Darin Bradley‘s apocalyptic novel Noise hit bookshelves, both physical and virtual, today. So I thought I’d ask Darin a few questions about his novel, the apocalypse, and writing in general. The resulting e-mail conversation, which has spanned the past few weeks, has turned out to be very long, which is a good thing, because DarinContinue reading “Interview with Darin Bradley, author of Noise”
Category Archives: writing
A Writer’s Notebook: “Casting a Wide Net”
This week, another exercise from Scott McCloud’s Making Comics. In this exercise, McCloud asks us to create a cast of characters that share one trait (from a list of traits–see below) but are different in at least four other ways. These academics are my four characters (in the order I wrote them). Sandra: 45, aContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: “Casting a Wide Net””
A Writer’s Notebook: Comics cut-and-paste
Today: Some comics. Slightly later today: An explanation of the exercise. In some ways, this exercise is similar to last week’s, in that I’m “borrowing” from other sources and piecing them together into new art. Of course, this looks wildly different: It’s more than partly visual. I’ve just finished reading the third of Scott McCloud‘sContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Comics cut-and-paste”
Noise, by Darin Bradley
A friend of mine is releasing his first novel in a couple of weeks, an apocalyptic novel called Noise. I haven’t read it yet, but by all accounts, it’s awesome. (I have read the teaser text on the publisher’s website–it certainly looks awesome!) Darin and I are bouncing back and forth on an interview aboutContinue reading “Noise, by Darin Bradley”
A new blog
FYI: I’m working on a new blog. It’s going to be all about smiley faces, which I collect with rabid enthusiasm. A lot of the items I’ll post on the blog will come from my personal collection (keychains, bath towels, hackysacks, even a smiley face toothbrush holder), but some of the posts will be smileyContinue reading “A new blog”
One tragedy in academia
Among my various pet causes (promoting nonviolence, encouraging the creative writing of kids and teens, supporting increased awareness about breast cancer), one of the most recent for me is bullying. Usually, we associate bullying with the schoolyard, and when the news reports on bullying (and it has been reporting on it more in recent years,Continue reading “One tragedy in academia”
A Writer’s Notebook: Magnet poetry
Caveat emptor: This is not good poetry. Blame the magnets. My velvet yesterday surrounds today in translucent smoke, you in corduroy angling for another cut of tea, steam a prisoner behind your glasses, the naked smile that tugs one side of your lips, the memory of the porcelain morning light over the ocean. We neverContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Magnet poetry”
A Writer’s Notebook: Scene or short-short?
Sometimes you just write. This is what I wrote. There is no particular exercise, but I’ll explain below where this comes from. He didn’t mow the hay field, or rake it into rows or bale it into the wide wheels, bound in plastic, that baked in the sun now. But he owned the aftermath, theContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Scene or short-short?”
Score!
A week ago, I wrote a quick post asking you all to think good things for the author of Literary Rejections on Display, who was this close to landing an agent. Well, the well-wishing worked, folks! Crack open a bottle of whatever you please and join in the celebrations. This is a victory for usContinue reading “Score!”
A Writer’s Notebook: The great outdoors
This is a fairly old-school, simple exercise, but it’s one I keep returning to again and again. But as usual, more on that below. I’ve never seen the skies in other vast states, like, say, Wyoming or Montana, but I’ve seen skies in California, skies in New York, skies in Wisconsin and Florida. And itContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: The great outdoors”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 