My name is Joanna (they/them), and I'm cracking the proverbial code of good fiction writing. You can follow along here.

All the best writers in the world preach one lesson above all else: read more. Read novels, read memoirs, read the morning paper, read anything you can get your hands on. What many leave out is exactly how we should read; analytic, close reading as a writer is a necessary skill that's hard to learn. Here, I aim to share this skill with you.

As the theorist Walter Benjamin says in his lessons on writing, "speech conquers thought, but writing commands it." Here on Medium, I dive into how writing—good, brilliant writing—commands thought. Through studying good writing and then writing about it in turn, I'm sharpening my own skills as a writer and offering you the opportunity to sharpen yours.

What's more, my at-home library is far too big, and I've read far too little of it. So really, this is just an excuse to make it through my stacks and stacks of TBR.

Join me (and my cat, Allegory) as we read through our library and, with my own books, try to contribute to it.

And yes, my profile picture is a wombat. This is a pen name, for privacy.