Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out this week. Happy pub day to all! Maud Casey, The Art of Mystery Graywolf Press From Publishers Weekly: “In the 14th volume of Graywolf’s The Art Of series, novelist…
Naming the World, Bret Anthony Johnston, editor Penguin Random House, 2007 Naming the World is a craft class in a book. Edited by the writer Bret Anthony Johnston, the book is broken into typical craft chapters: Plot and Narration, Dialogue…
I have heard more than one writer say that they have created mixtapes while they were working on a story or novel and listening to that music, and that music alone, while they were writing was hugely helpful. If you’re…
Most of the time, our narrators are speaking directly to our readers. We may not do so as directly as Charlotte Bronte (“Reader, I married him.”) but it is implied, no matter the voice that we’re using. Second person can…
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out over the past two weeks. Happy pub day to all! Lizzy Attree, editor, THE GODDESS OF MTWARA AND OTHER STORIES The Caine Prize For African Writing 2017 Interlink…
So often in crafting fiction we think about character, plot, and setting. But thinking about specific objects and placing those objects in our fiction can be a great way in to a character and even a plot point. An object…
National Book Award Winner for Fiction! Jesmyn Ward SING, UNBURIED, SING Here’s all the news on last night’s award ceremonies. Congrats to all the fiction writers, those on the long list and the finalists. Here’s a quick look at each…
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out the week of November 13. Happy pub day to all! Louise Erdrich, Future Home of the Living God Harper From Kirkus Reviews: “The idea that evolution could suddenly move…
It’s such a simple idea, really—as good ideas usually are—that surprise is a key element in our work as writers. But somehow, I hadn’t grabbed onto that idea until I took a workshop with Bret Anthony Johnston who believes wholeheartedly…
The Art of History, Christopher Bram Graywolf Press, 2016 A recent addition to Graywolf’s wonderful “Art of…” series of books, The Art of History is a terrific resource for any writer. Although writers of historical fiction may be the primary…
