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

Show and Tell

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Part of Charlotte Lit’s “Keeping Pen to Paper” Series. One of the great lies of writing instruction is “show don’t tell.” The truth is, you’ll need both. Here’s a quick primer, and an activity to help you to understand and use showing and telling. Showing is a catchier way of saying “in scene.” When we write […]

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Paul Reali

What do we owe each other?

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Part of Charlotte Lit’s “Keeping Pen to Paper” Series. Today is (usually) tax day in the U.S., which got me thinking about the biblical exchange where Jesus is asked whether it’s lawful to pay tax to Caesar. He asks whose image is on their coins; they reply: ‘Caesar’s.’ To which Jesus says, ‘Then repay to […]

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Kathie Collins

The Mask!

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Part of Charlotte Lit’s “Keeping Pen to Paper” Series. Until a few weeks ago, the only surgical masks I encountered were those worn by characters on my favorite medical TV dramas—ER, Gray’s Anatomy, and House, M.D.—and by my dentist and dental hygienist at my twice-yearly cleanings and checkups. Now, the surgical mask is haute couture, […]

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Megan Rich

KonMari Objects

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Part of Charlotte Lit’s “Keeping Pen to Paper” Series. Stuck at home for the unforeseeable future, many of us are holding our spring cleaning up to painstakingly high standards, and what better way to do that than harness the cultural phenom Marie Kondo? Perhaps you’ve unearthed an object in your attic or a sweater in […]

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