The Joy of Holding Back: The East Asian Four-Act Structure
The author of Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird (Norton, 2025) encourages writers to introduce a surprising element more than halfway into their storytelling structure.
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Tags: writing prompts
The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem that uses the metaphor of a bridge to represent a complex family dynamic, a short story that reconceptualizes historical fiction, or a lyrical essay that reflects on the stages of returning to a former self.
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What Listening Has Taught Me: The Future Is Shaped by What We Remember
Oral historian Nyssa Chow considers the nested memories she belongs to, and invites readers to do the same.
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Writing About Family: Impossible Conversations
Writer and scholar Rebecca Rainof offers advice on how to write about family by imagining fictive dialogues.
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The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem about the pains and pleasures of cold weather, a short story that brings together an unexpected series of events, or an essay that contemplates companionship.
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The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write three poems in the form of letters addressed to parents, grandparents, and an emotion; a fiction story set during holiday festivities; or a list essay about gratitude and expectation.
Craft Capsule: Body in the Mirror
The author of Martha Moody recalls the challenge of finding language to describe her body.
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The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem considering what you see without focusing on its meaning, a short story based on a mysterious occurrence, or an essay about your New Year’s traditions.
StayHomeWriMo Rallies Writers
A new initiative from the organizers of National Novel Writing Month invites writers to find comfort in their creativity and stay inside while the battle with COVID-19 continues.
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Craft Capsule: Living Images
Emma Copley Eisenberg borrows a creative exercise from beloved writer and comics artist Lynda Barry.
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