Charlotte Lit’s Blog

Welcome to Charlotte Lit’s literary arts blog. What you’ll find here: craft essays, book reviews, previews of literary arts events, and anything else that catches our attention.

Paul Reali

The Schrödinger’s Cat of Writing: “Show, Don’t Tell”

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“Show, don’t tell” is perhaps the most the famous, or infamous, instruction for writers. This reputation is deserved, as the phrase manages to be both absolutely right and dead wrong at the same time. It’s a kind of Schrödinger’s Cat, and knowing whether the rule is dead or alive, in a manner of speaking, can […]

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Charlotte Lit Admin

Excerpt from “The Skin Artist” by George Hovis

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The needles burned worse than last time. But today he was sober. Bill watched the artist’s eyes. The eyes alone seemed to will the tattoo gun’s movement as it trenched the skin of Bill’s forearm, burying its seed of ink. Maybe it was better not to try to make conversation. Just get this over with. […]

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Jessica Jacobs

Not Today, Noonday Demon

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Editor’s Note: Jessica Jacobs leads the new Charlotte Lit 4-week studio, In the Beginning: Exploring Questions of Spirituality and Religion through Poetry, beginning September 13. More info – – – – – – – – – – – – – – With two new books between us, my wife and I spent nearly nine months of […]

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Cathy Pickens

Ramble Your Way Through the Pandemic

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Recently, writer friends tell me they’re stuck, they can’t focus, can’t seem to write. One said she feels as if she’s withering. What are we to do? My pandemic solutions don’t vary much from my everyday solutions to living a joyfully creative life. The pandemic has just convinced me that they can work. 1. Turn […]

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