Same Style, Different Content
Borrowing a craft element from another writer can be a great way to kickstart a new project, or re-energize an existing one. There are many ways to do this, of course, but here we want to focus on borrowing the…
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“Cathedral” by Michael Sheehan
The pamphlet they got from La Fonda said the trail was only 3.5 miles long, but they’d been at it for almost four hours by the time they realized something was off. They had seen no cathedral and worse, the…
HIDDEN MACHINERY, Margot Livesey
Hidden Machinery, Margot Livesey Tin House Books, 2017 A collection of ten essays on writing by the great Margot Livesey is a book to be savored, to be read again and again. A thoughtful reader as well as writer, Livesey’s…
Novel Structure: Two Timelines
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, the newest novel by Hannah Tinti, uses two separate timelines as its primary structure. The first timeline follows Samuel Hawley and his daughter Loo after they have moved back to a fishing village north…
New books Out This Week!
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out the week of October 16. Happy pub day to all! C. Morgan Babst, The Floating World Algonquin / Workman From Kirkus Reviews: “’Grief was infinite, though, wasn’t it,’ thinks…
Dialogue at Cross-Purposes
Dialogue is the one of tools we have for showing us who the characters are and how they relate to each other. The best dialogue includes some amount of subtext and conflict. One of the good ways to get at…
“Isn’t It Big? Isn’t It Nice?” by Jonathan Durbin
And suddenly then everyone was getting married. In October alone I had three weddings in the woods three weekends in a row. To each I wore the same nude heels but different backless dresses and elegant plum gloss that made…
CRASH COURSE, Robin Black
Crash Course, Robin Black Engine Books, 2016 This lovely collection houses a series of essays on writing and on life. Many of the short essays live in the place where writing and life intersect, and as the book progresses, you…
Online Writing Classes
One of the best ways to work on your craft is to participate in a writing class. Depending on where you live, though, it may be hard to find a good in-person workshop or class. Luckily, there are many good…
New Books Out This Week!
Here’s a quick look at some of the great books out the week of October 9. Happy pub day to all! Marian Crotty, What Counts as Love University of Iowa Press From Publishers Weekly: “Crotty’s impressive debut collection is…