This is part of Help! Wanted, a special series from Slate advice. In the advising biz, there are certain eternal dilemmas that bedevil letter writers and columnists alike. This week, we’re taking them ...

Note: In the “Are You Working?” series, a Ph.D. and academic-writing coach answers questions from faculty members and graduate students about scholarly motivation and productivity. This month’s ...

Editor’s Note: This is the second column in a new series, “Are You Writing?” Part 1 is here. I have heard many irritating suggestions on scholarly productivity in my time, but none get my blood aboil ...

Did you know that George RR Martin, the mastermind behind the epic “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, often writes multiple chapters for each character consecutively? This non-linear approach helps him ...

Skipping prompts altogether has become my favorite way to improve my writing with ChatGPT. Here’s why dropping instructions gets me clearer edits, better insights and stronger stories.

How do you write an article, book, short story or poem that’s a pleasure to read? It’s a daunting challenge, and school is generally poor preparation for it. Teachers and professors have to slog ...

All advice is suspect. I'm not suggesting you break all the so-called rules of creativity you've collected. Only that every tip can be counteracted with its opposite. And some advice is just plain bad ...

If you open up a Twitter thread or an advice column for graduate writing, you’ll probably see advice such as “Just write.” “You can’t edit a blank page.” “Put words on paper—even if they’re terrible, ...

Scoring high in the CBSE Board Exams 2026 depends as much on how students write their answers as on what they know. These ...

My favorite Tough Love question from the last eight years, the one I (somewhat inexplicably) recall most fondly, was from a woman whose boyfriend was grossed out that she used a pee rag—a.k.a.