visit source
Advice from the Judge of the War Poetry Contest
Jendi Reiter, judge of the War Poetry Contest from 2002-2011, shares her advice | Visit source
American Life in Poetry
Weekly column by former US poet laureate Ted Kooser presents contemporary American poems and a short discussion of the techniques that make them effective | Visit source
