Articles by Sabyasachi Roy

How to Play The Subtext Game with Your Dialogue

By Sabyasachi Roy Writing dialogue can feel like a balancing act. If you use too much, you run the risk of overloading the reader. Too little leaves them perplexed. Finding the sweet spot where something magical occurs is difficult, and frequently it all comes down to what you choose not to say. Subtext—those delicious layers…
Issue Six Hundred Nineteen Special Feature

Brewing the First Line of a Poem: Starting Strong with Memorable Openings

By Sabyasachi Roy Brewing the first line of a poem is like pouring the perfect pint—too flat, and no one sticks around; too much foam, and it’s all fluff. But nail it? A friend of mine was called the Yeats of happy hour, for he could pour the perfect pint. The same goes for making…
Issue Six Hundred Fifteen Special Feature

Navigating Revision and Editing Without Losing Your Voice

By Sabyasachi Roy Imagine you are writing a draft. Putting your thoughts out into the world. Raw and unfiltered—a little messy, slightly little chaotic, but undeniably yours. Now comes editing, and this is where the real magic happens. Or, let’s be honest, this is where your manuscript risks turning into a lifeless, over-polished chore. How…
Issue Six Hundred Thirteen Special Feature

Building a Writing Career from Small Wins

By Sabyasachi Roy Writing careers are not made overnight. Almost no one starts by landing a book deal with Random House or, for that matter, scoring a column in The New York Times. It is about piecing together a mosaic of small wins. Most successful writers had to follow this labored path — tiny, unimpressive…
Issue Six Hundred Eleven Special Feature

Writing in the Age of Short Attention Spans: Crafting Stories that Stick

By Sabyasachi Roy Let’s start with the elephant in the room, a.k.a. to the point: people don’t have the patience for long-winded setups anymore. Like it or not, we are in the middle of a world of endless swipes, dings, and dopamine hits. This presents a high-stakes challenge, especially for writers, how do you keep…
Issue Five Hundred Sixty Nine Issue Six Hundred Nine Special Feature

Writing Without an Audience in Mind: Embracing the Journey of Self-Expression

By Sabyasachi Roy Most writers, if not all, start their journey with aspirations of getting published. This includes the dream of gaining recognition or connecting with a wide audience. There is, however, a frequently neglected element of writing. It possesses a transformative potential, and that is creating solely for oneself. We live, whether we like…
Issue Six Hundred Eight

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