For a short set-up, I’ll reveal only that I’m currently thinking about—but not yet working on—a story about a character who is very difficult for me to understand, for reasons which will be apparent in the exercise itself. So this week, I decided to get to know him a little better by interviewing that character,Continue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Character interview”
Tag Archives: writing
How to know when the writing is done
I started writing about good writing yesterday simply because it was on my mind — I’m neck-deep in three different stories right now, with two more on the sidelines, as I try to finish a story collection. But as soon as I posted it, I started thinking of a related discussion: How to know whenContinue reading “How to know when the writing is done”
How to know when the writing is good (or good enough)
When I was in grad school working on my doctorate, I took a class on the form and theory of poetry, with poet Bruce Bond. It was a fascinating course that taught me a lot, not only about poetry but also about my own approach to fiction. Bond has a way of asking provocative questionsContinue reading “How to know when the writing is good (or good enough)”
A Writer’s Notebook: Music and flash fiction
In the wake of last week’s Writer’s Notebook, my friend Ryan Werner sent me an e-mail with a challenge: Do it again. And this time, make it complete — in other words, write a piece of flash fiction. The actual exercise was more complicated than that (as usual, I’ll explain it below), but it wasContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Music and flash fiction”
Patrons of writing and teaching: Winnie-the-Pooh
I haven’t done a Patron of Writing in a while now, and with all the hard writing work I have ahead of me this week, I figured it was time to bring out Pooh-Bear. I’ve loved Winnie-the-Pooh since I was an infant (I still have my Pooh-Bear, faded and misshapen after all these years; myContinue reading “Patrons of writing and teaching: Winnie-the-Pooh”
A Writer’s Notebook: Music and freewriting
I’ll explain the exercise more fully below, but, as I did with the “1,000 words” exercise, I need to mention this up front: I’m writing while listening to Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46: Aase’s Death.” I can’t upload an audio clip of the piece without violating copyright, but you can hearContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Music and freewriting”
[Music] is the liquid that we’re all dissolved in*
Some writers cannot write except in silence. Some, actually, need specific kinds of silence: crickets, white noise, one of those nature-sound machines, wind in the trees. But silence all the same. I am not one of those writers. Sure, if I fall into a story and lose all track of my physical surroundings, I canContinue reading “[Music] is the liquid that we’re all dissolved in*”
To read or not to read? READ!
The other day, my writer/rock star friend Ryan Werner sent me a link to an article titled “The 10 Most Harmful Novels for Aspiring Writers.” The gist of the article is that people should stop reading certain books, by certain authors, because those books suck us into pale imitations and lock us out of ourContinue reading “To read or not to read? READ!”
A Writer’s Notebook: Poetry (Childhood memory)
I’m not a great poet. I give it a go when I can, though, and I have a strong respect for poetry and poets–in fact, I believe that poetry informs fiction in profound ways, that the best prose comes from someone who at least appreciates poetry. So I try to keep my hand in, ifContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Poetry (Childhood memory)”
The Netherlands: The End
Day 10.7 Thursday, April 22, 2010 So far so good, and I’m actually feeling pretty positive about going out tomorrow. The skies are still problematic but some flights are leaving and the situation gets better every hour, so, fingers crossed. Today, we decided to hit our last museum (or what I hope is our lastContinue reading “The Netherlands: The End”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 