Skip to content
Electric Literature Logo
Mobile Menu Close Button
  • essays
  • interviews
  • Reading Lists
  • News
  • Lit Mags
  • Support
  • Store
  • About
  • Log In
  • Cart Created with Sketch.
  • Search Button
Facebook Bluesky Instagram
SEARCH
  • essays
  • interviews
  • Reading Lists
  • News
  • Lit Mags
  • Support
  • Store
  • About
Facebook Bluesky Instagram
Cart Created with Sketch. Search Button
Close Button
SEARCH

Advice

  • Blunt Instrument
  • I Can’t Write About the Pandemic, But I Can’t Write About Anything Else

    The Blunt Instrument on how to choose a new project when you can't see past the news

    Apr 2 - John Cotter
    Craft Logo for "The Blunt Instrument"

    Is Sentimentality in Writing Really That Bad?

    The Blunt Instrument addresses the question of how much emotion is too much emotion

    Dec 17 - Elisa Gabbert
    Craft Logo for "The Blunt Instrument"

    Can I Write Fictional Stories About Real People?

    The Blunt Instrument on sourcing your characters from life—without getting sued

    Nov 7 - John Cotter
    Craft Logo for "The Blunt Instrument"

    Am I Allowed to Break Up with My Book Agent?

    The Blunt Instrument takes on a question about how to handle a professional relationship that feels very personal

    Oct 18 - Ruoxi Chen
    Craft Logo for "The Blunt Instrument"

    Is It Okay If I Don’t Care About Making Money from Writing?

    The Blunt Instrument on what to do if you aren't ready to quit your day job

    Jul 30 - Elisa Gabbert
    Craft

    50 Moves You Can Use in Your Fiction

    The Blunt Instrument's list of go-to moves in contemporary fiction can give you some ideas of what to try—and what to avoid

    May 16 - Elisa Gabbert
    Craft

    How Do You Even Get Started Writing a Book?

    The Blunt Instrument, our advice column for writers, on taking your first steps towards publication

    Mar 21 - John Cotter
    Craft Logo for "The Blunt Instrument"

    Ethical Advice for Writing About Friends and Family

    The Blunt Instrument takes on three questions about autofiction, memoir, personal essay, and whose stories you’re allowed to tell

    Jan 29 - Elisa Gabbert
    Craft

    How Do I Become One of Those Writers Who Remember Everything?

    Everyone else seems to remember every detail, but I can’t remember the beginning of this sentence

    Sep 25 - Elisa Gabbert
    Craft

    Networking Advice for the Antisocial Writer

    The Blunt Instrument on what is and isn’t important about making literary connections

    Jul 27 - Elisa Gabbert
    Craft

    What If Someone Else Writes a Book Exactly Like Mine Before I Get a Chance?

    The Blunt Instrument on dealing with a novel doppelganger

    May 24 - Elisa Gabbert
    Craft

    What Should I Do If I’m Ashamed of My Published Work?

    The Blunt Instrument, our advice column, on dealing with writing that’s embarrassing in hindsight

    Mar 22 - Elisa Gabbert
    Craft
    Show More

    DON’T MISS OUT

    Sign up for our newsletter to get submission announcements and stay on top of our best work.

    YOUR INBOX IS LIT

    Enjoy absorbing fiction from Recommended Reading on Mondays, strange, diverting work from The Commuter on Wednesdays, and a roundup of our best work of the week on Fridays. Personalize your subscription preferences here.

    Thank You!

    Contribute to Electric Lit

    Help keep the lights on.

    Support our mission to make literature more exciting, relevant, and inclusive.

    Donate
    Electric Literature Logo

    Electric Literature is a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2009. We are invested in pushing traditional publishing boundaries to support emerging and marginalized writers, while ensuring readers can engage with literature regardless of socioeconomic status. We do not impose submission fees or install paywalls, and everything we publish is free to read online.

    • Essays
    • About
    • Interviews
    • Membership
    • Reading Lists
    • Donate
    • News
    • Submissions
    • Lit Mags
    • Contact
    • Shop
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Opt-out preferences
    Facebook Bluesky Instagram

    Site designed in collaboration with CMYK.

    Site designed in collaboration with CMYK.

    Powered by WordPress and hosted by Pressable.

    Facebook Bluesky Instagram
    Manage Consent
    To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    • Manage options
    • Manage services
    • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
    • Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    • {title}
    • {title}
    • {title}