Thoughts on the Cait Corrain scandal—plus the one thing that publishers need to do to make their authors better people.

Introducing the nine writers joining me at Turning Points in New Mexico; an invitation to Raise the Rumpus; plus a three-book giveaway!

Today we're launching something very exciting!✨

Plus: The Query Lab, we launch a new video series on novel structure, and Carly Wahl wants to know if you're okay

The First Day on a New Job is Always Scary

Apply It to Your Writing

Yesterday's (and probably tomorrow's) news | Non-Fiction | Fresh Soup

When the pot is great and the world is lousy | Non-Fiction | Fresh Soup

Interiority, Part 2

You've got problems, we've got... some pretty questionable rooms

id quod plerumque accidit

id quod plerumque accidit

Everything we learned about the publishing industry from Penguin vs. DOJ.

Two climate dystopias on our unlikeable saviors.

on dreams and course corrections

the compelling tension of unexpected intimacy

200 Word Fiction

Recognized

For our first story of the year, Sarah Rees Brennan brings us news from the Other Lands — ten years after the events of In Other Lands! We hope you will enjoy this free story. ~ Julian and Fran, January 8, 2023 Tears Waiting to Be Diamonds: Part One

This week, Ng Yi-Sheng documents the testimonies of Dinomancy practitioners, as that practice evolves before our very eyes. ~ Julian and Fran, June 23, 2024. This month’s stories are by authors Kelly Robson, Laura Anne Gilman, Meg Elison, and Ng Yi-Sheng. The first story of the month is free to read, but it’s our paying subscribers who allow us to keep publishing great stories week after week.

The second instalment of a new Killing Eve story, published exclusively on Substack

A scrapbook of the Romanov children

Most of my non-fiction books start as blog posts before they are compiled into a book, and I wouldn't write non-fiction any other way.

Ever since I joined Substack, the best practice I have heard was to “write short”. It started as shorter than 1,500 words, and then it reduced to 800-1,100 words. Is that good advice, though?

Hey there! In 2011, storyboard artist Emma Coats tweeted Pixar’s "22 Rules For Storytelling." The post blew up with thousands of likes, comments, and shares. If you’ve never read the list, it’s worth reading. BUT there’s one rule that’s generated more attention than all the others combined.

Hey there! Writing a novel is like running a marathon. You start off strong, full of energy and excitement. But somewhere around mile 13, you hit the wall. Your legs feel like lead. Your lungs are on fire. And you start questioning why you ever thought this was a good idea in the first place.

The best is yet to be

First the lunatics took over the asylum, now the children have taken over the playground. After the campus glamping and the race to see who knows least about Middle East politics – the Americans are still winning but Oxford’s coming up fast on the outside – we move on to the summer game of holier-than-thou in which celebrities with clout join activists with heart-on-sleeve consciences in pressuring the country’s leading literary festivals to shoot themselves in the foot.

My number one trick for finishing a novel

This week's final free post is here! Don't miss out!

“A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” – Jean-Luc Godard, film director Here is one of the stories my father liked to tell his friends: “Salman was born on June 19th, 1947, and exactly eight weeks later to the day, the British ran away.” Ha ha, right? I guess it was funny the first time I heard it, less funny the one hundred and first time. But it always went down well with his audiences. It was his favorite joke.

Episode 48 The four men in black wearing sodden balaclavas are out in the open, closing in. ANNA and FRANCIS are on the terrace of the house, holding guns. FIRST MAN (shouting) Come down, Anna, Nobody gonna hurt you. And the other individual we don’t require.

Commonplace Newsletter #109

A Poem

A little post on why publishing statistics are so confusing

The author on writing both fiction and memoir, being "an enormous nerd," and making sentences that move

The two magic words

We now know Biden is too old to be President, but the media was telling us otherwise

Lil Peep and Juice WRLD

Easter Sunday, 1974

Chapter Three

Grazie for your patience

And The Cold Turkey (And Life Lessons) That Followed.

Another Chance To Share Your Favourite Books With Other Subscribers

And No Woman's Either....

Bedlam With Food Vendors

Discover the magic of AI Headshots with the free, easy, and ready-to-use method, transforming your images into stunning professional portraits effortlessly.

Script to Screen : AI Director Without Limits

Let me make it up to you

Well, my book...