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. … By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, Link The Stanley Parable is a video game, not a book. […]
Think Like a Librarian: The Stanley Parable, by Davey Wreden and William Pugh Read More »
I don’t have much time this week to blog (a deadline is a week earlier than I thought it was!!!), but I’ll get back to the study series as soon as I can. … Failure is life’s way of telling you that you need to change. Not necessarily that you need to completely dump
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 (post-reading!): You’ve read the book. Now what? I’ll go into more depth about
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
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,
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
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
