Josef Lemoine

10 Tips to Bypass Cliché and Melodrama

2012-01-31T15:56:00.000-08:00

At Writer's Digest

Poetry Curriculum & Lesson Plans

2012-01-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

@ Poets.org

10 Ways to Improve Your Writing While Thinking Like a Comedy Writer

2012-01-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

By Leigh Anne Jasheway
At Writer's Digest

*sidenote to self: comedy=perceivable incongruity+distance

Plotting Triple-O Method Writing Exercise

2011-09-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

1. Objective
2. Obstacles
3. Outcome

"How to Broaden Your Short Story’s Scope" (The Sweep)

2011-08-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

By Noelle Sterne
At Writer's Digest

"Reverend Thornhill's Wife"

2011-07-28T15:31:00.001-07:00

By Richard Bausch
At Narrative Magazine

"The Visitor"

2011-07-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

By Daniel Alarcon
At Big Ugly Review

"Fatty"

2011-07-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

By R. A. Costello
At Narrative Magazine

Miranda July's "The Hallway"

2011-07-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

The Hallway from The Hallway on Vimeo.

"An 8mm Clip of Violence"

2011-07-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

By Peter Stenson
at SmokeLong Quarterly

Four Poems by Chris Abani

2011-07-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

At Narrative Magazine

Plot Like a Bestseller: 8 Things You Should Know

2011-07-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

by Zachary Petit
At Writer's Digest

"Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot"

2011-07-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

By Robert Olen Butler
At Narrative Magazine

"In Country"

2011-07-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

By Robert Olen Butler
At Narrative Magazine

10 Tips For Building Your Writing Checklist

2011-07-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

By Mark C. Newton
At Guide to Literary Agents

4 Ways to Make Every Word Count

2011-06-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

Excerpted from Keys to Great Writing
© 2000 by STEPHEN WILBERS
at Writer's Digest

"The Last Hours of Pompeii"

2011-05-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

By Marc Nieson
At Carve Magazine

"How to Survive a Hangover: Jeff Goldblum Describes How He Knows that Today is Going to be Worse than Yesterday"

2011-05-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

By Alexander Stachniak
At Word Riot

"Gmail – Inbox – richard.lee@gmail.com"

2011-05-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

By Erik Doughty
At Word Riot

"In Hoan Kiem Lake"

2011-05-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

By Clifford Garstang
At The Northville Review

2011 Pushcart Prize Rankings

2011-05-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

At Perpetual Folly

"WHAT YOU SAY, WHAT IS DONE TO YOU"

2011-05-10T23:57:00.000-07:00

By Roxane Gay
At LITnIMAGE

"For Tourists Such As Yourself"

2011-05-10T02:20:00.000-07:00

By Miguel Morales
At NANO Fiction

"Lincoln vs. Clinton"

2011-05-09T23:31:00.000-07:00

By James Franco
At Six Sentences

Jeremy Radin's "German Snow"

2011-05-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

"Arousal"

2011-05-05T22:55:00.000-07:00

By Ben Tanzer
At decomP

"She Makes One Hell of a Wicked Witch"

2011-05-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

By Peter Kovochich
At Jabberwocky

"Out in the Desert"

2011-05-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

By Seth Sappala
At decomP

"The Scene That You Come Upon is Madness"

2011-04-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

By Heather Fowler
At > kill author

The Top 25 Underrated Creative Writing MFA Programs (2011-2012)

2011-04-28T22:16:00.001-07:00

Storytelling for Businesses

2011-04-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

At Alltop

"Why I Said No"

2011-04-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

By Elizabeth Stamford
At Quick Fiction

"Argentines"

2011-04-22T17:57:00.001-07:00

By Jessie Marshall
At Night Train

"Pangasinan"

2011-04-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

By me
At DOGZPLOT

Neil Hilborn of Macalester College performs "OCD" (CUPSI 2011 finals)

2011-04-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

"The Real Housewives of New Jersey Book Club: Catcher In the Rye"

2011-04-11T00:33:00.000-07:00

By Jeff Barnosky
At Yankee Pot Roast

Miles Walser's "Nebraska"

2011-04-09T22:31:00.000-07:00

"Window Woman"

2011-04-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

By Faith Gardner
At decomP

Two Stories by Osama Alomar

2011-04-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

At Electric Literature

TED :: Sarah Kay

2011-03-30T03:15:00.000-07:00

Sarah Kay at Da Poetry Lounge

2011-03-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

"Chino"

