The hottest Writing Craft Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Literature Topics

Great Writers "Tell" All the Time

Freddie deBoer • 6033 implied HN points • 20 Mar 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. The rule "show, don’t tell" is misleading for prose because written fiction is always mediated by a narrator — descriptions, dialogue, and scenes are all forms of telling.
  2. Telling can be more efficient and artistically necessary than forced dramatization; great novelists use authorial commentary to deliver voice, theme, and interior life in ways scenes alone can’t.
  3. Turning writing maxims into dogma hurts inexperienced writers who lack the nuance to apply them, and policing "telling" in workshops can strip a work of its distinctive voice and insight.

What Not Reading Does to Your Writing

Counter Craft • 4846 implied HN points • 22 Feb 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Relying on TV and film thinking makes prose read like a camera transcript instead of a mind, so scenes lack interiority, clear perspective, and end up full of generic gestures. This kind of "TV brain" prose feels flat and tells you nothing deeper about characters.
  2. Prose has strengths film doesn’t: it can show interior thoughts, shift perspective, manipulate time, summarize, and digress to deepen meaning. Good fiction uses those tools instead of playing every scene out in real time.
  3. Writers who don’t read tend to repeat information, bloat sentences with redundant metaphors, and miss what prose can do; the simplest fix is to read widely to learn craft and how to reveal character and story efficiently.

How to Humanize Your AI Writing in 10 Steps

The Algorithmic Bridge • 594 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Writing Craft
  1. Use a short sequence of targeted edits—fix punchline em dashes, cut unnecessary juxtapositions and triads, replace abstractions with concrete sensory details, add a bit of conflict or oddness, remove forced callbacks, and stop overexplaining—to make AI prose feel human.
  2. Add the human moves AI can’t reliably do: bring subtle taste, irony, precise subtext, and surprising specific choices; those touches usually require your judgment to lift the writing beyond competent AI output.
  3. Work iteratively with targeted prompts—either step-by-step or an all-in-one prompt—check changelogs, and revise by eye; this yields big gains but not instant mastery, so trust your judgment and keep polishing.

The Architecture Of Ideas

Adjacent Possible • 506 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🪑 Design Writing Craft
  1. Curating a notebook or collection is itself a creative act: assembling sources, visuals, and artifacts turns research into an exhibit that shapes how ideas are discovered and shared.
  2. A creative environment is broad and intentional: physical spaces, digital tools, rituals, and social networks all act as infrastructure that helps capture slow hunches and produce serendipitous idea collisions.
  3. Practical workflows and rules make long-form thinking possible: capture systems, movable-text tools, editing habits, and AI-assisted research help organize messy fragments so you can surface ideas you wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Back to Work!

Story Club with George Saunders • 60 implied HN points • 08 Mar 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Try an experiment of closely studying a less successful piece by a great writer to see what it reveals.
  2. Even beloved writers have a range of quality, so not every work will be a masterpiece.
  3. Examining lower-end works can help spot the elements that make a writer’s best pieces truly succeed.
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Processing: How Brandon Taylor Wrote Minor Black Figures

Counter Craft • 644 implied HN points • 20 Dec 25
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. A novel should carry ideas and show people struggling with political and ideological conflicts in their social context, so writers shouldn’t fear being called didactic when they dramatize competing worldviews.
  2. Keep characters embodied by showing physical sensations and the social texture around them; after a few high-minded thoughts, return to what the body feels so scenes stay grounded and real.
  3. Use concrete craft habits: prefer a flexible, subjectivized third person, try drafting tricks like narrow margins and retyping for big revisions, and describe art as a character’s subjective impression rather than a literal recreation; reading theory can make writing harder but gives you sharper tools and clearer choices.

What's Up With All the Theme Parks?

Story Club with George Saunders • 78 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Using exaggerated elements like theme parks or ghosts is a deliberate way to unsettle a habitual voice and make the writing more playful and energetic, rather than just to illustrate a theme.
  2. Placing random or hard-to-reconcile elements together forces the mind to invent connections during revision, letting unexpected meanings and relationships emerge organically.
  3. Craft is largely about getting out of your own way: embrace doubt, allow language and voice to go wild, and rewrite until the story finds its own internal logic and emotional truth.

