Michael David Lukas: A Few Simple Questions That Might Save You A Lot of Time

Happy new year, everyone! I hope you’ve already kicked off your writing years. As I started my fresh year of All Things Writerly, I announced a new program: in the place of my monthly chats with authors, agents, and publishing peeps, in 2026 I’m going to curate a monthly free workshop for writers instead. It’s not a huge difference: there was already something to learn from every interview. But what is being taught, and how, is going to get a little more focused.

We started off with Michael David Lukas, award-winning novelist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. An old friend of mine, Michael has also taught at the University of San Francisco, the University of the Pacific, and 826 Valencia.

On January 29th, Michael most kindly gave me and my writers a free revision workshop centered on a few simple questions. If you didn’t manage to join us, you can find a recording of the workshop, here.

The proof of Michael’s revision chops is the success of his books, The Oracle of Stamboul and The Last Watchman of Old Cairo, which between them have picked up a slew of awards and been translated into about a dozen languages. The proof of Michael’s teaching success is, well, in the pudding: watch the video to see if you enjoy his workshop as much as the 60+ live attendees did.

And, if you’d like to attend a workshop live, join us on Thursday, February 26th, when Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, who has just launched her third YA thriller, The Tresspassers, and pulled off a second successful genre-jump by selling her first adult thriller (she started in MG), will be presenting Twists and Turns: How to Write a Thriller.

Jennifer’s workshop is billed as being for thriller writers, but as a writer of historical fiction, I’ll be attending for tips on how to keep my readers guessing and on the edge of their seats. Any writer stands to benefit! I hope you’ll join us by saving your seat here.

In the meantime, best of luck revising and happy writing!

Shirin