Brevity / Dinty W. Moore
@dintywmoore.bsky.social
Editor of Brevity, a small magazine with big ambitions. Author of various books. Often can't decide if I am posting as myself or as the magazine.
"Write, just write. Write what you remember, what's happening now, what you predict will happen. Write in any form: fiction, nonfiction, autofiction, poetry, drama, screenplay, memoir, journal, scraps and aphorisms. Publish or not. Somebody has to keep culture alive." ~ @janetburroway.bsky.social
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. —John Muir
"Another writer once asked me, 'Don’t you hate it when people tell you they got your book from the library instead of buying it?' I had to voice an emphatic NO. I’ve had a library card since I was eight." ~ Beth Ann Fennelly
"All is inspiration – twigs, people, clouds, shapes, names, words, sounds, colors and forms." ~ Juan Felipe Herrera
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
From mess comes originality and truth - why creativity should be taught in a different way from exam-focused subjects. Lovely post by @DavidMura @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2026/07/29/t... #writingcommunity #Creative #authorlife #writinglife
An Argument for Teaching the Creative Process
The creative mindset is opposite the mindset of the straight A student By David Mura In our education system, students are not taught the principles of creativity, even in creative writing classe…
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"l never start writing a story until I have at least three or four fields of action ... If there’s only one ball in the air, anybody can do that. Two balls, still easy. But when you get three or four or five, things start to be really interesting." ~ Nance Van Winckel
"It is worth mentioning... that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time...Doubts creep in .... Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything." ~ Virginia Woolf
"Write one good clean sentence and put a period at the end of it. Then write another one." ~ M.F.K. Fisher
"Write like you write, like you can’t help but write, and your voice will become yours and yours alone. It’ll take time but it’ll happen as long as you let it." ~ Chuck Wendig // @chuckwendig.bsky.social
"The only way to override your 'limitations, insecurities, jealousies, and ineptitude' is to produce." ~ Cheryl Strayed / @cherylstrayed.bsky.social
"Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." ~ E.L. Doctorow
"Truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is." ~ Nadine Gordimer
"Until I was about seven, I thought books were just there, like trees. When I learned that people actually wrote them, I wanted to, too, because all children aspire to inhuman feats like flying." ~ Fran Lebowitz
"I feel that when you look out into the world, the world is funny. And people are funny. And that people always try to make each other laugh.... If you’re going to ignore that, what are you doing?" ~ Lorrie Moore
"Don't use AI to write. Use childhood trauma like a real writer." ~ Some Clever Person on the Internet
"Writing is my way of paying attention—of insisting that this business of living and dying (and everything that happens between) actually matters." ~ Dinah Lenney / @dinahlenney.bsky.social
"Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught." ~ Ai Weiwei
"I believe...that a good writer doesn’t really need to be told anything except to keep at it. Just think of the work you’ve set yourself to do, and do it as well as you can." ~ Chinua Achebe
Sending out congrats to @zoebossiere.bsky.social on taking over from the legendary @dintywmoore.bsky.social as EIC of Brevity. Good work by both of these writers/editors, and I have full confidence in the future of the oldest still-publishing online journal: brevity.wordpress.com/2026/07/01/b...
Dinty W. Moore Steps Down as Editor for Brevity Magazine
To our readers & contributors, After 29 years as Brevity magazine’s lead editor, I am stepping down to devote more time to painting, tai chi, and tending to my garden. Starting today, our manag…
brevity.wordpress.com
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." ~ Robert Frost
“It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready.There's almost no such thing as ready. There's only now." ~ Hugh Laurie
"Start writing. I don't mean to sound dismissive, but START WRITING. There is NO SUCH THING as 'too late' in the arts. Trust me. START." ~ Patton Oswalt
Prompts and nudges work wonders in plowing fertile ground for your writing projects, and as an added bonus, they can be enormous fun! I'd love for you to join me tomorrow. writingcraft.com/event/shake-...
WEBINAR | Shake It Loose! Unexpected Prompts and Nudges to Spark “The Muse” - Craft Talks
Inspiration is tied to innovation, and innovation is a deliberate act.
writingcraft.com
"Writing doesn’t all happen inside our heads. We also need the rebound—the moment our ideas and our practice are reflected back to us by somebody else, so we can see what we actually made." ~ Allison K Williams / @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social
"I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life—and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do." ~ Georgia O’Keeffe
Fellow writers, Interested in accessing fresh corners the imagination? Maybe fielding a few surprising curveballs? Stuck, or looking for a new project? I'd love for you to join me next week. writingcraft.com/event/shake-...
WEBINAR | Shake It Loose! Unexpected Prompts and Nudges to Spark “The Muse” - Craft Talks
Inspiration is tied to innovation, and innovation is a deliberate act.
writingcraft.com
To all of my friends far and wide, thanks for the support you have given this magazine over these past many years, and the support I hope you will continue to give Brevity as it moves forward into its 30th year. brevity.wordpress.com/2026/07/01/b...
Dinty W. Moore Steps Down as Editor for Brevity Magazine
To our readers & contributors, After 29 years as Brevity magazine’s lead editor, I am stepping down to devote more time to painting, tai chi, and tending to my garden. Starting today, our manag…
brevity.wordpress.com
Why dialogue - in memoir and in fiction - is not about explanations. @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2026/06/30/w... #writingcommunity #writerslife #writetip
What We Don’t Talk About: Essential Tips for Writing Dialogue
Often, the emotion is found under, behind, and between the words, not in the words themselves By Dinty W. Moore Here is something entirely true: people are fascinated by the way other people speak,…
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What’s fascinating is how we circle around things, what we avoid saying, where we steer the conversation away from what we don’t want to reveal. brevity.wordpress.com/2026/06/30/w...
What We Don’t Talk About: Essential Tips for Writing Dialogue
Often, the emotion is found under, behind, and between the words, not in the words themselves By Dinty W. Moore Here is something entirely true: people are fascinated by the way other people speak,…
brevity.wordpress.com