I wish Jamie Grove posted at How Not to Write more regularly, because even when I disagree with some of his ideas about writing (which is very rare), he always gets me thinking about the craft and the process. Today’s post, “Charles Dickens – Three Principles of Writing,” is a great example and a wonderfulContinue reading “Three principles of writing”
Category Archives: writing
Small stone #3
A cool breeze stirs, and the shreds of tarp dance among the trash on the rooftops. I’m participating in the River of Stones project in January. Look for a new post each day. Click the badge at left for more details.
New fiction from Ryan Werner
Ryan Werner’s online fiction project, Our Band Could Be Your Lit, is back in action with a beautiful new piece of flash fiction, “Back and to the Left,” based on Pearl Jam’s “Brain of J.” And it is one of the best stories I’ve read in a while. In his blog project, Ryan has vowedContinue reading “New fiction from Ryan Werner”
2010 in review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow. Crunchy numbers A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 9,000 times in 2010. That’s about 22 full 747s. Continue reading “2010 in review”
Small stone #2
The shadow of a pigeon bobs across the rhombus of window-light on my bedroom floor, like a puppet playing for my amusement. A cloud passes outside and the window-light fades until only my floor remains. What happens, in such a moment, to the shadow-puppet bird? I’m participating in the River of Stones project in January.Continue reading “Small stone #2”
Small stone #1
It is just after midnight. A new year. Leaning out the window, I notice that the air in the alley smells the same as last year. Looking up into the black sky, the fireworks diminished and the stars blotted blind by the city lights, I realize that this year will not feel real until theContinue reading “Small stone #1”
A Writer’s Notebook: a reading meme
Okay, this is perhaps cheating slightly, because a meme is hardly a writing exercise, right? Except that it is. I’ll explain more below, but for now, let’s call this a review of my influences. I should also preëmptively explain that this meme is made rather tricky because I have to qualify my answers: When itContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: a reading meme”
A Writer’s Notebook time-warp
Sorry gang! I wrote my Writer’s Notebook post a day early and then forgot to post-date it, so you subscribers might have received a notice that the post was up and then couldn’t find it anymore. I’m posting this just to you don’t get that annoying “Post not found” message. Come back tomorrow for theContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook time-warp”
Writing the year away: My year in words and numbers
This year has been the first full calendar year that I’ve spent focused exclusively on writing. I’ve actually been doing this since summer 2009, and though I’ll still be exclusively writing in spring 2011, I’m anxious to get back into the classroom (I miss students and the intellectual discourse of academia!). But in terms ofContinue reading “Writing the year away: My year in words and numbers”
The end is near: Darin’s Bradley’s “Noise”
My friend Darin Bradley has had a very, very good year. His debut novel, the apocalyptic Noise, has garnered a great deal of praise and recognition since its release early this fall, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all. Now, at the end of the year, Noise is starting to turn upContinue reading “The end is near: Darin’s Bradley’s “Noise””
Samuel Snoek-Brown 