“Several revolutions make a final electric charge feel even more earned.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Jill Bialosky encourages poets to let truth surprise them in the writing process. at.pw.org/BialoskyCC1
September 28, 2026 at 2:02 PM
“Several revolutions make a final electric charge feel even more earned.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Jill Bialosky encourages poets to let truth surprise them in the writing process. at.pw.org/BialoskyCC1
“You don’t have to be a funny person with a backlog of jokes at the ready.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Julie Schumacher encourages writers to experiment with perspective to find humor. at.pw.org/SchumacherCC1
June 8, 2026 at 2:30 PM
“You don’t have to be a funny person with a backlog of jokes at the ready.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Julie Schumacher encourages writers to experiment with perspective to find humor. at.pw.org/SchumacherCC1
“We can reveal a truth in a poem by telling another’s story, within which lies our own.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Jill Bialosky encourages poets to embrace fictional speakers in their work. at.pw.org/BialoskyCC2
October 5, 2026 at 2:04 PM
“We can reveal a truth in a poem by telling another’s story, within which lies our own.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Jill Bialosky encourages poets to embrace fictional speakers in their work. at.pw.org/BialoskyCC2
“Poetry has become both a site of reverence and a kind of cultural linguistic archive.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, brittny ray crowell considers how memory can be mined for particular phrases and pronunciations to guide poetry. at.pw.org/crowellCC1
January 12, 2026 at 3:15 PM
“Poetry has become both a site of reverence and a kind of cultural linguistic archive.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, brittny ray crowell considers how memory can be mined for particular phrases and pronunciations to guide poetry. at.pw.org/crowellCC1
“So much of our best writing happens when we leave behind the deadening glow of the screen.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Sara Lippmann encourages authors to find pastimes to supplement the writing life. at.pw.org/LippmannCC2
August 3, 2026 at 2:15 PM
“So much of our best writing happens when we leave behind the deadening glow of the screen.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Sara Lippmann encourages authors to find pastimes to supplement the writing life. at.pw.org/LippmannCC2
“[D]iversity can and should be about more than just plopping different faces into stories that are 100 percent Western in spirit.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author @henrylienauthor.bsky.social recommends writers embrace diverse storytelling styles and structures. at.pw.org/CCLien3
March 28, 2025 at 2:07 PM
“[D]iversity can and should be about more than just plopping different faces into stories that are 100 percent Western in spirit.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author @henrylienauthor.bsky.social recommends writers embrace diverse storytelling styles and structures. at.pw.org/CCLien3
“But, if the trauma is too fresh, the metaphors tend to falter or wilt beneath the pressure of emotion.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author Jehanne Dubrow offers advice to writers wondering whether they are ready to process traumatic experience on the page. at.pw.org/Dubrow1
April 7, 2025 at 1:43 PM
“But, if the trauma is too fresh, the metaphors tend to falter or wilt beneath the pressure of emotion.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author Jehanne Dubrow offers advice to writers wondering whether they are ready to process traumatic experience on the page. at.pw.org/Dubrow1
“I believe writers must tap into the rhythmic silence of their own imagination.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Garrett Hongo reflects on the practice of poetry as one of both composition and listening. at.pw.org/HongoCC1
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 PM
“I believe writers must tap into the rhythmic silence of their own imagination.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Garrett Hongo reflects on the practice of poetry as one of both composition and listening. at.pw.org/HongoCC1
“Memories are the stories we tell ourselves to explain the world and ascribe meanings.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, oral historian Nyssa Chow considers the nested memories she belongs to, and invites readers to do the same. at.pw.org/oralhistory2
February 17, 2025 at 2:49 PM
“Memories are the stories we tell ourselves to explain the world and ascribe meanings.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, oral historian Nyssa Chow considers the nested memories she belongs to, and invites readers to do the same. at.pw.org/oralhistory2
“If I have a writing process, it is in filling out and capturing granular detail.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Martha Anne Toll recommends writers research vocabularies specific to their characters’ lives to ensure the novel’s world feels believable. at.pw.org/TollCC2
May 12, 2025 at 1:40 PM
“If I have a writing process, it is in filling out and capturing granular detail.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Martha Anne Toll recommends writers research vocabularies specific to their characters’ lives to ensure the novel’s world feels believable. at.pw.org/TollCC2
“Redemption in the real world is messy, nonlinear work, full of repetition and cruel setbacks.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author @henrylienauthor.bsky.social recommends writers embrace circuitous storytelling structures, typical of nonwestern literature. at.pw.org/CCLien2
March 17, 2025 at 1:46 PM
“Redemption in the real world is messy, nonlinear work, full of repetition and cruel setbacks.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author @henrylienauthor.bsky.social recommends writers embrace circuitous storytelling structures, typical of nonwestern literature. at.pw.org/CCLien2
“Each player now has the time of one turn of the hourglass to write a couplet or short poem in response.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Kazim Ali creates a generative writing board game inspired by Emily Dickinson. at.pw.org/AliCC2
September 7, 2026 at 2:03 PM
“Each player now has the time of one turn of the hourglass to write a couplet or short poem in response.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Kazim Ali creates a generative writing board game inspired by Emily Dickinson. at.pw.org/AliCC2
