“Antlered does of the genus Capreolus usually bear small, poorly developed, irregular “freak” antlers which remain for the most part permanently in velvet without being shed.” George Wislocki, “Journal of Mammalogy” Before, we were blue. Bluer than robins’ eggs, bluer than the tiny veins…
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out this week. Happy pub day to all! Will Boast, Daphne Liveright/Norton From Kirkus Reviews: “Boast (Epilogue, 2014, etc.) writes about Daphne, who isolates herself from most other people…
In a matter of weeks, it seemed, Stewart’s mother had become obsessed with the dog. Despite—or maybe because of—the fact that he, Banjo, didn’t belong to her. Things like that didn’t matter to Heike: who was the rightful owner of…
We the Animals, by Justin Torres, is a wonderful example of the use of the collective voice in fiction. There are, of course, many other classic works that use this voice, including the novels The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides…
Fiction should connect the writer to the reader. Fiction should not be written with a reader in mind. Fiction can be written as though writing a letter to a friend. Fiction should use language in a way that pleases…
What could be better than summer camp for writers? While each summer conference varies greatly from the next, they all allow writers a chance to escape from their daily routines, work on their fiction, and be with a community of…
In studying the craft of fiction, story and plot seem like simple enough concepts: story is the chronological sequence of events while plot is those same events, reordered by the author. In an attempt to consider how to construct meaning…
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out this week. Happy pub day to all! Eileen Chang, Little Reunions NYRB Classics From Publishers Weekly: “Originally completed in 1976 and appearing in English for the first time, this…
Tana is dating a person who calls herself The Red Spirit of Joy. She is fussy about details: her clothes are red, never crimson, not scarlet. Don’t get fancy with the descriptors, Tana, she says while putting on lipstick. My…
Linked story collections often seem like that halfway point between a collection of unconnected stories and a novel. Done well, a linked collection can add up to something more than its parts, a reading experience that expands beyond the limits…
