Not long ago, we talked about the phenomenon of robots writing books. But those computer-authored tomes—with scintillating subject matter like Saltine Cracker were mish-mashes of text culled together from Wikipedia and other websites. Computers can’t write actual stories. Or can they? Enter Narrative Science, a Chicago-based software company teaching computers to do just that—well, news stories, at least. Wired explains that articles written by the company’s computer algorithm are already out there: The computer-written product could be a pennant-waving second-half update of a Big Ten basketball contest, a sober preview of a corporate earnings statement, or a blithe summary of […]
In her thoughtful, entertaining new collection, Signs and Wonders, Alix Ohlin lures readers into what seem like lulls, and then, there it is: a car crash. A coma. A missing child. A man licking a woman’s leg.
We were delighted to learn that FWR contributor Danielle Lazarin was the first-place winner of Glimmer Train‘s April 2012 Family Matters contest! A full list of winners and top-25 finalists is on the Glimmer Train website. Danielle’s winning story, “Spider Legs,” will be published in Glimmer Train in 2013. In the meantime, you can learn more about Danielle and read some of her work on her author website. Congratulations, Danielle! Read Danielle’s interview with Dan Chaon for Fiction Writers Review Read Danielle’s essay “‘The Mommy Problem,’ and the larger notion of life beyond work“
I am unreasonably excited to see the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Is it because Gatsby is one of my favorite novels? Because Baz Lurhmann is brilliant? Because Leonardo DiCaprio makes me swoon? Mark me down for “All of the Above.” Actually, most of all, I can’t wait to see how this novel comes to life on the big screen. It contains some of the most cinematic scenes I can think of—one of my favorites is the first moment we meet Daisy, in a swirl of white curtains—but I’m not sure how it will translate to film. Which makes […]
If you’re a newly-minted MFA wondering what to do with your degree, perhaps you can take inspiration from Eric Wahl, who works at the University of Washington’s surplus store. Wahl puts his writing skills to use by crafting hilarious descriptions of items for sale–and offering proof that pretty much everything gets way better with a dose of creativity. Says the Seattle Times: Wahl, 42, began working at the store in November 2010 as a program coordinator, a job that means he not only works the cash register, he does the Web marketing. He couldn’t help but notice that the descriptions […]
Hello again, FWR friends. Welcome to the latest installment of our new blog series, “First Looks,” which highlights soon-to-be released books that have piqued my interest as a reader-who-writes. We publish “First Looks” here on the FWR blog around the middle of each month, and as always, I’d love to hear your comments and your recommendations of forthcoming titles. Please drop me a line anytime: erika(at)fictionwritersreview(dot)com, and thanks in advance. The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln, by Stephen L. Carter: This one will be published just after Independence Day, but it caught my eye back in January thanks to Barbara Hoffert’s […]
How do you write a compelling fiction when the reader knows what happens?
