Mark Koltko-Rivera

"The first thing you have to know about writing is that it is something you must do every day -- every morning or every night, whatever time it is that you have. Ideally, the time you decide on is also the time when you do your best work." --Walter Mosley, from This Year You Write Your Novel (Little, Brown, 2007), p. 7)

I heard Walter Mosley read from his work and speak at NYU Writers House in February of last year. If you ever have the chance, go hear him present sometime: it's an experience well worth the investment of time.

Ever read Silas Lapham? The author, William Dean Howells, said this about the writer's work ethic, being a man after my own heart: (more…)

Téa Obreht, author of the recently published novel, The Tiger's Wife, was interviewed by Charles McGrath for The New York Times. She had this to say at one point in this fascinating interview:

"When someone tells you a story, it's a project. (more…)

I have big plans for 2012. And I will be working a lot to make those plans come about.

Goal #1. First off, I want to publish another nonfiction trade book, Mormons: Who They Are, How They Think, What They Believe, and Why They Succeed. This is, as Newsweek proclaimed back in June, "the Mormon moment." (more…)

Late 2010 and all of 2011 have been good for my writing.

The late Fall of 2010 saw the publication of my first three short stories in online literary journals: "The Cryptographer" (in Foliate Oak Literary Journal), "The Death of Mozart" (in The Legendary), and "The Gondolier of Bethesda Landing" (in The Fear of Monkeys). (You may read each of these through the links at each story on the Works tab.) (more…)

Hi, everyone.

Over the last couple of years, I have been writing several blogs on various subjects. This is the first time that I'll be writing a blog devoted, at least implicitly, to me and my work. It feels a bit odd, and not a little self-indulgent. But my writing has been making more and more of an impact over the last three years, so this step makes sense. As they say, if you don't take charge of the image you present to the world, someone else will. Conversely, if you don't take responsibility for bringing your message to the world, it is almost certain that no one else will. (more…)