#thestruggleisreal

Jul 164 min read

What Rejection Teaches Writers

Every email I opened for a year began with the dreaded words: Thank you for submitting...unfortunately...

Jul 143 min read

Navigating the Slippery Slope of Writer's Block

By Mirabelle Jiang It’s that time of the day – your designated writing time! You open your laptop, ready to unleash all the ideas that...

Dec 18, 20233 min read

How Creative Writing and College Essays are More Similar Than You Might Think

By Nicole Liao The college application process—half a year of extremely stressful grueling work—is, sadly, something all of us have to...

Aug 29, 20235 min read

Editor Can't Decide Whether to Accept or Reject a Piece (Humor)

By Sreya Nistala After a week jam-packed with exams, essays, and group projects you had to carry, you finally find the time to settle...

Apr 9, 20218 min read

End at the Beginning, Begin at the End (That’s Right, You Heard Me)

By Giancarlo Riccobon Whoa, time out. You can’t just mess around with your story’s timeline. The only way to tell a story is in...

Apr 9, 20216 min read

Seven Reasons Why Writing Listicles Are Stupid

By Giancarlo Riccobon Hands-down, a literary listicle is the laziest, most derivative, most cynical thing that a web publication can...

Feb 10, 20213 min read

Maintaining a Positive Tone in Feedback

By Anika Mukker Your computer pings with the sound of an email bringing you your next forwarded submission. While logging into...

Feb 10, 20212 min read

Q&A - How important are writing programs to an author/editor's abilities?

By Brooke Nind and Melanie Van Peenen Brooke Nind Writing programs are a wonderful experience and an opportunity for young writers to...

Feb 10, 20214 min read

Tips for Writing Short Pieces

By Ishita Shah, Kate-Yeonjae Jeong You've just finished a masterpiece. One that will be remembered for the next millennia to come; that...

Dec 5, 20203 min read

What shapes a writer more, acceptance or rejection?

By Brooke Nind, Nithya Ramcharan, Grace Zhang, and Neeraja Kumar Brooke Nind: Rejection is redirection. I know it’s cheesy and you’ve...

Dec 5, 20202 min read

Editing Twist Endings

By Pauline Paranikas As you read your most recent Polyphony Lit submission, you find yourself growing increasingly confused. Something...

Oct 30, 20204 min read

Q&A - What has your greatest struggle with editing been?

By Brooke Nind, Anika Mukker, Eva Zheng and Daniel Boyko Brooke Nind My greatest struggle with editing has been crafting general...

Oct 30, 20204 min read

Editing Pieces with Poorly Planned Plots

By Melanie Van Peenen Perhaps Rudolf Clausius was wrong about entropy, or disorder, being the natural state of the universe. For...

Sep 30, 20206 min read

Genre Editor Q&A

By Pauline Paranikas, Daniel Boyko, Danielle Sherman, and Lara Katz We recently received the following questions from a writer: What...

Sep 1, 20204 min read

Q&A - What do you do to inspire/overcome writer’s block?

By Kate-Yeonjae Jeong, Brooke Nind, Grace Zhang, Shelly Bhagat, and Daniel Boyko Kate-Yeonjae Jeong: As a writer, there always comes a...

Jul 29, 20203 min read

Q&A - Have there been any awkward moments in your Polyphony career?

By Pauline Paranikas, Yong-Yu Huang, Nithya Ramcharan, Brooke Nind, and Neeraja Kumar Pauline Paranikas: I don’t know if this necessarily...

Jul 29, 20208 min read

Getting Published as a Teen Part One

By Ishita Shah, Lara Katz, Daniel Boyko, and Zoha Arif Sometimes I have a feeling that the geniuses who birthed the English language got...

Jul 29, 20206 min read

Daily Struggles of a Nitpicky Editor

By Julia Zacharski, Zoha Arif, Yong-Yu Huang, and Grace Zhang Your grandmother may have told you that perfection is like honey on a...

Jul 29, 20207 min read

Editing a Piece in a Style/Genre You're Unfamiliar With

By Hannah Ramsey, Daniel Boyko, Kate Jeong, and Suhanee Mitragotri Introduction Billy Lombardo has forwarded you the submission "xxx” by...

Jun 29, 20207 min read

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...