I debated whether or not to admit this. I know I’m welcoming questions like, “How’s that novel going?” and “Are you finished yet?” and “When do I get to read it?” But, then again, maybe it’s good for me to have a little pressure. (Who else still loves this Family Guy clip?) I won’t talk — Read More
Category: Writing Process
Advice to young writers, from Jeffrey Eugenides
Jeffrey Eugenides is one of my newly-declared favorite writers. I love his style, his stories, his characters, everything. Books I read in the past couple years and already want to read again: Middlesex, The Marriage Plot, and Virgin Suicides. So, when I saw a column in The New Yorker featuring his advice for new writers, — Read More
Behind every great writer…
This isn’t totally accurate. I don’t have a loyal pet. My cat is rather indifferent to my endeavors and I’m the dog’s second favorite.
Let’s play make believe
The other day, I came across this Tobias Wolff quote: It got me thinking about that recurring question: Why do writers write? I’ve always maintained that writing serves as some kind of therapy, a way to play out hopes and dreams and fears via characters who, in a sense, protect the author who creates them. — Read More
Second sentences
Fact: I keep a notebook full of first sentences that I never attach to second sentences, let alone full stories. I started the notebook with the goal of returning to these first sentences “when time frees up.” Now, instead of considering it a sort of to-do notebook, I consider it a journal of random thoughts — Read More
26 writing tips from famous authors
Want tips from writers who know what the hell they’re talking about? Check out the 26 tips here. These really resonate with me: George Orwell John Steinbeck Annie Dillard Ray Bradbury Saul Bellow Kurt Vonnegut
Getting away from it all
I spent last week in Yosemite, hiking a 60-mile High Sierra Loop. No television. No computer. No cell phone. And, interestingly, I started having some writing ideas pass through my head. I brought a journal and multiple pens with me (because I have this odd fear of running out of ink when I really, really, — Read More
What NOT to say to a writer
I don’t know if it’s just that writers are super sensitive or what, but it seems that all of us feel like people say the wrong thing in response to our career/hobby/passion/whathaveyou. This list is a pretty good summary, capturing common comments that make writers laugh (or cry, on a bad day): From my own — Read More
Quotes of the month: Anne Lamott
Thanks to a long-time friend for sending this to me: I’ve always liked Anne Lamott. What she has to say about writing is always inspiring. She really speaks to why many of us love writing and reading. I highly recommend her book, Bird by Bird. These are some of my favorite quotes: “For some of — Read More
Hemingway to Fitzgerald: “Go on and write”
Yet another fascinating post from Letters of Note: Hemingway writing to Fitzgerald circa 1934, giving his opinion on Fitzgerald’s just-published Tender Is the Night. The book tells the story of Dick and Nicole Diver, a couple based on mutual acquaintances (Sara and Gerald) of both Fitzgerald and Hemingway. What I like most about this letter — Read More