Craft and Creativity
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Profiles in Craft: Derek JG Williams
For you, what defines good writing? I want to experience bewilderment, or wonder. And by that, I don’t mean confusion or some kind of lack of understanding. I think good writing makes us consider the strangeness inherent to the various lives we live. What craft advice is most useful to you in your writing? I…
On Questioning Reality
Many great poems are born out of questions. After all, poetry has been interrogating reality since the dawn of language. What does it mean to be human? To be on this Earth? To quote Mary Oliver, “what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Good poets know how to…
On Messy Characters
In fiction, the best characters are at least a little messy. Sometimes, they have a lot of problems. Sometimes, they’re just plain awful people—people we never want to meet in real life. Yet, somehow, on paper, we find ourselves loving them regardless, flaws and all. How is that possible? Great storyteller gives their characters boundless…