Second Look
Cut a Favourite Sentence Only After Identifying the Job It Does
Decide whether to cut a favourite sentence by identifying its function, testing the paragraph without it and preserving useful work elsewhere.
A place to follow a sentence
Notes for the writing life
Draft & Structure
Write a Scene Where the Reader Knows What One Character Does Not
Create dramatic irony with an invented envelope scene, giving the reader one fact while keeping a character’s actions believable.
Draft & Structure
Writing in Second Person Without Ordering the Reader Around
Try a second-person scene in three voices and learn how concrete action can keep “you” from becoming a collection of commands or assumed feelings.
Second Look
A Draft’s Most Interesting Sentence May Belong in a Different Piece
A sentence can be vivid, accurate and completely wrong for the draft around it. Moving it elsewhere is not the same as deciding it has no value.
Second Look
An Essay’s Counterexample Should Be Strong Enough to Change Something
A counterexample that nobody would seriously offer makes an argument look tested without putting it under pressure. Choose a case that genuinely challenges…
Draft & Structure
Give a Fictional Object One Ordinary Use Before Asking It to Carry Meaning
A cracked cup can become heavy with meaning before anyone has taken a drink from it. Giving an object a practical role first helps its later significance…
Second Look
Replace a Vague Transition with the Actual Relationship Between Paragraphs
Words such as “furthermore” and “however” can make a draft sound connected while leaving its reasoning unclear. Before changing the transition, name the…
Draft & Structure
Write a Scene Using Only What the Visitor Can Reach
A room becomes more particular when a character cannot access everything in it. For this original writing exercise, describe a visit through the objects…