Focus! Keeping Writing Focused
By Zoha Arif I have some exotic, discombobulating thoughts when I’m brushing my teeth. Some mornings, I’ll be applying a generous swab of...
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Jun 29, 20204 min read
Q&A - What's your favorite line you've ever written?
By Giancarlo Riccobon, Daniel Boyko, and Yong-Yu Huang Giancarlo Riccobon My favorite line comes from the first draft of a short story...
Jun 9, 20207 min read
Editing a Piece You Hate
By Daniel Boyko and Zoha Arif So, you’re in the mood for something spicy. Something extravagant, a piece in which the English language...
Jun 9, 20206 min read
Pieces That Excel in Some Areas But Not Others
By Daniel Boyko, Sally Park, and Nishka Dalmia So, a submission magically appears on your Submission Manager, and you’re prepared for the...
Jun 9, 20206 min read
Tell, Don’t Show (That’s Right, You Heard Me)
By Giancarlo Riccobon Okay, maybe a more accurate title would be, “Show, Don’t Tell, Except for When You Need To Tell.” But that’s not as...
Apr 28, 20207 min read
What it Takes to Move a Reader to Tears Without Chopping Onions
By Zoha Arif Kids, behold Master Sensei, the CEO and Founder of the Fortune 500 Onion Ninja Industries. Master Sensei has been prosperous...
Apr 28, 20205 min read
Avoiding Clichés
By Daniel Boyko and Maya Nalawade Ignorance is bliss. Better safe than sorry. Play your cards right. A fish out of water. What do all of...
Apr 28, 20204 min read
Q&A - How important is understanding a piece's meaning to you?
By Hannah Ramsey and Daniel Boyko Hannah Ramsey: I know that whenever I’m editing a submission, whether it be a very personal nonfiction...
Mar 26, 20206 min read
Editing a Famous Poem With Polyphony Guidelines
By Zoha Arif I ate a popsicle today -- blue raspberry, thank you for asking -- on the school bus because I felt like it even though, in...
Mar 7, 20204 min read
Writing Natural Dialogue
By Daniel Boyko and Zoha Arif It is a universal consensus that writing dialogue is a trial—a detestation on its own—and one of those...
Jan 4, 20203 min read
Writing Creative Nonfiction
By Sally Park and Nishka Dalmia (Nishka) ‘Creative non-fiction’ is a paradox in itself. While people tend to think that creative...
Oct 31, 20196 min read
Editing Fiction (For the Anxious Poet, the Lazy Editor, & People Who Happen to Be Both)
For some editors, opening Submission Manager and seeing the genre listed as “fiction” strikes fear deep into their hearts. Maybe it’s...
Feb 1, 201910 min read
Teenage Philosophizing
By Alex Jones and Adil Alvi Advice on avoiding condescension, getting in the reader’s head, and helping young thinkers produce their...
Dec 31, 20184 min read
Writing non-repetitive general commentary
Ahh, the classics. Every genre has its own issues, its own tropes and cliches. Romance novels have meet-cutes, fantasy novels have...
Dec 31, 20186 min read
Justifying your commentary
Prior to the thrill of receiving their Submission Manager account and their very first submission, all Polyphony Lit editors undergo a...
Dec 1, 20186 min read
Editing pieces that deal with difficult topics
As editors and readers for Polyphony Lit, we know our primary duty is to help our own rising generation of literary artists feel...
Dec 1, 20185 min read
Feedback 101: Compassionate Editing
Have you ever worried that you were being too harsh with your commentary? Three Polyphony editors are here to help. One of the most...
Dec 1, 20183 min read
Independently improving your own editing
It’s a conundrum that all editors face at some point – how can you improve your editing skills when you don’t know what your strengths...
Oct 10, 20184 min read
Cracking the Enigma: Pieces You Don´t Understand
by Ore Amosu A Polyphony editor's worst nightmare: not knowing what to comment. You know the feeling you have when you can’t open a...
Oct 4, 20184 min read
Got Writer's Block?
by Anya Chabria, Emily Cho, Jodie Meng, Jennifer Wang, and Maggie Eames Even the best writers end up staring at the blank white page and...
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