The Artisanal Writer

The Artisanal Writer The Artisanal Writer is an online journal about the craft of writing and reading.

It explores what makes great writing, how great writing happens and how writers we love to read, make great writing happen.

The title of my book refers to the Japanese adage: The nail that sticks out gets hammered in. This idea serves as a warn...
07/05/2025

The title of my book refers to the Japanese adage: The nail that sticks out gets hammered in. This idea serves as a warning to young kids. They grow up being told that everyone is expected to behave in the same way in order to maintain harmony, that excellence breeds envy, and any person who stands out or outperforms others will be punished....

The title of my book refers to the Japanese adage: The nail that sticks out gets hammered in. This idea serves as a warning to young kids. They grow up being told that everyone is expected to behav…

I was stunned, perhaps naively, when the older single man who lived above us, and to whom we’d said hello in passing ove...
07/05/2025

I was stunned, perhaps naively, when the older single man who lived above us, and to whom we’d said hello in passing over the years, died and wasn’t discovered for many days. I was also dismayed by how humans can live in such close, almost intimate proximity—bathing and brushing their teeth on either side of the same wall—and yet know so little about one another....

I was stunned, perhaps naively, when the older single man who lived above us, and to whom we’d said hello in passing over the years, died and wasn’t discovered for many days. I was also dismayed by…

The title of the collection is meant to gesture at the many meanings of “teeth:” a smile, bearing one’s teeth as a sign ...
07/05/2025

The title of the collection is meant to gesture at the many meanings of “teeth:” a smile, bearing one’s teeth as a sign of aggression, a bite (in its many valences and meanings). Given the many ways we can think through teeth....

The title of the collection is meant to gesture at the many meanings of “teeth:” a smile, bearing one’s teeth as a sign of aggression, a bite (in its many valences and meanings). Given the many way…

There is nothing I love more than a story that evokes a sense of unity. I love stories where the beginning meets the end...
07/05/2025

There is nothing I love more than a story that evokes a sense of unity. I love stories where the beginning meets the end, not necessarily linearly, but in a complete circle where the reader can see the pieces of the narrative thread meet each other....

There is nothing I love more than a story that evokes a sense of unity. I love stories where the beginning meets the end, not necessarily linearly, but in a complete circle where the reader can see…

Publishing a book is a big deal. Huge. We should celebrate it the way we’d celebrate a wedding or the birth of something...
07/05/2025

Publishing a book is a big deal. Huge. We should celebrate it the way we’d celebrate a wedding or the birth of something new (my editor actually said that, and I couldn’t agree more!). We don’t need to follow everyone else’s templates. That’s how the work of being a writer becomes more sustainable. More joyful. Easier to hold....

Publishing a book is a big deal. Huge. We should celebrate it the way we’d celebrate a wedding or the birth of something new (my editor actually said that, and I couldn’t agree more!). We don’t nee…

Poets not only experience the world as “radically different” but they are also inspired through their imagination to art...
05/08/2025

Poets not only experience the world as “radically different” but they are also inspired through their imagination to articulate that world in a fresh and new image....

Poets not only experience the world as “radically different” but they are also inspired through their imagination to articulate that world in a fresh and new image.

Writing is an odd art, isn’t it? It’s entirely about witnessing rather than partaking; you are driven, but you are not t...
05/08/2025

Writing is an odd art, isn’t it? It’s entirely about witnessing rather than partaking; you are driven, but you are not the driver. The partaking and sharing come later, but the practice is solitary and, in a way, disinterested....

Writing is an odd art, isn’t it? It’s entirely about witnessing rather than partaking; you are driven, but you are not the driver. The partaking and sharing come later, but the practice is solitary…

Almost 200 years ago, Ghalib stopped in Banaras to recover from illness while on a journey from Delhi to Calcutta...One ...
05/08/2025

Almost 200 years ago, Ghalib stopped in Banaras to recover from illness while on a journey from Delhi to Calcutta...One can picture Ghalib’s convalescence on the banks of the Ganges, with slow walks to the riverbank as he gained back his strength. We can see him witness his neighbours’ devotion all around him in the steady flow of the holy water. We can hear the wails of mourners at the nearby funeral ghats alongside the chants of Brahmin priests....

Almost 200 years ago, Ghalib stopped in Banaras to recover from illness while on a journey from Delhi to Calcutta…One can picture Ghalib’s convalescence on the banks of the Ganges, with slow …

Molly had one basic lesson which she drove home for us week after week in our writing seminars, and which has stayed wit...
05/08/2025

Molly had one basic lesson which she drove home for us week after week in our writing seminars, and which has stayed with me now for over 30 years. It is a lesson which I have carried with me through all the fiction and non-fiction I have written and read, and through all the workshops and writing circles I have led....

Molly had one basic lesson which she drove home for us week after week in our writing seminars, and which has stayed with me now for over 30 years. It is a lesson which I have carried with me throu…

I believe that I understand myself and the world via my writing. As I try to integrate personal loss into how I comprehe...
05/08/2025

I believe that I understand myself and the world via my writing. As I try to integrate personal loss into how I comprehend the world, writing helps me enter into the meaning of each specific loss. Writing about loss is partly an act of homage to what has been lost, and also a way to honour it. In some ways, every elegy is an ode....

I believe that I understand myself and the world via my writing. As I try to integrate personal loss into how I comprehend the world, writing helps me enter into the meaning of each specific loss. …

Underwater is, in its essence, a challenging book to read, because unflinchingly, the book examines and reflects loss, s...
05/08/2025

Underwater is, in its essence, a challenging book to read, because unflinchingly, the book examines and reflects loss, specifically the author's two stillborn babies, the death of her father to early-onset Alzheimer’s, and the disintegration of her marriage....

Underwater is, in its essence, a challenging book to read, because unflinchingly, the book examines and reflects loss, specifically the author’s two stillborn babies, the death of her father …

Apply Now! Deadline extended to March 31....
03/01/2025

Apply Now! Deadline extended to March 31....

Apply Now! Deadline extended to March 31.

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