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USING DIALECT IN FICTION
Whatever dialect you choose to use, make sure you’re doing it justice. Unless you’re from the town or city or state or region that you’re writing about, and so know, firsthand, the details and words and accents and how people speak, make sure to do your research. Be thorough. The last thing you want to do is write a novel in Jamaican Patois and get everything wrong, because you’re translating everything literally, ignoring the cadence or common phrases for things and situatio
Cully Perlman
3 days ago7 min read
WHAT THE MIDDLE OF YOUR NOVEL MUST DO TO SUCCEED
First, read widely. Pick a few books that, as I like to say, are “hard to kick holes through). There’s a reason some books are “unputdownable.” Sure, authors can hook you. A lot do. But books (and authors) that are successful keep you guessing. They provide insights and aphorisms that make you see the world in different ways. They continue building upon the hook they put into your lip and give you more hooks to make you stay. Which books do that for you?
Cully Perlman
Apr 299 min read
Reading Like a Writer: Educating Yourself on Craft
The great William Faulkner compares reading to a carpenter’s apprenticeship, encouraging writers to analyze both good and bad work. Stephen King emphasizes that reading is a mandatory tool for writing. A.L. Kennedy, who has written a lot of fiction and nonfiction (including one of my favorite books, On Bullfighting, advises reading broadly and deeply to absorb good writing. And Francine Prose, who I met in grad school at the University of Tampa, says, “If we want to write, it
Cully Perlman
Apr 229 min read
YOUR NOVEL’S FIRST CHAPTER CHECKLIST
Don’t try to be clever. It’s fine to have an unreliable narrator, but if you’re trying to trick your readers into believing one thing when something else is true, unless you’re an incredible writer, all you’re going to do is frustrate your readers. They’ve come for a story, not a confusing piece of literature written by an author who thinks she’s so smart she can skip the work that goes into writing something worth reading. Red herrings work, but not always. They must be done
Cully Perlman
Apr 166 min read
2026 FICTION CONTEST AND LITERARY SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
And here’s a truism: if you’re going to give yourself the best chance of success with your fiction this year when it comes to submitting it to different outlets, make sure you follow the fiction contest and literary submission requirements to the T. You’ll find these requirements (or submission guidelines) on the contest and entry pages, and if you’re logging into Submittable or Duosuma or Moksha or Subfolio or wherever, the submission requirements should be pretty prominentl
Cully Perlman
Apr 85 min read
RELIGION IN FICTION
There’s something extraordinary of how Lehane leverages Catholicism. Lehane “describes himself as a ‘literary Catholic,’ using the faith's atmospheric impact on storytelling rather than adhering to strict dogma.” – Google AI Overview. If you’ve lived around Catholic churches and attended Catholic ceremonies like I have, having grown up for a time in Brooklyn, New York, and then basically everywhere else I’ve lived, primarily in Miami, you understand what’s happening, or feel
Cully Perlman
Apr 19 min read
READING LITERATURE FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR OWN WRITING
Murakami writes minimalist prose that is surreal, and often deals with themes of memory, existential longing, alienation, and lonely men living mundane lives but who face metaphysical, magical-realist, and fantastic or strange, surreal journeys. Early in his career Murakami wrote by translating his thoughts from English to Japanese. This process morphs into something slightly different in his later works, but the American influence is there in his pop culture references.
Cully Perlman
Mar 2510 min read
TWELVE GREAT SHORT STORY WRITERS YOU SHOULD READ
Like thousands of other readers and writers, the book has changed the way I think about writing. There’s just something magical about that book. It’s like when you watch a Tim Burton movie for the first time (or, frankly, any time) and compare it to anything else. There’s a story there. There are characters doing things in Saunders’s book. Each story is somewhere between a few pages and sixty pages. And the stories are all just so different than anything else out there.
Cully Perlman
Mar 1815 min read
HAVING THE CONFIDENCE TO WRITE A FIRST DRAFT OF A NOVEL
As writers, it’s difficult to not struggle with imposter syndrome. Tennessee Williams said, “What's talent but the ability to get away with something?” Lara Erlich, in Animal Wife, wrote, “In none of her lives will she be brilliant or famous or content. Her mediocrity will hound her through a kaleidoscope of futures.” Mark Twain said, "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure."
Cully Perlman
Mar 118 min read
GUEST POST: JOHN DUFRESNE COMES UP WITH NOVEL TITLES
If you’re like me, more often your title will emerge during the writing. Before it does, however, it’s a good idea to have a working title or titles as you go. A working title keeps you focused and on track—until it doesn’t. To this point, E.L. Doctorow wrote, “You’ll find a better title, and it will have a certain excitement for you; it will evoke the book, it will push you along. Eventually, you’ll have to choose another title. When you find the one that doesn’t get used u
John Dufresne
Mar 39 min read
WRITING ABOUT CRIME SCENES
Writing about crime scenes isn’t easy. Or, it’s not easy if you want to do it correctly. As a writer, it’s your job to bring the information to the reader without giving them an information dump. You may have watched a million Forensic Files on TV. Or Unsolved Mysteries. Or CSI. Or maybe you’re addicted to the First 48 and Dateline, like I am. Unless there’s some critically acclaimed fantastic new movie out there, one of those shows is always playing on my flat screen.
