Why are there 2 rules of writing? First of all, what are the two rules of writing? You must make mistakes. You must finish SOMETHING. Ok. So why are there only two? And why those two? It’s because those two rules are just enough to put the power in the hands of the writer. That’s…
Category: Writers on Writing
Why 30 Days? Why 30 Poems? Because April is the Cruelest Month
As we look back on our recently concluded 30 Days, 30 Poems Project celebrating National Poetry Month and continue to mark Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we are sharing this piece today, about the intersection between the two. If you are in the US and need urgent mental health assistance, you can call, text…
Saskia Hamilton: World Poetry Day
Saskia Hamilton (1967- 2023) was my teacher when I was a student at Columbia. She was on the faculty at Barnard, and one of the first classes I took was her Poetics, a lecture of about thirty students. A couple years later, I took her Advanced Poetry Writing seminar. Can I start by saying I…
Yentl, Tragedy, and the Unanswerable Question
“Yentl” is my favorite short story. Sort of. Let me explain. There’s a joke that the question a reader/writer hates most is also the most frequently asked: “what’s your favorite book.” Or “what’s your favorite short story?” It’s such a personal question. The answer has everything to do with who I am deep down; who…
Saadat Hassan Manto: “The Assignment”
Author’s notes: Content warnings for self-harm, political violence, sexual violence. I consistently refer to Manto’s hometown as “Bombay” rather than Mumbai. I do this for two reasons. The lesser reason is that “Bombay” is simply Portuguese for “Beautiful Bay,” whereas Mumbai is short for “Mumbadevi” and the change was made in 1995 at the instigation…
2 Years of 2 Rules: Check our Vibes
Don’t forget to join us on Zoom (December 9 at 12 noon est which is GMT-5) for a reading to celebrate 2 years! Adam Writes: We built this website two years ago. Two years. It’s hard to think that that was before we had paying clients. It was before we had weekly writing sessions where…
Against Book Bans: Mirrors and Windows
Mirrors. Windows. Lonely. Alone. Cover the mirror. Your place is clear. Close a window. So much you won’t know. Mirrors. Windows. A child needs both. Rudine Sims Bishop, the mother of multicultural children’s literature was the first to explain that, in order to get a balanced view of the world every child needs mirrors and…
The Story Behind the 2 Rules of Writing
A lot has been going on at the website in the last few weeks. We took on an intern, Blossom Akpojisheri of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. We’re sorting things out with a photo editor, Allegra Boverman. And the website became financially self-sustaining. It’s a lot to celebrate all at once. Considering Erika and I founded this…
TED Talks and Writing and Bowels
One of the issues with writing is that people always compare themselves to the rest of the world. It’s understandable to read a short story by Hemingway; to admire the master-class in compression and repression; and think to yourself: “I could never write like that.” That’s an easy way to score points against yourself. Because…
How to Write a Story?
I want to share something with you. Partly because I think it’s funny, and partly because I think it’s interesting: “The Himalayan salt crystal his mother sent him for his last birthday tasted quite good on eggs. Did they taste better on eggs than the salt that came a can? Of that, Sisyphus couldn’t be…
Mental Health Awareness Month 2023
There’s a joke about a writer. Mental Health Awareness Month was around the corner and this writer, being an expert in mental health–from both experience and education–was given the reins that month: their editor expected them to write weekly articles, daily blog-posts, and hourly tweets. The strain was so intense that the writer went mad….