For many years I wrote about fiction, story, belief, ordinary life, and the questions that shaped my work. More than two thousand essays remain here—not because every one represents my current thinking, but because together they tell the story of a writer learning over time.
Search for a subject, browse by month and year, or begin with the most recent writing below.
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The archive begins with the most recent writing. Use the numbered pages below to move backward through time.
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H.P. Lovecraft’s Advice to Aspiring Writers: Timeless Counsel from 1920
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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Mary Gordon on the Joy of Notebooks and How Writing by Hand Catalyzes Creativity
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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What Now? Advice on Writing and Life from Ann Patchett
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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How to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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Why We Write: Mary Karr on the Magnetism and Madness of the Written Word
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life: Ray Bradbury on Creative Purpose in the Face of Rejection
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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E. B. White on Why Brevity Is Not the Gold Standard for Style
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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E.B. White on the Art of the Essay and Why Egotism Is Essential for the Essay Writer
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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F. Scott Fitzgerald on the Secret to Great Writing: Letters of Advice to a Friend’s Teenage Daughter and to His Own
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
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Six Tips on Writing from John Steinbeck
I’m currently taking a writing, blogging, and coaching sabbatical due to family health issues. For now, I’ll repost selected articles from my Fiction Writing School. I encourage you…
Richard L. Fricks 