Vaughn Roycroft

Writers, if you need copy editing or proofreading, Isabelle is the best! 👇

Time to acknowledge our most powerful remaining weapons. Keep reading, writing, witnessing, and verifying truth, in an era defined by lies and truth’s willful denial.

Anyway…Here’s Wonderwall: How Oasis Reminded Me of the Collective Joy—and Value—of Art In three days, my sixth novel, GRACE & HENRY’S HOLIDAY MOVIE MARATHON, will be published by Dell. “G&H”—as I’ve taken to calling it because of the long title—is the culmination of two years…

Need a reminder that art delivers joy, and that you are a member in good standing of the artistic community? Author Matthew Norman did, too. He shares how his reminder came exactly when it was needed, today at WU.

Stories That Cast a Spell I have always believed in magic. Age 4, dressed for Halloween as a ballet-fairy with gauzy wings. I leapt off my parents’ coffee table and flapped my arms with utter confidence. Age 11, sitti…

Do you believe in magic? Have you ever felt spellbound by story? Author Kristan Hoffman shares her most recent encounter with magic on the page, today at WU.

Confessions of a Neurodiverse Writer: Encouragement and a Spoonful of Hope This post may appear to have little to do with the craft or business of writing, but the lived experience of what I suspect to be a great many of us creative types deserves attention, too. Kelsey A…

Are you a neurodiverse writer, or suspect that you are? Author Kim Bullock bravely shares her recent (but overdue) diagnosis, and offers hope to others, today at WU.

“Mindless, brain-sucking leeches, undead but not living, that mimic but cannot truly compare to humans? Sounds to me an awful lot like AI.”

Forthcoming, Now and Then On an early autumn day when a lingering marine layer muted the afternoon sun—perfect conditions for outdoor portrait photography—I had new author photos taken. Because I so rarely wear makeup beyon…

In our lives as writers, our hopes and triumphs, and even our defeats and resignations, define our journeys. Julie Christine Johnson reflects on ten years as a published author, today at WU.

Let’s take a stand, America! Say no to stormtroopers in our streets! #NoKingsDay

Because every Star Wars fan knows that liberty *can* die with thunderous applause (from the duped, the sycophants, the profiteers, and the compromised).

We were in New York for a three day visit. Very early this morning they were already getting set up for a peaceful protest in Time’s Square. We Will be in route to Chicago during all the protest but Godspeed to all of you who are participating. NO KINGS - EVER!

I fucking love this essay!

Looking for an epic fantasy with an autumnal feeling? Look no further.
#TheSunderedNationTrilogy

When Good Guys are Bad Guys and Vice Versa: Contradictions We humans are supposed to be somewhat consistent creatures, people who make choices, good and bad, based on our own unique life experiences and our hard wiring. In other words, the reasons behind w…

“You can despise the choices or actions a character takes, even while you love the character and find them infinitely relatable.” Author Kathleen McCleary explores contradictory characters, today at WU.

The Uses, and Abuses, of Ambition Though I’ve largely stopped using social media, when I do go on Facebook or Instagram these days, my feeds are liberally seasoned with posts that advertise writing-advice books, writing workshops, …

What sort of ambition serves a fiction writer? Is it always a good thing? Author Therese Anne Fowler explores writerly ambition, today at WU.

Your Brain Is a Story Machine Note: When I wrote about being a neurodivergent writer last time, many of you told me it was the first time you felt truly seen. That meant so much to me. I realized I had more thoughts about it, s…

No matter how weirdly different our methods, our brains do something AI will never accomplish. Author Kelsey Allagood unravels the awesome weirdness, today at WU.

Getting a debut ready for release? Buckle up. It’s real.

How First Drafts Are Like Cauliflower For me, revising a rough draft for the first time is akin to eating cauliflower: I get that it’s a good thing, but it’s not appealing on any level. It’s bland, it’s boring, and sometimes it’s just …

Is revising a rough draft like eating your veggies—good for you but not pleasant? Author Liz Michalski provides tips to make this necessary drudgery more palatable, today at WU.

How much control did you have in choosing your cover? Was compromise required? (Also, I love Sarah’s essays!)

@donaldmaass.bsky.social utilizes @barbaraonealauthor.bsky.social’s latest wonderful book to show us how truth should be told. Excellent post!

Forever A Pantser! (Or For As Long As Possible) My wife and I recently watched an episode of the Chris Hemsworth’s documentary-style show Limitless: Live Better Now. In it, Hemsworth decides to take a crash-course in playing a drum kit. The reas…

How do you manage a massive writing project? @vaughnroycroft.bsky.social on finding his own way writerunboxed.com/2025/08/25/f... #writingcommunity #writinglife #authorlife #publishing #skywriters

Collecting or Creating? What does “imagination” or “creativity” mean to you, fellow creatives? In my youth, I thought it meant the ability to dream up wildly unreal locales and individuals and to put them into extreme sit…

Does creativity spring from the wilderness of imagination? Or is it deeply rooted in a collection of lived experience? Author Kristin Hacken South explores the origins of her creativity, today at WU.

Pantsers unite! 👖✊

Honored to see The Severing Son continuing to make connections with readers. 🫶

The Power of Why For more than a decade now, I’ve worked with high school students on writing their college application essays. The prompts change (although not much), but what every college or university really wa…

What can we learn from aspiring college students’ attempts at entrance essays? Plenty! Author—and mentor to aspiring college students—Kathleen McCleary shares her experience, today at WU.

If, Just, Maybe There’s a word in this essay you’ll start to see more boldly every time… and it’s unavoidable. And I could apologize for it in advance, but I won’t. You need to see it. You need to feel it.  “If” y…

For writers, “If” can often be the first word in describing our goals and dreams. How do we turn our “ifs” into reality? Author Jillian Forsberg explores the paths, today at WU.

Book Marketing and PR Part XVIII: How Writer Unboxed Readers Discover Books In my June post, I asked Writer Unboxed Readers how they discovered books. Here are the responses from 20 entries. This is not at all scientific. Do you preorder books? Yes, you do pre-order books.…

Curious as to how your fellow WU writers find their next read? Ann-Marie Nieves has the answers, today at WU.

Beauty “Such a strange and frightening time. Beauty won’t save us, but it can remind us of what deserves to be saved.” I wrote that in response to a recent post by music critic Ted Gioia for his sub…

What is beauty? What does it have to do with our work? Our humanity? Musings by author and teacher David Corbett that are sure to inspire your own, today at WU.

This is the sanest thing I’ve read about opening a story in a long while. Do less. I just want to feel like I’m in good hands.

How to Take Criticism Writing fiction is an intensely personal process. The characters are literally in the writer’s head; nowhere else. Writers are often too close to the work to see the flaws; and they have read the p…

Seeking critique is vitally important, but it can also be a fraught process. Author Jeanne Kisacky walks use through the critique experience, start to ‘The End,’ today at WU.

Creative Cross-Pollination: Why Writers Need Other Hobbies I admit it. Sometimes, I’d rather garden than write. But what if tending my plants is as vital to my writing as putting words on a page? What if creative pursuits outside of writing aren’t ju…

“Sometimes, the boldest move for our writing is a strategic retreat—leaning into a new kind of making, so ideas can sprout in unexpected places.”—Julie Carrick Dalton, today at WU.

This post will help you take your dialogue to 11. 🔥