Beautiful things
OK, I admit it, I’m addicted to quotes about books and writing and art. When I’m supposed to be taking a break from the computer, perhaps to go drink a tea at the window and let my eyes see the Outside...
View ArticleSentence-level switchbacks and conflict
Accomplished writers know that to write a great story, you need characters with internal conflicts that motivate them in a plot full of external conflicts. But something less often talked about is how...
View ArticleThe Scorpion Game, by Daniel Jeffries
Just started reading my copy of The Scorpion Game by Daniel Jeffries, which is now available to buy for the Amazon Kindle, and I’m excited about it all over again. I helped to co-edit this story, and...
View ArticleDavid Foster Wallace on Television’s Value to Fiction Writers
David Foster Wallace, on how television can be great for writers… First, television does a lot of our predatory human research for us. American human beings are a slippery and protean bunch in real...
View ArticleThe Periodic Table of Storytelling
Beautiful treat for writers! An artist named James Harris has illustrated the main storytelling elements (story structure, plots, plot devices, character types, and production terms) in an elegant...
View ArticleJoan Didion on the power of grammar
On the Brainpickings website today, I stumbled into a few collections of Joan Didion’s thoughts, loved everything she had to say, and immediately bought two Didion books. ♥ Here’s a favorite quote from...
View ArticleEditing techniques: How to streamline your writing
Writing “in the moment” without pausing to review is a perfect way to create, because you don’t want the critical half of your brain self-consciously poking at the less-inhibited, imaginative half...
View ArticleWord Magicians
I love magic, and the neuroscience of magic, and I especially love the idea of the “attentional spotlight.” It’s fun to think about how we are these weird, sensitive mammals with semi-uncontrollable...
View ArticleIt’s hard to stay erect for two hundred days
I wasn’t going to dance in the Ray Bradbury parade because, to be honest, I’ve read far more of his writing advice than his fiction and there are already loads of way smarter people talking about him,...
View ArticleWriters on writing process
TREASURE! Today I stumbled upon this collection of short clips from the Writer’s Confessions series: writers talking about the writing process. They’re good! I watched them all… Here are some of my...
View Article