Advice to writers: Skip the scenery - Laura Miller
Recently, I was asked to speak to a class of writing students on what critics look for in debut novels. After canvassing my colleagues, I had a few answers — a distinctive voice, an interesting perspective, strong writing and so on — but they didn’t seem especially helpful. Presumably, every writer already starts out with the most distinctive voice and interesting perspective he or she can conjure. How about telling them what to avoid instead? By far the most common gripe from readers was too much description, particularly environmental description — that is, of landscape, weather and interiors. This complaint struck me as especially pertinent because at that very moment I was trying to decide whether or not to recommend Tea Obreht’s “The Tiger’s Wife” in our weekly book column, What to Read. This is a fine, ambitious premise for a novel, and certainly nothing that Obreht writes could be called flowery. Further reading: Elmore Leonard’s 10 rules for writing well
25 Things Every Writer Should Know
An alternate title for this post might be, “Things I Think About Writing,” which is to say, these are random snidbits (snippets + tidbits) of beliefs I hold about what it takes to be a writer. I hesitate to say that any of this is exactly Zen (oh how often we as a culture misuse the term “Zen” — like, “Whoa, that tapestry is so cool, it’s really Zen“), but it certainly favors a sharper, shorter style than the blathering wordsplosions I tend to rely on in my day-to-day writing posts. Anyway. Peruse these. Absorb them into your body. Let your colonic flora digest them and feed them through your bloodstream to the little goblin-man that pilots you. Feel free to disagree with any of these; these are not immutable laws. Buckle up. 1. The Internet is 55% porn, and 45% writers. 2. A lot of writers try to skip over the basics and leap fully-formed out of their own head-wombs. 3. 4. I have been writing professionally for a lucky-despite-the-number 13 years. 5. Luck matters. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home (9780061995033): Dan Ariely
Max Barry | Fifteen Ways to Write a Novel
Every year I get asked what I think about NaNoWriMo, and I don’t know how to answer, because I don’t want to say, “I think it makes you write a bad novel.” This is kind of the point. You’re supposed to churn out 50,000 words in one month, and by the end you have a goddamn novel, one you wouldn’t have otherwise. If it’s not Shakespeare, it’s still a goddamn novel. The NaNoWriMo FAQ says: “Aiming low is the best way to succeed,” where “succeed” means “write a goddamn novel.” I find it hard to write a goddamn novel. Some of these methods I use a lot, some only when I’m stuck. The Word TargetWhat: You don’t let yourself leave the keyboard each day until you’ve hit 2,000 words.
Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (9780061353246): Dan Ariely
Quotations: Writers on Writing | Writer's Remorse
I absolutely love it when writers write (or talk about) writing. Depending on what stage a writer is in the writing process, the writer’s quotes range from the devoted, to the confused, to the alcohol-dependent, and to the ultimately creative. In this short list of some of my favorite writer’s quotations about writing, I tried to leave out the mundane quotes and instead tried to include some of the more flavorful quotations about writing and the writing process. Stephen King: I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.Ernest Hemingway: Write drunk, edit sober. Hunter S. Elmore Leonard: I try to leave out the parts that people skip. Isaac Asimov: If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. Moliere: A writer is congenitally unable to tell the truth and that is why we call what he writes fiction. William Faulkner: Writing is like prostitution. Robert Frost: Poets need not go to Niagara to write about the force of falling water. William S.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (9781400064281): Chip Heath, Dan Heath
Audience Picks: Top 100 'Killer Thrillers'
The Winner: The Silence Of The Lambs by Thomas Harris beat out two other serial killer books -- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and Kiss the Girls by James Patterson -- for the No. 1 spot. hide caption toggle caption It's been a cliffhanger, but now the final page can be turned. The NPR audience nominated some 600 novels to our "Killer Thrillers" poll and cast more than 17,000 ballots. The final roster of winners is a diverse one to say the least, ranging in style and period from Dracula to The Da Vinci Code, Presumed Innocent to Pet Sematary. And menace. Co-panelist, novelist and critic Patrick Anderson was more impressed with the overall quality of the choices: "The vast majority of these are very good books or classics ... Of course, there will be arguments about whether some of these books truly count as "thrillers." Who is the NPR audience's favorite thriller writer? Polls can help us understand an audience — and even make predictions about it. 1. 11. 21. 31. 41. 1.
A Reading of "Ulysses"
or what it's worth I always thought In Memoriam concluded with a bit of pre-William James Pragmatism. Is there a life after death? Tennyson asks. We can't know, he tells us, but if it comforts you, believe it. My brother introduced me to "Ulysses" when I was a boy not long after WWII and, yes, the interpretation then was about not giving in. Older men in India sometimes abandoned wives and families (having raised their children and left them secure) to travel the country with nothing but a begging bowl as they sought release from the wheel of life. Yet what strikes me most about this poem, now, is the age of the poet. Poets can be intoxicated by words and the grand gesture. Related Materials
'Vast Ocean Of Stories' In Biography Of The Atlantic
hide captionToday, people easily cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane and cavalierly refer to the great body of water as "the pond." But just a few hundred years ago, crossing the ocean was a terrifying venture. Above, a drawing of The Mayflower, which brought Pilgrims to the "New World" in 1620. Three Lions/Getty Images Today, people easily cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane and cavalierly refer to the great body of water as "the pond." Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, And A Vast Ocean Of A Million StoriesBy Simon WinchesterHardcover, 512 pagesHarperList Price: $27.99 Read An Excerpt Simon Winchester has spent his life following his curiosity to far-flung corners of the world. On a recent autumn day, Winchester watches ships make their way up and down New York City's Ambrose Channel, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. In New York City's harbor, ships laden with thousands of containers filled with goods of all kinds will end their long journey across the sea.
