Apply to be our editorial fellow!

Is there a large stack of to-be-reads piling up precariously on your bedside table? Do I hear a yes? Classic literature, obscure plays, goofy murder mysteries: The goal of the Reading Women podcast is to bring previously anonymous women to the forefront of your TBR stack. Each month Kendra Winchester and Autumn Privett pick a theme and then discuss several books in a book club-style podcast. And then it happened. An idea was born, over cheap beer in a SoHo dive bar.

It would be a podcast unlike any other. So Many Damn Books blends the high and the low, the wicked and the divine, the sober and the not-so-sober, the famous and the infamous. Sign in Get started.

Archive Homepage

Never miss a story from Electric Literature , when you sign up for Medium. If, while working on one article, I come up with an interesting idea for a future article, I write it down immediately and then return to my current project. That way I always have a stash of ideas in various stages of completion to work on.

Whatever your writing system is, write it down. For instance, this is my current writing system:.


  • The Witch’s Cauldron: A Novel.
  • Get The Lithub Daily.
  • 17 Literary Podcasts to Ease Your Commute.
  • Upcoming Events;

Bolded items are nonnegotiable. Other initials refer to other publications. The Med chart is an excel spreadsheet where I keep track of everything I write. Kevary is the name of my current novel WIP work in progress. But writing things down make them more likely to happen. By writing down my system I am holding myself to it. It keeps me accountable, and helps me to keep writing no matter what.

Local Navigation

On the other hand, there are people who do the opposite, writing anything and everything that comes to mind stream-of-consciousness style and then wondering why no one is paying attention. To avoid both errors, you need to come up with a writing system. Of course, systems vary from person to person. What worked for Hemingway may not have worked for King. What works for me may not work for you.

“Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!” — Henry Miller

You need to develop your own system, usually through trial and error. Just remember to include ALL of the three components above: You need all three legs to form the foundation that will help you to achieve your writing dreams. Sometimes it seems like those writing giants are so far beyond us poor peons. Your writing system is that club. You can do that too. So stop waiting for your muse to come along and magic you into becoming a brilliant writer. If you really want to be a great writer, use a writing system:.

Conversations with Friends

Design your 3-pronged system that fits your life. Test and adjust it until it works. Then write it down, and stick to it. Get the manifesto here! Sign in Get started. Want to be a Great Writer?

Cookies on the BBC website

Stop at the appointed time! A honed writing system.

Gathering material Writing Honing your craft These three are interlinked, but they are also separate, like the three legs of a three-legged stool. Not only will this help you come up with ideas to write about, it can improve your relationship with the person everyone likes to talk about themselves, and there are definitely not enough listeners around to hear all the stories.

Read books and articles. A lot of them. Keep an eye out for interesting day-to-day happenings. I was blessed to have hilarious teachers back in high school, and I wrote all of their jokes in my notebook. They will tell you what readers are interested in and what questions they have.

Ideally at the beginning and end of the day so you can catch all those great ideas that come when you are waking up from your dreams or winding down and relaxing. You can use your phone, of course, but technology can be finnicky at times. Use at your own risk.

Writers in Conversation

When you read, take note of interesting quotes and ideas by highlighting, dog-earing, or otherwise marking your book. Then, transfer those ideas into an organized physical or virtual filing system. For more ideas on this topic, check out this article: So the more you do… writersinthestormblog.


  1. Want to be a Great Writer? Then Don’t Focus on Writing. (Do This Instead);
  2. Memories a Crime of the Heart!
  3. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney | theranchhands.com: Books.
  4. The Books That Made Your Favorite Writers Want to Write;
  5. 17 Literary Podcasts to Ease Your Commute – Electric Literature?
  6. Experimental Methods for the Analysis of Optimization Algorithms.
  7. Understanding FAITH ~ The Bible Speaks.