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The acclaimed fiction writer unpacks the art of the longer short story—a form with space for ambitious plot and rich characterization, with the pressure and punch of concision.
“It should be possible to both write good and live good. Go see your friends. Be with your family. Taste something new. Fall in love with the world again and again while you still can.” —Joshua Wheeler, author of The High Heaven
The author of Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird (Norton, 2025) encourages writers to consider a deeper definition of diversity and embrace alternative storytelling styles and structures.
The author of Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird (Norton, 2025) recommends writers embrace circuitous storytelling structures, typical of nonwestern literature.
The author of Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird (Norton, 2025) encourages writers to introduce a surprising element more than halfway into their storytelling structure.
“I had many beginnings and several endings, and I tried to arrange the poems in a way that might ask why that was.” —Austin Araujo, author of At the Park on the Edge of the Country
The author of I’ll Give You a Reason contemplates the common ground between a joke and a short story.
The author of Family Family explores why tired tropes proliferate in fiction—and how to avoid them.
The author of I Know You Know Who I Am recalls his first attempt at writing a braided narrative.
The author of Anodyne shares her methodology for determining the order of poems in a collection.
