Want to write like Charles Bukowski? Just follow these simple rules.
Bukowski’s Rules
A First for The Second Pass
The Second Pass marks its first anniversary with a bunch of writers championing their favorite out-of-print books. Happy Anniversary! (For more out-of-print recommendations see our collection of gems from last year.)
●
●
The Chekhovian Rules of Writing
Anton Chekhov's rules for writing, as seen in an 1886 letter to his brother, include "total objectivity," "extreme brevity," and, of course, "compassion."
●
●
●
Counterproductive Categorization
It’s a question that puzzles writers of all stripes: why is so much academic writing so terrible? It’s an issue that’s been a lifelong head-scratcher for the linguist Steven Pinker, who set out to answer the question once and for all. His verdict? It has to do with the meaning of “literary style.”
●
●
“I’m thousands of miles away, and you can’t get to me”
The Yale Literary Magazine caught up with the reclusive author Denis Johnson to discuss the poets who made him want to write poetry, his favorite mass cultural product, and the chief reason he avoids giving interviews.
●
●
Consider the Chapter
“What does the chapter’s beginnings reveal about the way our books and stories are still put together?” Nicholas Dames answers with an essay in The New Yorker.