Brevity / Dinty W. Moore
dintywmoore.bsky.social
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.
"Silence is of the gods; only monkeys chatter." ~ Buster Keaton
January 16, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Brevity / Dinty W. Moore
If writing your author newsletter is a chore, your recipients will know. Here's what to do about that (apart from giving up) @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/n... #writingcommunity #authorlife #writinglife
Two Rules for a Better Author Newsletter
By Stephen Knezovich I sent my first email newsletter nearly 20 years ago, in 2007. And it was awful—not just the content (which wasn’t great), but everything about the process of writing it,…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:16 AM
@saltpeterdraws.bsky.social's wonderful artwork is featured in the new issue of Brevity launched this morning. Essays on Love, Loss, and the Sweet Sting of What Could Never Be. brevitymag.com
Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction | Brevity: The journal devoted exclusively to the concise literary nonfiction.
brevitymag.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Brevity's new issue launched this morning. Flash essays from Nicole Walker, Alex Sokol, Sean Thomas Dougherty, Shuly Cawood, Thomasin LaMay, Charles Montgomery, Derek Maiolo, José Orduña, Josh Martin, Liz Sauchelli, Margaret Grayson, and Rocky Halpern. Artwork by Michael Todd Cohen.
brevitymag.com
Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction | Brevity: The journal devoted exclusively to the concise literary nonfiction.
brevitymag.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:02 PM
"If you have the words, there's always a chance that you'll find the way." ~ Seamus Heaney
January 15, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Just a few spots left in this weekend's Virtual Intensive, Finish Your Book in 2026!! Interactive lessons on Dramatic Structure, Trusting the Reader, Effective Revision, and your future publishing path. Come join me and
@allisonkwilliams.bsky.social - we'd love to see you. Link in comments.
January 14, 2026 at 11:44 AM
If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? ~ Dogen Zenji
January 13, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Brevity / Dinty W. Moore
"Be open to creative pivots. They don’t have to be permanent or forever, but a way to listen and honor your creative voice, especially if you’re feeling stuck or not sure what to do next. " ~ Darien Hsu Gee
January 12, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Brevity readers, we wouldn’t be here without you! And we want to make sure we’re a valuable part of your literary life. As you navigate the waters of your writing, reading and literary discovery, will you help with a quick survey?
brevity.wordpress.com/2026/01/09/s...
The Brevity Blog Needs All Hands on Deck
Readers of Brevity Magazine and The Brevity Blog – we wouldn’t be here without you! And we want to make sure we’re a valuable part of your literary life. As you navigate the water…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:31 PM
"It is the writer's duty to hate injustice, to defy the powerful, and to speak for the voiceless." ~ Edward Abbey
January 9, 2026 at 12:11 PM
"I've been circling for thousands of years / and I still don't know: am I a falcon, / a storm, or a great song?" ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
January 8, 2026 at 12:47 PM
And it is nice to be trusted.
As I debate beta feedback on the backstory in my WIP prologue and woven throughout the MS, it helps knowing someone agrees it can be useful. I trust Dinty!

#WritingCommunity
"As with much craft advice, it helps to remember that the equation is often more complex than yes or no. Some backstory can be useful. Knowing certain key details can enhance a reader’s experience of the action." ~ Dinty W. Moore

brevity.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/l...
January 8, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Brevity / Dinty W. Moore
How much backstory should you include at the start? Here's how to make the judgement (using coloured pens!) @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/l... #writingtips #writingcommunity #writingq
Backstory is Not Always Bad
How Writers Use Layering To Power Their Stories By Dinty W. Moore Packing the opening pages of a novel or memoir with dense backstory remains a basic beginner’s mistake. The impulse to feed readers…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:09 AM
"As with much craft advice, it helps to remember that the equation is often more complex than yes or no. Some backstory can be useful. Knowing certain key details can enhance a reader’s experience of the action." ~ Dinty W. Moore

brevity.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/l...
Backstory is Not Always Bad
How Writers Use Layering To Power Their Stories By Dinty W. Moore Packing the opening pages of a novel or memoir with dense backstory remains a basic beginner’s mistake. The impulse to feed readers…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Brevity / Dinty W. Moore
"Now you have to ... morph into a seller, a market savant, a paperboy, at the least, who can stand on a strategic corner and hawk your wares with a pithy tagline, a hook, a one-page query letter for agents, an elevator pitch." ~ Lea Page brevity.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/w...
Are All Writers Masochists? No, But It Helps
By Lea Page So, you write a book. You conceive of an idea, or you start putting words down on paper with no idea at all, just a sense of urgency, of necessity. If you are me, you scoff at the sugge…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 2, 2026 at 12:10 PM
“When nothing new can get in, that’s death. When oxygen can’t find a way in, you die. But new is scary, and new can be disappointing, and confusing—we had this all figured out, and now we don’t. New is life.” ~ @annelamott.bsky.social
January 2, 2026 at 12:01 PM
"Don’t ask what’s going to happen; be what happens." ~ Rebecca Solnit / @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
January 1, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Reposted by Brevity / Dinty W. Moore
"I pull for shore and stand up proud."

My final published words of 2025, inspired by a long-ago whitewater raft trip, are a perfect summary of where I am at the end of this stupefyingly turbulent year.

Uber thanks to all at Brevity Blog @dintywmoore.bsky.social
#WritersofBlueSky #WriteSky
Writing the Rapids
By Ellen Notbohm “Just remember to hold your breath in the troughs and breathe deep in the crests,” instructed our river rafting guide. I stood with my brother and nephew on a rocky path above a sh…
bit.ly
December 31, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Brevity / Dinty W. Moore
Potshots | Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction
brevitymag.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:16 PM