Empowering Writers Since 1999
POETRY TO-DAY IN AMERICA SHAKSPERE—THE FUTURE by Walt Whitman Strange as it may seem, the topmost proof of a race is its own born poetry. The presence of that, or the absence, each tells its story. As the flowering rose or lily, as the ripened fruit to a tree, the apple or the peach, no…
THE FIRST WRITING-MACHINES (From My Unpublished Autobiography) by Mark Twain Some days ago a correspondent sent in an old typewritten sheet, faded by age, containing the following letter over the signature of Mark Twain: “Hartford, March 10, 1875. “Please do not use my name in any way. Please do not even divulge that fact…
On the Decay of the Art of Lying by Mark Twain An Essay for Discussion, read at a meeting of the historical and Antiquarian Club of Hartford, and offered for the Thirty-Dollar Prize. Now First Published [Did not take the prize] Observe, I do not mean to suggest that the custom of lying has suffered…
With the young of both sexes, Poetry is, like love, a passion; but, for much the greater part of those who have been proud of its power over their minds, a necessity soon arises of breaking the pleasing bondage; or it relaxes of itself;—the thoughts being occupied in domestic cares, or the time engrossed by…
One of the most important parts of writing a good action/adventure book usually involves a strong villain. Now when I say a villain, you don’t have to imagine Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty or Dr. Drakken from Kim Possible. The best part about making a villain is that you don’t have to follow the fairytale archetype,…
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) was born in Boston, the child of actors who died while he was very young. He was adopted by a Virginian gentleman, Mr. John Allan,
Mike Savad is a photographic artist. The images are designed to look like fine oil paintings, primarily in vintage and nostalgic themes.
I Am Not An Animal Expert! by Jack London This is one of our historical articles from writers that we just had to publish. Jack London, one of our most beloved American writer’s seems to have shared the modern day views of the media. Apparently news people of his day mixed London up with either…
But it was on a bench in Washington Square that I saw the most of Louis Stevenson. It was an outing that lasted an hour or more, and was very pleasant and sociable
A story is a fiction with a plot, as distinguished from a tale, which is a string of incidents that happened to happen to the characters. In the story the events are linked together by the natures of the people concerned; personality influences event and event influences personality
The reputation of the author of “Twice-Told Tales” has been confined, until very lately, to literary society; and I have not been wrong, perhaps, in citing him as the example, par excellence, in this country,
The intro to the book is a classic (the book is too of course), and it is filled with insights into the contemporary authors of that time, Poe, Hawthorne, Stevenson, and the like.
Everyone, from time to time, has issues with inspiration. Everyone has issues with being able to get the creative ball rolling, or you find yourself looking at a blank page over and over, not being able to come up with the next line.
Good news, bad news and the 50 Word Contest Winners of 2017
Bad new
If you follow the site, you may have noticed some changes lately
When I first arrived in Silicon Valley two years ago, I had very few expectations for this place. My husband, a computer programmer, had dragged me here because “it is the epicenter of the world’s most cutting-edge technology and future-changing companies.”