Given how fraught writing for publication can be, it’s understandable for faculty to perceive the process as dehumanizing. Even soul-crunching, as one of our colleagues lamented. College and ...

When I went to the University of Southern California for my MFA in screenwriting, I took a one-hour TV drama course for my thesis. My thesis adviser said there were three types of TV writers: “big ...

“I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” –Frank Costello (played by Jack Nicholson), The Departed The Academy may have selected a silent film, The ...

In the world of fiction, dialogue is the lifeblood that pumps through the veins of every great story. It’s the invisible thread that weaves characters together, propels plots forward and breathes life ...

When my teenage son picked up “Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing” (Morrow, 96 pp., $14.95), it fell open to Rule 3: “Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue.” “I wish my teachers could ...

Creative writing is unique for a few reasons. This guide addresses things unique to writing fiction. The thing/character that is battling the protagonist. The antagonist does not have to be a person, ...