"In an unassuming corner of Brooklyn, a young woman learns to be ladylike, to love context, and to speak her mind from a very curious sort of tutor. In a faraway land convulsed by war, a young soldier hears the desert's curious hum as he disarms bombs with the person he doesn't know how to love. In a place so shriveled by drought that any drowning is a curiosity, a young writer tries again and again to tread water beneath the surface of a vast and unusual sea. Three new stories complete with commentary on the creative process from three acclaimed young adult authors working at the height of their powers."--Back cover.

Introduction. Ideas ; Characters ; World -- Part one : Characterization and "Ladylike" / by Maggie Stiefvater -- Critique partners -- Part two : World building and "Desert canticle" / by Tessa Gratton -- Revision -- Part three : Ideas and "Drowning variations" / by Brenna Yovanoff -- Doubt -- Write what you know -- Afterword.