“He showed little of his grief directly in his work, but knowing what he experienced, it’s clear how much of it he transformed into art.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Ellen Bass reflects on the life and literature of Robert Frost, and the lessons writers can take from him. at.pw.org/grief3
September 8, 2025 at 2:07 PM
“He showed little of his grief directly in his work, but knowing what he experienced, it’s clear how much of it he transformed into art.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Ellen Bass reflects on the life and literature of Robert Frost, and the lessons writers can take from him. at.pw.org/grief3
“In addition to accurate detail, carefully selected vocabulary helps make your writing sparkle.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Martha Anne Toll recommends rigorous revision strategies as writers polish their manuscripts. at.pw.org/TollCC3
May 19, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“In addition to accurate detail, carefully selected vocabulary helps make your writing sparkle.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Martha Anne Toll recommends rigorous revision strategies as writers polish their manuscripts. at.pw.org/TollCC3
“What do inadvertent assemblages of family life tell us?” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Rebecca Rainof offers advice on writing about family by considering how “pockets of place can convey a larger sense of home.” at.pw.org/family3
January 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM
“What do inadvertent assemblages of family life tell us?” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Rebecca Rainof offers advice on writing about family by considering how “pockets of place can convey a larger sense of home.” at.pw.org/family3
“Another habit I recommend is to work on drafts away from the computer screen. I tell my students to take a walk and record their thoughts as voice memos.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author Jehanne Dubrow recommends rituals to help protect yourself when writing about trauma. at.pw.org/Dubrow2
April 14, 2025 at 1:38 PM
“Another habit I recommend is to work on drafts away from the computer screen. I tell my students to take a walk and record their thoughts as voice memos.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author Jehanne Dubrow recommends rituals to help protect yourself when writing about trauma. at.pw.org/Dubrow2
“I start with a kernel, either a character or an event, or a piece of music, and work forward and backward from there.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Martha Anne Toll recommends writers discover their structure as they write. at.pw.org/TollCC1
May 5, 2025 at 12:48 PM
“I start with a kernel, either a character or an event, or a piece of music, and work forward and backward from there.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Martha Anne Toll recommends writers discover their structure as they write. at.pw.org/TollCC1
“Instead of torturing yourself, you could transgress.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Sara Lippmann encourages writers to pursue multiple projects simultaneously. at.pw.org/LippmannCC1
July 27, 2026 at 2:15 PM
“Instead of torturing yourself, you could transgress.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Sara Lippmann encourages writers to pursue multiple projects simultaneously. at.pw.org/LippmannCC1
“Some movements take place in a relative instant; others unfold across billions of years.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Kazim Ali invites poets to embark on an experimental dance and embodied writing exercise. at.pw.org/AliCC3
September 14, 2026 at 2:03 PM
“Some movements take place in a relative instant; others unfold across billions of years.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Kazim Ali invites poets to embark on an experimental dance and embodied writing exercise. at.pw.org/AliCC3
“Errors become wanderings. Cross-outs remain as proof, condemnation, or amnesty.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Kazim Ali reflects on erasure and encouragers writers to experiment with the form. at.pw.org/AliCC1
August 31, 2026 at 2:02 PM
“Errors become wanderings. Cross-outs remain as proof, condemnation, or amnesty.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Kazim Ali reflects on erasure and encouragers writers to experiment with the form. at.pw.org/AliCC1
“There was a sense of something I couldn’t yet name, a kind of covert intimacy...” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Mary Jean Chan reflects on queer traces in literature. at.pw.org/readingqueerly
October 20, 2025 at 2:05 PM
“There was a sense of something I couldn’t yet name, a kind of covert intimacy...” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Mary Jean Chan reflects on queer traces in literature. at.pw.org/readingqueerly
“How much disjunction and fragmentation can you bear, do you find beautiful?” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Donna Masini considers the value of combining incongruous images in poetry. at.pw.org/MasiniCC2
July 13, 2026 at 2:30 PM
“How much disjunction and fragmentation can you bear, do you find beautiful?” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Donna Masini considers the value of combining incongruous images in poetry. at.pw.org/MasiniCC2
“All novelists are masters of time manipulation.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Tamar Shapiro recommends writers use time as a tool to shape the emotional stakes of novels. at.pw.org/ShapiroCC1
July 21, 2025 at 1:36 PM
“All novelists are masters of time manipulation.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Tamar Shapiro recommends writers use time as a tool to shape the emotional stakes of novels. at.pw.org/ShapiroCC1
“You are your own first reader, your own most important reader. These are your pages.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author Ramona Ausubel encourages writers to write without an outside reader in mind. at.pw.org/AusubelCC1
April 13, 2026 at 2:15 PM
“You are your own first reader, your own most important reader. These are your pages.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, author Ramona Ausubel encourages writers to write without an outside reader in mind. at.pw.org/AusubelCC1
“It turns out there’s a downside to knowledge.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Tamar Shapiro recommends writers refine their research and examine which details actually serve their characters and plots. at.pw.org/ShapiroCC3
August 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
“It turns out there’s a downside to knowledge.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Tamar Shapiro recommends writers refine their research and examine which details actually serve their characters and plots. at.pw.org/ShapiroCC3