Start a fire…
Author: Richard Donnelly
Richard Donnelly lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Classic flyover land. Which makes us feel just a little… superior. He publishes a weekly column of essays on the writing life at richarddonnelly.substack.com
BOOKISH: My Instant MFA
And that’s the point anyway, isn’t it? We can’t all get published…
BOOKISH: Writing Comedy
The joke is always on us. All of us…
BOOKISH: A.I. is a Bad Friend
Cue what will one day be known as the first of The Great AI Lawsuits: Bartz v. Anthropic…
BOOKISH: The [Unnecessary] Elements of Style
Let’s cut to the chase. Style is personality. There, we’re done…
BOOKISH: I am a Writer… Maybe
“But you are a writer, Richard! You are!…”
BOOKISH: Write What You Know.. and What You Don’t…
A cargo van has pulled into the parking lot and five or six men emerge. “Those are killers,” she says…
BOOKISH: Save the Cat
I had an Uncle Earl, who one day reached under his bed, looking for something…
BOOKISH: The Writer Who’s Never Completely Happy
If I am ever completely happy, I’ll know something’s wrong…
BOOKISH: A Big Writer Coming to Town
This week’s visiting author, an aging man rumored to have a nose for sweet young things…
BOOKISH: Writers, Start with the End
I always ask those with a story going to tell me about the end. But don’t you want to know about the characters, they ask?…
BOOKISH: Writer Guilt
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…”
BOOKISH: Defy the Crowd
She said, she was on to me. I didn’t really care about Trump, or Newsom, or any other politician…
BOOKISH: Where are the Photos?
My pieces are mostly fiction. Real life is stupid or boring. Actually it’s neither, but depictions need jazzing up…
BOOKISH: A Most Beloved Writer
Or so he thought…
BOOKISH: Reject This
Emily and Derek have received a string of rejections, and they’re delighted. “Finally some feedback,” Derek said. What about school? I asked. As MFA students, they have instructors, classmates, and visiting writers giving them constant feedback. It isn’t a Master of Fine Arts program. It’s a master of feedback program. “These are from pros,” Emily READ MORE
BOOKISH: Phones, and Books
My cell phone died last week, I told them. Derek and Emily looked up from their own phones. That got their attention…
BOOKISH: Humor Writing
Very few knew Baskin was a writer. His wife, of course. And his dog. He figured he was safe with the dog…
BOOKISH: Write Like Kerouac
It’s one way to finish that book…