Catapult | Don't Write Alone

Cover Photo: A photograph of an apple, cut in half, against a bright red background. One half is lying face up, with the flesh and seeds exposed to the viewer. The other half of the apple is lying face down to the right.

The Intimate Relationship of Telling Someone Else’s Story

Nonfiction writers can get so consumed by investigating that we lose track of the story. Narrating my audiobook brought me back to the real person at the heart of it.

Harley Rustad

Apr 07, 2022

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: This is a version of the two wolves meme, where a white wolf and a black wolf look at each other in front of a full moon. The top of the moon reads "Inside of you there are two wolves." On the black wolf is the text "One is an author" and on the white wolf is the text "The other is an audiobook narrator"

I Read My Own Audiobook Like It Was Someone Else’s

I expected that inhabiting the roles of both the author and the narrator at once would bring me closer to the text than ever, in a way that might feel uncomfortable.

Tajja Isen

Mar 17, 2022

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: Against a white background, intricate wave shapes are cut out of brown paper and arrange in a circle. On top of the waves are hands holding small orange and pink boats. Peaking out from underneath the waves are black and white orcas.

The Poetry of Comics: A Conversation with Collage Artist Mita Mahato

“Comics made the confusion and desperation feel contained. By ‘contained’ I don’t mean controlled—more the feeling of ‘I can deal with this piece of my grief, explore it, turn it around, and add context to it.’”

Eliza Harris

Feb 08, 2022

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

How’s the Writing Going, Jen Doll?

“I think I’m trying to reconcile the need to write and have a deadline with the need to be a human? And right now, the human is winning.”

Sari Botton

Jan 06, 2022

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: An illustration of a person wearing headphones and sitting in front of a microphone while holding an open book in front of their face. Several books in pink, blue, and yellow exist between the reader's mouth and the microphone, as if a series of layers of barriers. The background is blue and pink.

Trans Voices Belong in the Recording Booth Too

Contributing to the small body of trans-narrated, trans-written audiobooks felt both personally affirming and politically necessary.

C. R. Foster

Dec 20, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: This photograph shows a woman looking at a computer screen in frustration, with her hands on her head. Next to her head are three bright yellow exclamation points, communicating surprise and exasperation.

Book Contracts: Let’s Talk Surprises

In the final installment of her column, Kate McKean tells us about the things authors don’t expect to be in a book contract.

Kate McKean

Nov 23, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

“I thought my way through the puzzle of the poem”: A Conversation with Niki Herd

Jessica Wilbanks discusses the craft choices Niki Herd made while writing her poem “Bird.”

Jessica Wilbanks

Nov 22, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: This photograph is a close up of a person's face. Their eyes are closed and they are holding their nose up to a small bunch of lavender. The colors in the picture are bright and vibrant and the person's red shirt stands out in the background of the photo.

Writing the Senses: Smell

In this five-part column, Hannah Howard explores the senses from a craft perspective.

Hannah Howard

Nov 18, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: This image has a pink background with a banana in the middle of the image. The banana is wrapped in a chain.

Writing Richer Characters By Writing Kink

In the second installment of her column, Megan Pillow examines a short story by Carmen Maria Machado to demonstrate how some of the best examples of contemporary writing craft can be found in writing about sex.

Megan Pillow

Nov 15, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

How’s the Writing Going, R. O. Kwon?

“I know that when I’m really writing, when I’m really, really lost in a sentence, I forget I have a body, I forget what time is. I forget to eat.”

Sari Botton

Nov 09, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: A screenshot of the character Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall, from the show "Sex and the City." She is wearing dark brown sunglasses and a white halter top. She is clutching the sunglasses on her face and her mouth is open in surprise.

Writing Sex Was Easy Until I Had to Read It Aloud

I had one male audio engineer in the room with me, politely waiting to hear me record a graphic essay about youthful sex.

Rax King

Nov 02, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: In this gif, a black background sparkles with pale purple stars. Hands with green fingernails extend from the bottom of the image and present a pink card with embossed with crowns and a snake.

When Is It Time to Give Up on an Old Project?

In the fifth installment of our Tarot + Craft column, Sarah Elaine Smith gives advice to a writer who is growing tired of working on their manuscript.

Sarah Elaine Smith

Nov 01, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: This photograph shows two people looking at some contracts on a table. One person is adding their signature with a pen.

Book Contracts: Let’s Talk Rights

In the second installment of her column, Kate McKean tells us all about the rights and subrights that could appear in your contract when you sell your book to a publisher.

Kate McKean

Oct 26, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

When Do You Stop Writing?

Let’s give answering this difficult question a shot.

Cinelle Barnes

Oct 21, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: A photograph of a grey floor covered with multicolored party streamers, confetti, and ribbons.

Reading My Audiobook Was an Act of Letting Go

You cannot grow, or heal, or whatever it is we’re trying to achieve when we write though trauma, by distancing yourself from your own pain.

Zeba Blay

Oct 19, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: This photograph is focused on two wooden drawing mannequins, which are standing and embracing. The background is black and the photo is in black and white with only the figurines illuminated

On Craft, Rhythm, and Writing About Sex

In the first installment of her new column, Megan Pillow shows us how some of the best examples of contemporary writing craft can be found in writing about sex.

Megan Pillow

Sep 30, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: A photograph of a studio microphone, on a microphone stand and with a filter in front of it, against a black background.

Narrating My Audiobook Felt Like Doing an Impression of Myself

Even the most authentic voice on the page is a translation, a refraction, an altered version of the author’s actual speaking voice.

Lilly Dancyger

Sep 28, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: On the left, we see a picture of the author Michael Seidlinger. He is wearing a black t-shirt with a white splotchy design on it and sits against a black wall. His hand is up to his temple, touching his glasses, and there's a concerned look on his face. On the right, we see the book cover of Michael's novella, RUNAWAYS, which has birds on the cover. Some of the birds are flying off the cover and into the frame of Michael's picture.

How’s the Writing Going, Michael Seidlinger?

“I always battle with the realization that the stuff I write doesn’t need to exist, and I wonder how many people actually want to read the horror and speculative fiction that I write.”

Sari Botton

Sep 22, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: This image shows a tiny figurine of a person sitting on top of a pile of gold coins. They are reading a book with their legs crossed.

Book Contracts: Let’s Talk Money

As part of our Money Week series, literary agent Kate McKean shares the first installment of her column on book contracts, this one addressing advances, payouts, and royalties.

Kate McKean

Sep 16, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Cover Photo: In this gif, a black background sparkles with pale purple stars. Hands with fiery fingernails extend from the bottom of the image and present a pink card with embossed with flames.

Help! Has Motherhood Made Me Too Sensitive to Write?

In the fourth installment of our Tarot + Craft column, Sarah Elaine Smith gives advice to a writer who is having difficulty putting their main character through trauma

Sarah Elaine Smith

Sep 09, 2021

Don’t Write Alone | Columns

Don’t Write Alone: Columns