Poets & Writers

The Time Is Now

Suggested Reading: Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different (Grand Central Publishing, January 2020) by Chuck Palahniuk

Best-selling novelist Chuck Palahniuk takes readers behind the scenes of the writing life in this blend of memoir and guidebook filled with practical advice, anecdotes, and the kind of insights readers might expect from the author of , , and . In a chapter titled “Establishing Your Authority,” for example, he writes: “To create a story in which the reader never thinks to criticize the characters, kill the mother or father before the first page.” At its heart is a tribute to those who taught Palahniuk himself, including novelist Tom Spanbauer, whose unconventional writing workshop in Portland, Oregon, the author credits with having provided an essential space to improve his writing.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Poets & Writers

Poets & Writers3 min read
Maldonado Leads the Academy
Last June, Ricardo Alberto Maldonado became the first Latinx president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets. Founded in 1934 “to support American poets at all stages of their careers, and to foster the appreciation of contemporary
Poets & Writers5 min read
Picking What to Submit
WINNING a writing contest can lead to amazing things beyond a fancy line on your CV, including prize money, publication, and promotion. Contests can also connect you with judges and other writers who respect your work. But as with many aspects of the
Poets & Writers17 min read
Recent Winners
Karisma Price of New Orleans won the 2023 Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize for “The Art of London Firearms.” She received $1,000, and her poem was published in the September/October 2023 issue of American Poetry Review. The editors judged. The annual aw

Related Books & Audiobooks