Since I started blogging nearly 4 years ago, I’ve discovered the joy –and frustration – of deciding what to write about. Sometimes an idea spontaneously comes to mind and I’m compelled to sit down ...

This week’s excuse for not making more progress on my book or anyone else’s is that I have my first cold in two years, and staring at words makes my headache worse—which has not prevented me from ...

This question originally appeared on Quora. Answer by Ellen Vrana, writer, blogger: This is the approach I use to generate content and ideas. I’m an essayist. (Although I prefer “woman of letters”—can ...

“We live with mystery,” the poet Mark Strand notes, “but we don’t like the feeling. I think we should get used to it.” I never met Strand, though I saw him read back in 1999. That was the year I spent ...

On any given day, I write somewhere in the ballpark of 10,000 words–and the genres are all over the board. I have a journal for poetry and quick ideas that I keep with me at all times, in my backpack.

Ann Packer is the bestselling author of The Dive From Clausen's Pier, Songs Without Words, and, most recently, The Children's Crusade, which is out this month. Packer shares her 5 writing tips. I’m ...

I don't about you, but I love love. And I also love to celebrate. (No really, I'll raise a glass to just about anything.) That's why I'm a huge proponent of marking every single milestone in a ...