Cully Perlman
Feb 247 min read
2026 WRITING CONTESTS
If you’re looking to test the literary waters without querying literary agents, or if you’re just starting out, consider submitting your short stories and novel excerpts to literary journals and literary contests. Some offer payment in author copies while others actually pay you for your work, especially if you win or place in literary contests. Below are a good number of literary contests and journals with upcoming submission deadlines. So, polish your work and get your entr
Cully Perlman
Feb 195 min read
WRITING TIPS FOR BEGINNERS
Edit. A lot. I know, I know. I’m using “A lot” a lot. Good. It’s called repetition, and I’m doing it on purpose. Repetition is something that emphasizes. Repetition creates a rhythm. A mood. It makes you, the reader, remember what I, the writer, wants you to remember. It helps with clarity and other things we writers do in terms of the tools at our disposal.
Cully Perlman
Feb 1711 min read
3 Great Examples of Dialogue in Fiction
, Ernest Hemingway changed the way writers wrote during the Twentieth Century. His “iceberg theory” revolutionized dialogue because unlike the writing that came before him, Hemingway’s writing created tension in what was not said rather than what was said. Characters in Hemingway’s fiction are evasive when it comes to what they say (he uses a lot of subtext), his characters are short on words, the language is not elevated or highbrow, he uses repetition to show obsession and
Cully Perlman
Feb 1013 min read
BOOK REVIEW: STONE ANGELS by Helena Rho explores the sexual exploitation of Korean women and girls during the Asia-Pacific War
We’re reminded of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, when Macbeth stares at his hands out of a sense of guilt: “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” Macbeth asks. If you know anything about Korean culture, you know how prominent the concept of avoiding shame is, as well as how important traditional displays of respect are, especially concerning the halmeonis and hal-abeojis, the grandmothers and grandfathers, who rule over Korean families
Cully Perlman
Feb 98 min read
YOUR EVOLUTION AS A WRITER FROM BEGINNING TO FOREVER
Beginning writers are easy to spot. Often, it’ll only take a line or two for someone with experience to realize what stage of writing you’re at, and what they’ll expect to encounter as they read your short story (most writers begin writing short stories, as they are, well, short, and thus less intimidating to attack when learning how to write). I was a beginning writer many years ago, and I recently found a few of my short stories. They were better than I expected, but they w
Cully Perlman
Feb 312 min read
TOP 10 CREATIVE WRITING VIDEOS
While we lament what the world is and has been becoming for some time, not just in politics and interests, in literature and the world’s collective move away from “serious fiction,” many of us still know that no matter how much we know, we’ll never know enough. We continue learning. We continue writing. And we continue seeking out the resources that maintain our growth when it comes to the craft we love.
Cully Perlman
Jan 277 min read
How You Can Use the World Around You to Create Your Characters
One of the best ways to pick up characters is by listening to the conversations around us. When you’re at Starbuck’s with your computer, listen to the conversations the people around you are having. Are they excited? Sad? Perturbed? Perhaps angry about something that’s happening to them at work? In their lives? Between them and their significant other? If so, write down the interesting parts. Or tape the whole thing, if you don’t feel like you’re being too creepy. Look over f
Cully Perlman
Jan 136 min read
Is It Worth It to Query Literary Agents in 2026?
More and more agents are closed to queries or are only open to queries via referrals. Which means you shouldn’t waste your time querying them. They won’t likely read your query, and it’s possible you’ll just be considered a rookie or annoying. It’s like putting a no soliciting sign on your door and still having the Avon representative knocking at your door. If Avon is still a thing—I have no clue and I’m not even going to bother to Google if it is.
Cully Perlman
Jan 79 min read
CHARACTER ARCS IN FICTION
Character arcs make readers care about the characters. Readers can relate in some way to what a character is going through, and so they understand why and how a character throughout the story. No, characters don’t need to change. Anything is possible in fiction. But characters who don’t change, who have no arcs, will probably not be as interesting to your readers. These are known as flat character arcs. Flat characters may already know who they are.
Cully Perlman
Dec 29, 20255 min read
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THE LOSSES
A novel
"I've just read Cully Perlman's hefty, ambitious, and radiant debut novel, The Losses, and I was flat knocked out. This is much more than a promising first novel by an inordinately gifted writer; it is a dazzling literary achievement. Perlman is an enchanter, casting his spell with lyrical prose, evocative details, and spellbinding characters. He explores familial chaos, reckless behavior, and tragic love with poise, savvy, and tenderness. What talent, what nerve, what a wondrous and spellbinding novel."
--John Dufresne
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