US HolidaysIndependence Day: What Freedom Means to a Writer
A writer's reflection on Independence Day — from childhood fireworks to Big Bear Lake, from grandfather's POW camp to the freedom to build a career out of words
Series: US Holidays
The history, traditions, and meaning behind U.S. holidays, from Independence Day and Thanksgiving to Veterans Day and the rest. The series looks at how these celebrations shape American culture and where the stories behind them came from.
US Holidays
US HolidaysNational Ghostwriters Week: What 54+ Projects Taught Me About the Invisible Craft
A ghostwriter with 54 completed projects and 113+ published books on what the profession looks like from the inside. March 1-7 is National Ghostwriters Week.
US HolidaysPaperback Book Day: Why Physical Books Still Matter to Writers
July 30 is Paperback Book Day. A 113-book author on why paperbacks changed publishing and why physical books still matter.
US HolidaysNational Coloring Book Day: A Publisher’s Perspective on the Art Form
A publisher of 20 coloring books on what makes them work, why adults need them, and how real dancers became line art.
US HolidaysBad Poetry Day: Why Writing Terrible Verse Makes You a Better Writer
August 18 is Bad Poetry Day. Why writing badly on purpose is one of the best exercises a writer can do. Vogons welcome.
US HolidaysNational Library Card Signup Month: A Writer’s Best Free Resource
September is National Library Card Signup Month. Why every writer needs a library card and how libraries shaped one author's career.
US HolidaysNational Read a Book Day: A Writer Who Reads Everything
September 6 is National Read a Book Day. A 113-book author on why reading is the single most important thing a writer does besides writing.
US HolidaysStar Trek Day: What the Original Series Taught Me About Storytelling
A lifelong Star Trek fan with over 200 hardcover Trek novels on what the original series got right about storytelling that most of its successors missed.
US HolidaysSeptember 11th: A Writer’s Tribute
A personal remembrance of September 11, 2001, the day that changed everything, and why the stories from that day must continue to be told.
US HolidaysThanksgiving Writing: History, Fiction, and the Family Pressure Cooker
Thanksgiving hands a writer everything at once: gratitude and guilt, warmth and dysfunction, food, family, and a tangle of uncomfortable history. It has fueled stories since long before it was a national holiday. Here is how books and movies have…
US HolidaysHow Writing Brings the Magic of Halloween to Life
Halloween gives you permission to become someone else for a few hours. Writing does the same thing, except the transformation lasts longer. Here's how.
US HolidaysElection Day: Why Tuesday, Why It Matters, and Six Election Novels Worth Reading
Why does America still vote on a Tuesday? Because in 1845 most people were farmers, harvest finished by November, Sunday reserved for church, Wednesday for market, Monday for the trip to town, which left Tuesday. That 180-year-old logic still rules…