Some frustrated soul on Facebook has started an “I Hate Reading” page. Even though–in keeping with the “I hate reading” theme–there’s nothing actually on the page, over 475,000 people “like” it. AbeBooks issued the following video, entitled “Long Live the Book,” in response:

Okay, so some people hate to read. Some people aren’t [...]

With the rise of digital culture, teachers must examine how to help students connect with literature all over again, and teachers who are also writers have a particular interest in building students’ “literary citizenship.” Writer and teacher Anna Leahy looks for perspectives on this dilemma in four books by Marjorie Garber, Christina Vischer Bruns, Kevin Stein, and David Orr.

In Part II of “Where Are we Going Next?” Day, Leahy and Vanderslice discuss the rise of assessment, what’s really going on in creative writing classrooms, ways to respond to student work, incorporating digital media, and adapting the workshop for the 21st century. They also explore the importance of what writer Dinty Moore calls “literary citizenship” – the idea that individual literary pursuits thrive when combined with a spirit of community, generosity and mentorship.

Who’s afraid of big, bad pedagogy? Relax. In part one of a lively, insightful discussion about the practice and art of teaching creative writing, Cathy Day, Anna Leahy and Stephanie Vanderslice get down to brass tacks. The three professors articulate “what we do and how we do it,” and how to do it–teaching–better. So dive in; once you get past your jargon phobia, you’ll discover that good practice and theory are downright invigorating–and elemental–for both sides of the classroom.

Author Elizabeth Benedict, editor of the recent anthology Mentors, Muses, & Monsters, discusses her experience being forced to unplug:
Finding this blank book already so full of hope and history — from Hemingway’s to my beloved sister-in-law’s — was a bit like encountering a bear in the woods: it was just the two of us, and [...]

“Stopped hanging other people’s art.”

— a journal entry by Ad Reinhardt (1913-1967)

Proof that good advice can come from anywhere: writing advice from Terminator: Salvation courtesy of The Rejectionist:

1. You need a plot. You really, really do. A Good Idea (”What if it’s the future! And robots are the boss of everything and this hot non-emotive dude has to find this kid who is actually his dad [...]

It would be criminal not to link to this great Dickens anecdote, as told on Terry Teachout’s blog; for the whole story, pick up a copy of Jane Smiley’s Charles Dickens (a Penguin Lives Biography).
Can anyone think of a kinder way to phrase Dickens’ letter, which justifies breaking a social engagement in order to write? [...]

If you need extra motivation to put more words-to-screen during a writing session, Dr. Wicked’s web app Write or Die might help. From Dr. Wicked’s site:
Write or Die is a web application that encourages writing by punishing the tendency to avoid writing. Start typing in the box. As long as you keep typing, you’re fine, [...]

I stumbled upon this Asylum article via the ever-excellent Practicing Writing (who in turn credits Nextbook for the find): Gary Shtyengart (Absurdistan) offers sage wisdom on being a writer:
Take a lot of Xanax in the morning to really calm the hell down. Try to wake up no later than 11. Work from 11:30 to 4:30, [...]