Archive for May, 2007
You Are Who You Read
By Weston Ochse
I saw an article about Gary Paulsen in a trade magazine the other day and clipped it out. For years I’d been trying to think of the title of this book I’d read when I was young and there it was in the article. Hatchet.
Or so I thought. [...]
NOW!
—Deborah LeBlanc—
I sort my writing distractions into two basic categories: controllable and uncontrollable. If I’m on a deadline, but the right words for a particular scene seem locked away in some obscure vault in my brain that I can’t open, the controllable distractions usually arrive. Things like…
–Dust bunnies in the corner of the room that [...]
Take a trip and never leave the farm
– by Bev Vincent
Because of the Hardy Boys, I went to Greece.
Seriously.
When I was a young reader, I devoured the Franklin W. Dixon books. The local librarian peered down her nose at me when I checked them out. Her sighs betrayed her belief that they were only on the shelves because the library [...]
THOMAS SULLIVAN: CHOOSE, USE AND NEVER REFUSE A MUSE
Hello, pen. Hello, paper. Hello, computer screen. You are the three faces of my family. Me, myself and I. You have always been there, always will be. Thank you for that. Damn you for that. Because you are all there is.
Writing is a reflection of a solitary [...]
Saying Goodbye
This past weekend I said goodbye to four friends that I’ve known for some time. We’ve gone through a lot together; the deaths of loved ones, work-related problems, outside influences that tried to hurt us, that didn’t have our best interests at heart. Sometimes I loved them like brothers. At other times, [...]
Writer’s BLOCK
by John B. Rosenman
On April 30, Dave Wilson wrote a great essay, “There are stories all around us . . . welcome to my world.” In it, he says, “I’m always a bit bemused when confronted by people who can’t figure out what to write.” He adds, “If I could just write down all of [...]
The Gonquin Table: What is black and white and …
Frank T. Wydra
While most who frequent the Gonquin table are of the literary ilk, today natty Noel Coward occupies the chair facing the gallery where his posturing can be best appreciated by hoi polloi. Characteristically, upon his entry–stage left–he asks Al, the Gonquin’s owner, for a chair cushion.
Papa stage whispers into Bram’s [...]
Professionalism and manners:
(or taking the high road, or; dirty politics and how easy it is to commit political suicide.)
Okay, so a while back, when I was an officer in a professional writing organization (do your research if you really care to know) I made a snide comment. I didn’t make the comment in public; I made it [...]
Writing a Book Proposal
How To Get Published
Writing a Fiction Book Proposal
By Sephera Giron
I’m sure this has been covered in many ways on this board, and here it is again.
1) Write, write, and rewrite
2) Study the market
3) Read books being published by the imprint [...]
Hooking Up: Judging the “Fangs Fur Fey” Hooks Contest
By Justine Musk
I was a judge in a ‘hook’ writing contest held by the fangs-fur-fey livejournal community (http://community.livejournal.com/fangs_fur_fey). Writers of related genres sent in their ‘hooks’ – that paragraph of a query letter describing the novel in such concise, compelling terms that the agent has no choice but to request five pages, then fifty, then [...]
