February 7, 2018
On Writing Naked, Bloody, in Exile
Write naked. That means to write what you would never say. Write in blood. As if ink is so precious you can’t waste it. Write in exile, as if you […]
April 3, 2016
Killing the Butterfly: Facing Failure on the Page
Ann Patchett has this wonderful analogy that compares the writing process to murdering a butterfly. I heard her share this in person years ago at one of her events, and […]
February 20, 2016
Hawk-Eyed: On Omens, Distance, and the Bigger Picture
Image credit: Jan Arendtsz A few weeks ago, my friend Huda called me. She’s a fellow writer, someone who once lived in my city and spent hours every week sitting across […]
October 22, 2015
1,369 Light Bulbs, or, How to Write in a Basement
Ralph Ellison wrote the first page of Invisible Man while staying at a friend’s farm in Waitsfield, Vermont. He had been to the farm before, and upon his first visit […]
November 16, 2011
On Coal, Diamonds, and How to Stretch a Story: A Micro-interview with Melinda Moustakis
Melinda Moustakis originally published “MooseBlind” in KROnline. Her story “Miners and Trappers” appears in the Fall 2011 issue of KR. KR: Is there a story behind your KR piece(s)? What […]
September 19, 2011
State of the Union in Atlas Form
The first writer I ever interviewed was Bob Hicok. This was like 8 years ago, and the interview was executed over email. Lots of that interview remains in my mind […]