On a somewhat regular basis, I take Lorrie Moore’s collection, Self Help, off my shelf and read “How to Become a Writer.” It’s the first line I love: “First, try to be something, anything, else.” This is probably the best advice I’ve ever heard. Yes, perhaps it’s somewhat discouraging, humorously cynical, but that’s what being — Read More
Author: Kim Hooper
A message for the new year
I may be one of the only people who actually reads the “Editor’s Note” at the beginning of Poets & Writers magazine. I am probably the only one who highlights selected passages. The most recent issue had a great message for the new year, from editor Kevin Larimer: No writer worth her salt needs to — Read More
Death of the book writer
** As published on The Writer’s [Inner] Journey ** Here’s a prediction: The human race will evolve so that our chins become attached to our chests, for better viewing of our iPhones. We are a society increasingly obsessed with technology. We browse blogs while waiting for water to boil. We tweet from the toilet. We — Read More
How we find our way to writing
A while back, a co-worker suggested I read a book called The Gargoyle. I’m wary of recommendations from most people, because according to book sales, most people like Twilight. However, I decided to look it up on Amazon and read the reviews. As I was scrolling down , I was subjected to my greatest weakness: — Read More
Quote of the month
I used to have this on my fridge (yes, the entire paragraph). Then I got a stainless steel fridge and my days of magneting random pieces of paper to the doors were over. “You are lugging something around that seems to be part of your being, or, as we would say now, is ‘hard wired’ — Read More
New short story!
I think I’ve got this story in good enough shape for reading. It’s my plan to take the characters in this story and transplant them into a novel at some point. One day… *** People who knew me before 9/11 think I’m dead. I let them think that. On September 10th, I went to work — Read More
Family Guy: On How to Get Published
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48Aow9Eevm8&fs=1&hl=en_US] Watch the hilarious full episode “Brian Writes a Bestseller” here.
Quote(s) of the month
I’ve become obsessed with the HBO show “Bored to Death.” Created by Jonathan Ames, the series follows a writer (also named Jonathan Ames) who moonlights as an unlicensed private detective while struggling to get a second novel published. My obsession with the show led to an obsession with Jonathan Ames. Perhaps it would have been — Read More
Rejection: Part 1 (of 2,538)
I think it was George Plimpton who said he knew a writer who wallpapered his bathroom with rejection notices. Lord knows I have enough rejection notices to wallpaper my entire 995 sq ft condo. Back in the day, when I used to query like a naive idiot, I got the standard rejections, with the impersonal — Read More
Writing Tips from Chuck Palahniuk
I knew I liked Chuck Palahniuk when I read Survivor and Fight Club, but I knew I loved him when I read Choke. So, when Facebook told me to read his essay, “13 Writing Tips,” I listened. (Source) To summarize: Tip #1: When you don’t want to write, set an egg timer for one hour — Read More