Breathing the Page (Reading the Act of Writing)

The 2010 edition of Warland’s Breathing the Page was twelve years in the making. A must-read for students of creative writing, it has also proven to be a companion to creative writing teachers and literary editors.

The original collection reflects on the history and animate nature of the objects we use in the act of writing, from computers to pens and pencils, right down to paper. They also investigate, name, and address the powerful forces at work beneath the language of craft. Warland shows that what ultimately determines whether a piece of writing succeeds or flounders is a writer's ability to be humbled, overcome, or guided by these forces.

In the 2023 edition, Warland continues her quest with additional essays that ask us to be aware of the specific narrative template we inherited as we grew up. They provide strategies for navigating your template when it results in resistance, contradictions, failure, and lack. Among the nine new essays are “Craft-based and Process-based Writing” and “Narrative Position.”