Amy Slays Doubt Monsters
@amylbernstein.bsky.social
Author, Book Coach, Creativity Counselor. Fearless confronter of doubts holding creatives back. Author: "Wrangling the Doubt Monster: Fighting Fears, Finding Inspiration." Most recent novel: "Tent City." Forthcoming: "Seed." https://amywrites.live
Writing in First Person? Dial Up the Charisma brevity.wordpress.com/2026/09/25/f...
Writing in First Person? Dial Up the Charisma
By Amy L. Bernstein First-person POV may well be the most complicated point of view. When you build an entire story around the “I” voice, you commit to installing the reader deep inside a single sk…
brevity.wordpress.com
If you intend to get serious about writing powerful essays, you should familiarize yourself with three structural components that you’ll tie together to make a cohesive whole: 1. Form 2. Voice 3. Outcome Insight from @amylbernstein.bsky.social
3 Structural Components of Essay: Form, Voice, and Outcome | Jane Friedman
The essay is like any other literary genre: There are guidelines worth following, and style choice dictates different points of view and structures.
janefriedman.com
Hi, #Baltimore, Our beloved Ivy Bookshop is hosting a #booktalk Friday, 9/11 at 6 pm between me and WYPR's Taylor Holbrooks. You're invited! TENT CITY and the Necessity of Writing in Dark Times www.theivybookshop.com/event/amy-l-... #writers #authors #booksky #dystopianfiction #bookstore
Ivy Bookshop - Amy L. Bernstein with Taylor Holbrooks: TENT CITY
As the American town of Willing crumbles under a collapsing economy, hundreds seek refuge in the dense “city” of tents that spring up in the Kings’ big backyard. So follows the new novel by Amy L. Ber...
theivybookshop.com
What's the next mountain I'm gonna climb? This was a dream come true! My talk focused on the necessity of treating artists as workers and paying them a living wage.
Writers: You'll have no trouble relating to this! That's me on the left and writer Veronica Vo on the right. She recently completed her MFA...and now she's out there in the querying and writing trenches. Join us for the related live chat!
AWP@awpwriter.org · 2mo agoRejection is part of the writing process and can make a writer doubt. Season 21 mentor Amy Bernstein and her mentee Veronica Vo know all about it. Watch our latest teaser before the premiere of “Writer to Writer Across the Pages: Wrangling the Doubt Monster” on Thursday, August 6.
Artists are advised to wield data to define and measure their worth and their output. This does not always go well. And I'm not doing it. #cnf #essay #artist #writer #bksy amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com/p/permission...
When Measuring Messes with your Mindset
Look beyond the data for your identity as an artist
amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com
@readercon.bsky.social So excited to attend Readercon this weekend and share TENT CITY with everyone. A sly, dark exploration of the American Dream in decline. Check it out! Also excited about serving on the David Gerrold panel!!
Think you're clear on your "target" reader? Maybe not... amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com/p/your-so-ca... #booksky #indieauthor #writer #author #fiction #bookmarketing
Your So-Called Target Reader May Not Exist
We can’t always put readers in boxes and slap labels on them
amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com
Aren't chapbooks wonderful? Hand-crafted, elegant, no two alike. I'm thrilled that Bottlecap Press has produced one for my hybrid story, DAYS OF LEAVING. #booksky #indie #author #writer #chapbook #fiction bottlecap.press/products/day...
Days of Leaving, by Amy L. Bernstein
Prose, chapbook, 44 pages, from Bottlecap Features. DAYS OF LEAVING is a gentle meditation on loneliness and the difficulty of living up to E.M. Forster’s dictum to “only connect” one’s inner and oute...
bottlecap.press
If only the rest of the world got on so well... amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com/p/who-are-wr... #writers #authors #booksky #indie #fiction #CNF
Who are Writers Like? Other Writers.
We have a ridiculous amount in common
amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com
One of the most fun parts of completing a book? Choosing the epigraph...just the precise words to set the mood. #booksky amywrites.live/blog/f/the-j...
The Joy of Choosing an Epigraph
One of the joys of finalizing a book is the chance to insert an epigraph (or epigram) at the front of the book, usually after the dedication (to loved ones for putting up with you).
amywrites.live
Hey, I'm inviting complete strangers to my party! Fortunately, it's virtual so you can't steal my silverware. But seriously: Let's have some fun! Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #fiction #writers #authors #booksky #newfiction #speculative #dystopian #booklaunch
Gotta love the magic of marketing. There I am, right between Cormac McCarthy and Octavia Butler. bookglow.net/5-dystopian-... #fiction #author #booksky #speculative #dystopian
5 Dystopian Novels That Feel Uncomfortably Real - BOOKGLOW
What makes a dystopian novel truly unsettling isn’t how far it stretches the imagination—it’s how close it hits to home. These stories don’t rely on distant futures or impossible technology; instead, ...
bookglow.net
This #cnf essay explores how fiction, including my new novel TENT CITY, contributes a rough first draft of history. I'm not in "sales" mode; I prefer "engagement" mode. #booksky #newbook #speculativefiction #fiction #novel medium.com/books-are-ou...
Fiction Offers a First Draft of History
Invented stories have much to tell us about the real world
medium.com
Gonna help you tame that beast...
Jeanne Veillette Bowerman@jeannevb.bsky.social · 7mo agoThis is TONIGHT, so don't procrastinate, peeps ... @amylbernstein.bsky.social helps writers perceive their book project in ways they haven't realized they needed. If you're writing a #memoir, this one's for you. Yes, registrants will get a recording. Link in comments.
When revising feels like a slog...when you can no longer see your own words...look up: Your reader awaits. amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com/p/vision-and... #cnf #fiction #nonfiction #writers
Vision and Revision
Seeing your work clearly when everything looks blurry
amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com
TODAY, FRIDAY! Still got some gas in the tank? What a whirlwind, right? This is the book every self-doubting creative needs right now. Stop by for an honest conversation. You'll leave inspired and refreshed! Learn more about this little book punching above its weight at amywrites.live. #AWP
Amy Slays Doubt Monsters@amylbernstein.bsky.social · 7mo agoSigning copies of my award-winning WRANGLING THE DOUBT MONSTER on Friday at the Women's National Book Assn. Booth 236. 1 pm. Stop by to chat about creative self-doubt! We're in this together! #AWP #AWP26 #writerscommunity #Baltimore
Signing copies of my award-winning WRANGLING THE DOUBT MONSTER on Friday at the Women's National Book Assn. Booth 236. 1 pm. Stop by to chat about creative self-doubt! We're in this together! #AWP #AWP26 #writerscommunity #Baltimore
If you're heading to #AWP26 or coming to #Baltimore just for the conference offsites...we've got the lowdown on submitting to the best zines! #authorsandwriters #booksky #fiction #cnf
Writing #CNF? Going to #AWP? Check out my virtual offsite: IS MY NF BOOK OR MEMOIR ON TRACK? Free group coaching by an expert. Insights into your structure, premise, and more! Deets: conference.awpwriter.org/offsite_even..., Mar 04, 2026
2026 AWP
conference.awpwriter.org
Want to get happily published? Begin by being honest with yourself about what you want from the experience. #CNF #writers #authors amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com/p/is-there-a...
Is There a Wrong Way to Publish?
The answer depends on whether your intentions align with reality
amylbernsteinauthor.substack.com
I understand why we classify books by genre. But I prefer my #fiction to be hard to classify. Which is why I rail against the genre coding systems in place. #booksky substack.com/home/post/p-...
The Rampant Coding of Literature
Tucking messy ideas into neat boxes
substack.com