Regrets

Random Minds by Katherine Brodsky • 60 implied HN points • 22 Feb 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Once something is published on someone else’s platform you usually can’t push updates or erase mistakes, so past pieces often remain as they are.
  2. Own what you once believed and wrote, because those views came from the information you had and the person you were at the time.
  3. Being informed helps but doesn’t prevent error; people change opinions both from new facts and from personal growth and experience.

Going Still. Still Going.

Story Club with George Saunders • 85 implied HN points • 08 Feb 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. A writer must decide and know the story’s key events and take responsibility for them, because those facts are the bedrock that let the story mean anything.
  2. Readers are free to draw meanings, but they shouldn’t be left to invent core facts; if an author wants an alternate or ambiguous reading to feel believable, the text needs to include subtle signals that support it.
  3. Choices about point of view and how and when events are revealed shape the story’s emotional balance and meaning, so narrative timing and subtlety can make an ending feel satisfying or unsatisfying.

With Love from St. Louis

Story Club with George Saunders • 65 implied HN points • 12 Feb 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Touring and talking with readers and collaborators energizes creative work and shows that books build real community. It’s a reminder that live conversation and shared stories matter.
  2. A single book can spark wildly different reactions — essays, long interviews, radio features, and even group readings — and that range of response can be valuable. The sparks a book makes are part of its success, even if opinions vary.
  3. It’s okay to abandon a draft if you don’t have the desire or joy to revise it; sometimes a manuscript is mainly a way to process experience rather than a project to develop. Trust that the technical and emotional learning from that work carries into future projects, and prioritize projects that give you anticipatory joy and playful uncertainty.

2025 Recap

Novum Newsletter • 154 implied HN points • 31 Dec 25
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. 2025 was clarifying but difficult and saw less output. The plan for 2026 is to write a lot more and make changes to enable that.
  2. The newsletter grew to over 3,200 subscribers, and long-form essays about cultural and media anxieties attracted notable attention.
  3. Planned work for 2026 includes publishing magazine essays, starting a nonfiction novel based on a real-life story, and launching a curated archival blog, with paid subscriptions invited to help support these projects.

you don't know what's gonna happen

Both Are True • 195 implied HN points • 20 Nov 25
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. You don't know what will happen when you start writing; ideas often change and new things emerge as you go.
  2. If you judge your idea too early you'll stop writing and miss the surprising material that comes out in the process.
  3. The messy, unexpected parts of writing often contain the best stuff—comedy, joy, and even darkness—so it's worth letting the process reveal things and sharing them.

Office Hours

Story Club with George Saunders • 69 implied HN points • 15 Jan 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. A new UK edition of the book is available and there are a few upcoming UK events with limited tickets and signed copies for preorder.
  2. A pet recovered from a urinary infection, reminding us not to presume outcomes and to persist calmly through problems, and showing how community support can really help.
  3. Writing advice: you don’t have to surrender to the subconscious to make good work; try different versions, choose the ones that please you, and remember craft tips are just suggestions you can accept or ignore.

forget thanksgiving its time for fearsharing

Both Are True • 105 implied HN points • 30 Nov 25
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Fearsharing Day is a small holiday on the Sunday after Thanksgiving meant for naming and sharing the things that scare you. It turns year-end anxiety into a communal ritual.
  2. A lot of the fears are about creative insecurity and self-doubt — worrying that work won’t be good enough, that the best ideas are behind you, or that you’re not living true to your values. These also include fears of letting people down and being trapped in a persona.
  3. The piece invites people to publicly share their fears as a healing practice and a collective experiment, with a playful goal (if many join, a video will be recorded reading them). It treats openness and participation as part of the ritual’s meaning.

A Revision Exercise...

Story Club with George Saunders • 61 implied HN points • 04 Jan 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. An editing and revision exercise is being offered to help readers practice concrete editing approaches.
  2. The exercise is presented as an experiment previously used with students, so it’s practical and classroom-tested.
  3. The full post is behind a paywall and requires a paid subscription or sign-in to access.