2011-03-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

By me
At Boston Literary Magazine

Three Slam Poems

2011-03-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

"To the Sixteen-Year-Old"
"Woman" and
"When You Graduate"

By me
At The Legendary

"Passing Breath"

2011-03-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

By Daniel McDermott
At The Molotov Cocktail

"Daughter"

2011-03-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

By Len Kuntz
At DOGZPLOT

"Some Quick Facts about Bourbon"

2011-03-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

By Tara Laskowski
At Foundling Review

"When the Cicadas Come"

2011-03-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

By Tara Laskowski
At SmokeLong Quarterly

"Lycanthropy"

2011-03-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

Poetry by Phillip B. Williams
At The Splinter Generation

Dr. Stephen Cooper's Workshop Notes - Similes and Metaphors

2011-03-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Similes and metaphors join images that would not otherwise be joined in order to open our minds and hearts to powerful ideas and feelings. Too many of them, though, will crowd readers' visual and emotional focus.

So be selective.

"Stay Put"

2011-03-14T13:51:00.001-07:00

By Jeff Chon
At Word Riot

"Release"

2011-03-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

By Jeff Chon
At The Legendary

"Addiction"

2011-03-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

By Joseph Anthony Montecillo
At Short, Fast, and Deadly

"I Keep Finding Things I Thought I’d Lost Long Ago"

2011-03-10T00:15:00.000-08:00

By James Tadd Adcox
At PANK

"Traffic"

2011-03-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

By Hamish MacFarlane
At The Legendary

Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide

2011-03-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

From Gotham Writers' Workshop

Ninth Annual Fiction 101 Contest

2011-03-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

January 5, 2011
At Boise Weekly

Read an interview with the winner, Jesus Jose Silveyra Tapia, here.

"What Our Father Said"

2011-03-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

By me
At Short, Fast, and Deadly

Dr. Stephen Cooper's Workshop Notes - Suspense, Madness, and Difficult Choices

2011-02-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

Suspense:

revealing just enough
withholding just enough

*The writer poses a problem/question and withholds the answer/solution for as long as possible.

Think of a tightrope; it is just tight enough to get a tightrope walker from point A to point B.

---

Beware using protagonists that are of unsound mind; this subverts free will.

---

Aristotle said character is choice, and the protagonist is the character that has to make the most difficult choice(s).

10 Ways to Fuel Your Writing

2011-02-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

February 22, 2011
By Bill O’Hanlon
At Writer's Digest

"Cry Out"

2011-02-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

By Jessica McHugh
At Short, Fast, and Deadly

"The Death Artist"

2011-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

By Peter Tieryas Liu
At Word Riot

"HIKLASS"

2011-02-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

By me
At Short, Fast, and Deadly

The Online Advantage: In the Editors' Words

2011-02-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

October 08, 2010
By Vanessa Weiland
At Writer's Digest

"Census"

2011-02-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

By Sherman Alexie
At Contrary Magazine

"Noct"

2011-02-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

By Brendan Constantine
At PANK

"You"

2011-02-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

By Len Kuntz
At PANK

"Hunger"

2011-02-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

By Chloe Caldwell
At PANK

"The Convincing Corpse"

2011-02-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

By Faith Gardner
At Word Riot

"Samurai Song"

2011-02-08T22:27:00.000-08:00

By Robert Pinsky
At The Writer's Almanac

Interview with Robert Pinsky

2011-02-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

At The Poetry Place

Robert Pinsky Thoughts

2011-02-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

Paraphrased from his visit to Cal State Long Beach today:

- The responsibility of the poet is to (1) maintain the integrity of the poetry that came before and (2) expand poetry (be sure to check out his essay "Responsibilities of the Poet").

- We are temporary vessels for stories. The dead possess us.

- The epic is a poem that contains history. I am an epic poet more than I am an ethnic poet.

- (Re: new forms of poetry) I try not to have prejudice toward or against anything new.

- An old man sitting down sees more than a young man standing up (a quote from his friend, used in a poem he finished writing today).

- The poem on page is sheet music.

- Poetry is a vocal art, not necessarily a performance art. A strong poem can be read in monotone, and the musicality of the words should still come across.

- Almost everything has a bell curve. You have a tiny number of geniuses (in poetry, science, art), a large number of those who are competent, and then you have a tiny number of idiots.

- The hardest part of being a poet is mastering discouragement. In order to keep your morale up, read something great.

- Whatever you devote your life to, make that your instrument.

- I do not subscribe to the French idea that one does not finish a poem; one abandons it. I know it's finished when I can recite it in the dark. If I can't recall a line, then maybe that line could use more work. And in the end, I'll think, Maybe God can make [the poem] better, but not Robert.

