Have you ever wondered why some people write easily and fluently, while others struggle and strain as if trying to squeeze a 185-lb body into a size six pair of jeans? In 30 years at this trade, I've noticed that effective writers tend to share seven traits. So, with apologies to Stephen Covey, here is my list.

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Oration. Recitation. Rhetoric. At one time these were the foundations of a classical literary education, an education that not only prepared you to write and communicate -- but taught you how to think. This style of learning, however, has largely gone the way of the top hat. But is it time for rhetoric to make a reprise? We had a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation with Harvard Professor James Engell, author of The Committed Word: Literature and Public Values, who revived the study of rhetoric at his university after a 60 year hiatus -- and who argues that a classical literary education is critical for today's communicators.  Continue reading...

In a dark and gloomy pit, deep in the bowels of the earth, a large and strongly muscled man rolls a heavy boulder up a steep hill. The task takes him the entire day. But when he gets to the top, ooophhhh, the stone escapes his grasp and rolls right back down to the bottom. So the next day he must begin all over again.

If you received a classical education, or if you simply enjoy mythology, you will recognize this story as the myth of Sisyphus from the Greeks. Poor Sisyphus never catches a break. The same damn stone rolls down the same hill every night and he must push it right back up again the next day. For eternity. So, my question to writers: Why are you behaving like Sisyphus?

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One of my nerdy little hobbies is collecting quotes about writing by famous authors. But I just don't collect them -- I read them, regularly. I find that reading a good quote is a bit like a shot of Vitamin B, or, even, a splash of cold water in the face. It energizes you -- by helping you resolve to do better. At other times, a pithy quote is more like a tour guide pointing out an important bit of scenery in a strange country. "Oh, that's what I should be noticing," you say to yourself. Finally, the telling quote can also be a laugh line -- a chance to guffaw at your own writing foibles (much more effective than crying over them). Here are eight of my favorite quotes, collected over the last year:  Continue reading...

Sparrow, a pundit poet from Phoenicia, New York, graciously contributed the following column.

People who love gourmet food are called "foodies" (perhaps derived from "hippies," referring to people who love hipness.) What about people who love books?

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The protagonist in Laurel Dewey's novel Protector has some, well, issues. But this character also exudes a deep sense of humanity, a feeling that has truly moved so many of the book's readers. So how did Laurel pull give her "damaged" character texture, dimension -- and soul? We asked the author for her insights, the latest of our series of conversations with Laurel about the novel-writing craft. Read on:  Continue reading...

You know the feeling. You really, really, really don't want to write. You're blocked. You've hit the wall. The words just won't come. You're bereft of inspiration. But your writing project needs to be finished (or started!) So what can you do? Well, I have an idea. Twenty of 'em, actually?  Continue reading...