Writer's Digest November/December 2024

He waits, and I’m not stupid enough to fill the silence. That trick only works on people who don’t use it themselves. —A Good Day to Pie, Misha Popp (cozy mystery) I am not one of those bullshit macho guys who thinks he can go on Survivor and then cracks two days in because he’s out of hair gel. I need my hair gel. Specifically, I need my Dirt from Jonathan Antin. —At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream, Wade Rouse (memoir) If I were to uncoil my trumpet, I’d have four and a half feet of brass pipe. This fact was on repeat in my head at last night’s football game, because I was seriously considering dismantling my instrument so that I could wrap it around…

Winter is not my favorite time of year. It tries my patience for any number of reasons that seem entirely trivial now, but in the moment make me irritable. Give me the warmth and bright colors of spring year-round, please! That said, my absolute favorite thing to do is curl up in my reading chair with a stack of books, a cozy blanket, and a pile of purring cats to keep me warm as I read for hours, my favorite mug full of steaming black coffee by my side. Even better if the weather gives me a built-in excuse for not leaving the house. Of course, sitting on the end table is a notebook or two and my computer for jotting down ideas as they come to me. There’s something…

LISA HOWARD (TheCulturedCook.com) is a multilingual lifestyle writer and freelance editor who works with magazines, culinary marketing firms, publishers, and individuals. She’s also the author of two cookbooks, Healthier Gluten-Free and The Big Book of Healthy Cooking Oils, and she serves as leadership within the International Association of Culinary Professionals and her local chamber of commerce. As a health speaker and cooking instructor, she helps her fellow eaters understand where to find delicious ingredients, why those ingredients are just as nutritious as they are delicious, and how to prepare them. When she’s not cooking, she enjoys Latin dancing, traveling, and making use of her language skills. DIANE KELLY (DianeKelly.com) writes funny mysteries featuring feisty female lead characters and their furry, four-footed sidekicks. Diane is the author of more than three dozen novels…

You deck the halls. You fill the stockings. You bake the snowman-shaped sugar cookies. You even write a witty yearin-review to tuck inside cards after addressing and stuffing countless envelopes. Eventually, you catch your breath, scratch your head, and wonder why the very best of the season seemed to fly by. There must be a better way to slow down and invite the unique beauty and magic of Christmas into our homes and lives, right? Welcome, bookworms, to what may soon become one of your most beloved holiday celebrations. Not long ago, my better half caught wind of an intriguing Icelandic tradition called Jólabókaflóðið (pronounced yo-la-bok-a-flot), which roughly translates into “Christmas Book Flood,” and suggested our family try it. In short, it involves swapping books with loved ones and reading…

“It’s a new book genre just for you called ‘In Limbo.’” Bob Eckstein is a New York Times-bestselling author and a cartoonist. His new book is Footnotes From the Most Fascinating Museums: Stories and Memorable Moments From People Who Love Museums. Start Small Ease into this rather than going overboard from the get-go and feeling frazzled by the end of it all. That could mean that just you and your best friend or significant other exchange a gift. Or maybe just your household, kiddos included, seems like a nice way to kick things off. If all goes well, you can always expand your efforts next time to include more friends, more family, or even your entire book club. Do Your Homework “During Jólabókaflóðið, we keep up with the news about…

Over 90 percent of the conversations I have had with writers about point of view revolve around only two: first person and third person (namely, limited or omniscient). That is not surprising, though, given that most stories in contemporary fiction tend to revolve primarily around those two points of view. During my creative writing workshops, occasionally one of my students will timidly venture out into “second person” territory, whether by accident or on purpose, leaving other students to ponder how to critique something that feels instinctively different from first or third person, something that feels a little too personal. Second person feels different for a reason. Beyond using or implying the word you, it forces the reader to become an active participant in the story. Being a participant to what…