For four decades, an English professor at San Jose State University has run a fiction contest for a single opening sentence to "the worst of all possible novels." He has decided to retire the contest.

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’ve got a story to tell, tell the story. No need to dress it up in a tutu. Many moons ago, my late friend John Van Doorn strolled ‘round the newsroom flashing a $5 bill, promising it to whoever ...

Although she hated the acrid taste and bite of the cigarette she had just lighted, the woman with tousled gray hair, narrowed eyes and a sneer of a mouth sauntered over to the tired-looking man at the ...

When it comes to recognizing good literature, you've got all kinds of prizes - the National Book Award, the Nobel, the Booker. But when it comes to recognizing truly bad writing, there's the ...