ARCHIVE FOR Craft Advice
Reading Novels While Writing Novels: Yes or No?

I'm amazed by writers who stop reading in their genre while writing their own books. The majority of them seem to be worried about becoming overly influenced by the voice, themes and even plot of the book they're reading.
Personally, I can't imagine not reading fiction for the many years it takes me to complete a novel. And in terms of being influenced: I'm actively looking for inspiration and ideas. I want to be influenced.
August 5, 2020 | Katrin Schumann
Books & Reading Craft Advice New Writing The Workshop The Writing Life
Write On Prompts: Episode 5 — Samantha Shanley (VIDEO)

During this time when our normal writing routines (alongside most other routines!) have been disrupted, we’re sharing short videos designed to help us all get unstuck, move forward, or find a new direction for our writing projects.
In Episode 5 of our "Write On Prompts" video series, GrubStreet Instructor Samantha Shanley shares a prompt designed to help you discover poignant, funny, or even gorgeous moments in your writing (especially when working on difficult material).
Find more of these videos in the coming weeks on Instagram and inside our newsletters. Enjoy!
(This video features the song ...
May 28, 2020 | Sean Van Deuren
Write On Prompts: Episode 4 — Shelby Kinney-Lang (VIDEO)

During this time when our normal writing routines (alongside most other routines!) have been disrupted, we’re sharing short videos designed to help us all get unstuck, move forward, or find a new direction for our writing projects.
In Episode 4 of our "Write On Prompts" video series, GrubStreet Instructor Shelby Kinney-Lang shares a prompt about how to write through anxiety that he recently used on a new essay. You can read his essay inspired by this prompt over at Green Mountain Review.
Find more of these videos in the coming weeks on Instagram and inside our newsletters. Enjoy!
(This video ...
May 21, 2020 | Sean Van Deuren
"Writing in a Time of Upheaval": Stacey D'Erasmo's 2019 Keynote [VIDEO]

To help keep our spirits up and our words flowing, we're sharing Muse and the Marketplace keynote talks and special event videos from GrubStreet's past in a series called "From the Grub Archive." This week, we're sharing a keynote video by Stacey D'Erasmo.
The title alone of Stacey D'Erasmo's brilliantly erudite 2019 keynote speech — "Writing in a Time of Upheaval" — feels urgently relevant to us right now in the midst of a global pandemic. D’Erasmo’s talk is a careful and illuminating close-reading of how the work of writers and artists like Gwendolyn ...
May 19, 2020 | Info
What You Need to Nail in the First Pages of Your Book

By Katrin Schumann
Last month, feeling unmoored and wanting to build community during self-isolation, I launched something I called #fivefreepages, in which I offered to critique five pages at the beginning of a nonfiction book or novel, free of charge
May 6, 2020 | Katrin Schumann

