This week, think about what makes you accept or reject the invitation of the first page.

Reading rec: BAD ASIANS, by Lillian Li.

This week, it's time for your novel to get some self-care.

Reading recommendation: THE KEEPER by Tana French.

This week, we're flipping the script on who gets to be the hero of your story.

Reading recommendation: TOKYO EXPRESS by Seicho Matsumoto.

This week, make your story's problems personal for your characters.

Reading recommendation: THE COLONY by Annika Norlin.

This week, remembering what you love and why you write.

Reading recommendation: THE TRANSIT OF VENUS, by Shirley Hazzard.

This week, flip the script on power in your scene.

Reading recommendation: THE RED GROVE, by Tessa Fontaine.

This week, a bold prescription for a common problem.

Reading recommendation: STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL, by Charlotte Wood.

This week, put on your deerstalker hat and be a detective for your story.

Reading rec: THE TEN-YEAR AFFAIR, by Erin Somers.

This week, we're going with our gut.

Book recommendation: A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF, by Megha Majumdar.

This week, try printing out your story in a different way, and you'll be amazed by what magic can happen.

Reading rec: A Guardian and a Thief, Megha Majumdar

This week, talking about the power of staying in place and riding out the creative challenge.

Book recommendation: HAMNET, by Maggie O'Farrell.

We're talking about endings this week — and how most writers tend to charge past where their story's natural ending truly lies.

Reading rec: BOG QUEEN, by Anna North.

This week, we're discussing whether Lorrie Moore was right when she said "life will disappoint you" is the theme of all great literature.

Reading rec: ALL THINGS UNDER THE MOON, by Ann Y.K. Choi.

This week, we're thinking about how everyone's story is more complex than we think, and every character deserves nuance in your story.

Reading rec: FOX, by Joyce Carol Oates.

This week, discover how complex everyone's story is — and how even peripheral characters in your story have their own lives to live.

Reading recommendation: FOX, by Joyce Carol Oates.

This week, imagine yourself in the room that really matters in your story.

Reading recommendation: Your Steps on the Stairs, Antonio Munoz Molina.

My favorite reads of 2025. Were any of these your favorites?

This week, we're talking about narrative filtering, and how much of it you can lose to make your story better.

Book recommendation: FLASHLIGHT, by Susan Choi.

This week, turn your narrator's eye outward and see the world around them.

Reading recommendation: THE ROSE FIELD, by Philip Pullman.

This week, cut out the weakest part of every paragraph, and your story or novel will sing.

Book recommendation: HEARTWOOD, by Amity Gaige.

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