I’m trying to look at books the way a librarian might, in order to help get me better at thinking from a reader’s point of view. Here are the other posts in the series. … I’m just going to say it. Sometimes works of pure genius don’t get […]
Think Like A Librarian: Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison Read More »
How do you surprise your readers? I use two methods: Wilhelm’s Law and the Agatha Christie Technique. Wilhelm’s Law: throw away your first three ideas. What this means: Your first idea is generally the most obvious one. It’s been done. Your second idea is generally a response to the first. Because most stories have been
The Art of Surprise Read More »
This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?” The rest of the series is here. … Techniques to help handle reading issues: First, what to read. You have a number of options. Read deeply, that is,
How to Study Fiction, Part 8: Reading, Part 2 Read More »
I’m trying to look at books the way a librarian might, in order to help get me better at thinking from a reader’s point of view. Here are the other posts in the series. … The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a short novel set in the period
Think Like a Librarian – The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark Read More »
This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?” The rest of the series is here. … What to read, how to read, and how to start studying it. Every professional writer seems to have the
How to Study Fiction, Part 7: Reading, Part 1 Read More »
Here’s a game I came up with. Asking one person is interesting enough, but asking at least five is essential to the point of the game. … It’s a dark and stormy night and you’re on a road going somewhere that you don’t want to go, but have to be. How are you traveling? Where
There’s this saying that Stephen King is such a good writer that he could write a grocery list and have it be entertaining. I took a brief look to see if he had written such a story, but couldn’t find one. Nevertheless, this should be a Thing, at the very least, an official thought experiment that
Stephen King’s Grocery List Read More »
Books I was recommended: Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh The Silence, by Tim Lebbon The Well-Fed Writer, by Peter Bowerman This list is shorter than I like, but I do have permission to ask Jonathan Maberry for some good action/horror titles. Book to Study: The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler, as per Laura Hayden’s mystery
Pikes Peak Writers’ Conference 2018 Wrap-Up Read More »
Still scrambling and running behind, but the end is in sight… … Okay. If you have a fashion sense or do costuming, ignore this. This is not for you. You’re a writer, and you’re going to a writer function. How do you dress? It seems like some writers have this down, in a way that
How to Dress a Writer Read More »
I’m trying to look at books the way a librarian might, in order to help get me better at thinking from a reader’s point of view. Here are the other posts in the series. … Her Body and Other Parties is a collection of short stories that centers around the horrific in a kind of fairy-tale way.
Think Like A Librarian – Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado Read More »
