Can You Learn to Write? I Never Had To

by Thomas E. Kennedy

Originally published on April 6, 2004

I do not believe there has ever been a successful writer who has not studied writing to learn the craft.

The House Rules of the American Short Story

by Matt Briggs

Originally published on June 1, 2001

If you follow these rules, you are guaranteed to produce an American Short Story Masterpiece. Begin with both feet on the ground. Grab the reader by the throat and don’t let go until they are gasping for breath or pass out. Clearly identify in your own mind, “What is at stake for the protagonist?” (see [...]

Rules of Torture

by Richard Weems

Originally published on November 1, 2000

Writing is serious play, but it is most certainly play. Dare yourself to do something in your work that you’ve never done before.

Two Truths and a Lie

by Camille Renshaw

Originally published on March 1, 2000

Doing the ten exercises below will improve your sex life. The ten exercises below can be used to teach writing students, or you can use them yourself to generate fresh ideas for poems, stories, or essays. I owe many thanks to the dozens of professional writers and writing instructors who contributed to this article. If [...]

Swiveling My Hips through the Interbunk

by Lisa Ciccarello

Originally published on January 1, 2000

Like early cinematography, hypertext is a complex art form with an emerging set of rules and conventions. These conventions are so new they defy most attempts to exhaustively describe them…

A Poetry Student’s Commonplace

by Anne Doolittle

Originally published on August 1, 1999

Pif’s Poetry Editor offers up her commonplace book of poetry, a listing of various snatches of stuff – universal and profound.

How-To : An Example

by Anne Doolittle

Originally published on June 1, 1998

1. ha! I like this a lot 2. The first phrase may not be needed. 3. As clever as it is, I’m trying to justify the absence of sentence closures… yes, I think the irony in that works quite well. 4. You know this implies that Jesus, had he been married, would have been a [...]

The Essentials of Micro-Fiction

by Camille Renshaw

Originally published on June 1, 1998

Camille Renshaw explores what makes for a good short, short story.