- "I write with my voice for your voice."

"Confluence"

2011-02-08T08:33:00.000-08:00

By Robert P. Kaye
At Staccato Fiction

BUDDY WAKEFIELD: "Hurling Crowbirds at Mockingbars"

2011-02-08T08:02:00.000-08:00

"Emergency"

2011-02-08T08:00:00.001-08:00

By Denis Johnson
Read by Tobias Wolff
At The New Yorker Fiction Podcast

"Two Men"

2011-02-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

By Denis Johnson
Read by Salvatore Scibona
At The New Yorker Fiction Podcast

"Innocuous"

2011-02-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

By Jo Gatford
At Metazen

The Three Dimensions of a Three-Dimensional Character (?)

2011-02-06T11:04:00.001-08:00

I'm writing a critique for a short story workshop and trying to explain to a fellow student the importance of a three-dimensional character. But what is that? We know a three-dimensional character when we see one, but how do we articulate what makes one so?

The Free Dictionary defines three-dimensional as such:

three-di·men·sion·al

adj.

1. Of, relating to, having, or existing in three dimensions.

2. Having or appearing to have extension in depth.

3. Treating many aspects of a subject; lifelike: a three-dimensional account of conditions under the new government.

So according to this, a three-dimensional character would be one that has many aspects, extension in depth, and three dimensions. But what exactly are those three dimensions? How about this as a possible answer:

Dimension 1. What one character desires.
Dimension 2. The obstacle(s) that hinder the acquisition of what one desires.
Dimension 3. How one handles his/her time while one is without what he/she desires.

"Scene of Mostly Unwilling Players"

2011-02-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

By Ajay Vishwanathan
At The Molotov Cocktail

"Cordillera"

2011-02-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

By John Tarkov
At The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature

How to Balance Action, Narrative and Dialogue in Your Novel

2011-02-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

February 01, 2011
By Gloria Kempton
At Writer's Digest

"Bone Density"

2011-01-31T13:33:00.000-08:00

By Roxane Gay
At Word Riot

"Inappropriate Heroics"

2011-01-31T12:45:00.000-08:00

By Gary Moshimer
At Metazen

The Drabble: 2010 Winter 2011

2011-01-29T00:11:00.000-08:00

At Boston Literary Magazine

"Border Crossing"

2011-01-27T10:49:00.000-08:00

By Christopher Ficco
At Short, Fast, and Deadly

"Flood, Food, Pakistan"

2011-01-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

By Tanuj Solanki
At Short, Fast, and Deadly

"The Daughter and the Giant Jumping Foot"

2011-01-26T14:48:00.000-08:00

By Angela Rydell
At Foundling Review

"CHURCH FIRE"

2011-01-26T14:18:00.000-08:00

By Dawn Corrigan
At DOGZPLOT

"I Want to Sit Courtside at a Lakers Game"

2011-01-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

By Roxane Gay
At The Northville Review

The 7 Tools of Dialogue

2011-01-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

January 25, 2011
By James Scott Bell
At Writer's Digest

Flash Fiction FAQs

2011-01-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

January 25, 2011
By William Highsmith
At Writer's Digest

"I PICK FIGHTS. I DIG AT SCABS. I DRAW BLOOD."

2011-01-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

By Roxane Gay
At Esque
Issue 1

"Motherfuckers"

2011-01-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

By Roxane Gay
At decomP

"What Long Legs Mean"

2011-01-19T00:29:00.001-08:00

By Roxane Gay
At DOGZPLOT

"I Am Going to Cook a Quiche in My Easy-Bake Oven And You Are Going to Like It."

2011-01-19T00:23:00.000-08:00

By Roxane Gay
At McSweeney's Internet Tendency

"Bad Seeds"

2011-01-19T00:14:00.000-08:00

By Roxane Gay
At Bananafish

"Queries Involving Tyler Perry, Difficult Decisions and Two Skanks"

2011-01-18T23:59:00.000-08:00

By Roxane Gay
At The Northville Review

Poems by Daniel Romo

2011-01-18T10:57:00.000-08:00

At Camroc Press Review

"Pie"

2011-01-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Fulton Prize Winner
By Melody Feldman
At The Adirondack Review

10 Creative Ways to Beat Writer's Block Fast

2011-01-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

December 15, 2010
By Fred White
At Writer's Digest

"Exile on Payne Street"

2011-01-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

By Ryan Ridge
At SmokeLong Quarterly