Some News on "Vigil"

Story Club with George Saunders • 74 implied HN points • 08 Dec 25
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. There’s a live Substack event on Wednesday, December 10 at 1:30 PM EST to read a short preview of the new novel and announce the audiobook cast; follow to get the link when it goes live.
  2. The writer is in the anxious publication-waiting phase and describes their job as designing a wild ride — revising to make the book’s oppositions stronger so meaning can emerge afterward.
  3. They’ve seen and shared the physical cover of the book and are finishing a final round of frank one-on-one edits with students before they return to the wider world.

The honest pursuit of a literary writer I must reads

Tumbleweed Words • 14 implied HN points • 04 Feb 26
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Writing is a lifelong, often lonely commitment that costs relationships, money, and comfort. Writers keep going through isolation and repeated rejection because the work compels them.
  2. Daily discipline and brutal editing are essential; writers must write even when they don’t want to and discard far more than they keep. Honest self-critique and relentless revision turn rough drafts into meaningful work.
  3. The aim is honest storytelling: observe quietly, turn truth into fiction, and serve the story above fame or readership. Authenticity and ritual practice matter more than praise or recognition.

What Am I Doing Here?

Gideon's Substack • 40 implied HN points • 24 Dec 25
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Creative work can become the main source of purpose in midlife, which feels stressful when big projects stall and you worry about what you’re actually accomplishing.
  2. Opinion and newsletter writing are often about persuasion: targeting persuadable readers, shaping how they think, and nudging them to act, even while competing in an attention economy that can turn reading into workplace distraction.
  3. Writing is also a way to think aloud and invite conversation — valuing understanding and deep engagement over pure influence — while still hoping for a larger, appreciative audience despite realistic limits.

Yes, I Power-Capitalize

I Might Be Wrong • 7 implied HN points • 12 Feb 26
😂 Humor Writing Craft
  1. Capitalizing words for effect is a conscious stylistic tool to emphasize meaning and cue readers that a joke or special tone is intended.
  2. Traditional grammar rules are useful but can be bent in comedy because visual cues like capitalization and italics help control cadence and make punchlines clearer.
  3. Writers who produce frequent humorous pieces use tools like power-capitalization to make jokes land and accept that grammar purists may object.

2024 Year-End Writing Round-Up

Counter Craft • 361 implied HN points • 21 Dec 24
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. The writer saw significant growth in their newsletter, which now has over 18,000 followers. It's nice to see how readers appreciate their work.
  2. They plan to publish a novel called 'Metallic Realms' in 2025, mixing genres like sci-fi and autofiction. They seem excited about this project.
  3. The writer shares valuable writing advice, emphasizing the importance of finishing projects and offers thoughts on writing techniques and publishing myths.

For And Against The Short Story

Castalia • 159 implied HN points • 08 Dec 22
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Short stories can show the writer's unique style and ideas without the long structure of a novel. They're like a quick look into a writer's mind and creativity.
  2. They focus on a single idea or moment, making them direct and impactful. This clarity helps convey a strong message or theme without distractions.
  3. Reading short stories can sometimes feel light or simple, but they often leave a lasting impression. They can provide a quick escape or thought-provoking experience, similar to enjoying a snack rather than a full meal.

Curator

Castalia • 139 implied HN points • 27 Oct 22
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Some writers focus too much on making sentences sound beautiful, but this can distract from telling a real story or connecting with readers. Writing should feel authentic and meaningful rather than just being a writing contest.
  2. Carl Schmitt had a dangerous influence on political thought, promoting ideas that justify violence and dictatorship. His theories represent a bleak view of power that ignores more humane approaches to politics.
  3. Neoliberalism is often criticized but hard to define. There's a growing call to return to economic ideas that prioritize people's needs over strict market rules, similar to the New Deal, to better support communities and jobs.

Prosaic Enjambment

The Elbow • 39 implied HN points • 09 Jul 23
📚 Literature Writing Craft
  1. Enjambment is a technique in writing where a thought is split between lines or structural units for reading flow.
  2. Enjambment is not only found in poetry, but also in other mediums like film and music, enhancing the flow of storytelling.
  3. Enjambment can be applied in non-poetic writing, such as prose, by strategically breaking up paragraphs or sentences to create suspense and flow.