“I had a very clear sense of what her world looked like and what her actions were, but it took many, many drafts to get to the point where I knew what she was feeling and thinking and could articulate it on her behalf. ” Novelists and writing buddies Amy Brill and Allison Amend discuss the lives of their long term projects.
Depicting inarticulate speech patterns in fiction should be easy, right? Somehow, it isn’t—but it’s necessary, because humans are generally an inarticulate bunch.
On a recent trip out of New York, headed home to Seattle, where my wife and I share a house and also where much of my writing is done, I found myself on the jet-way leading from the terminal to the airplane. The passengers were backed up single-file along the tunnel, not in any uniform way, but in that impatient, lean to the right then lean to the left then look down the row toward where they should have been five minutes before kind of way. It’s intimate in a way only elevators are intimate. Everyone so close you can […]
Dan Keane talks with J. Robert Lennon about his new book, Familiar, as well as oversharing, life online, and the perils of writing from the gut.
Not making any friends: Rachel Howard explores the “unlikable” narrator who won her over, despite efforts to the contrary, in Jean Rhys’ shrewd, heartbreaking, and pitiless novel Voyage in the Dark.
Brian Allen Carr and Dylan Nice chat about structure, process and the influence of Jesus’ Son.
How to make a plan for writing your novel by focusing on not writing your novel.
Got a dreadful first novel stashed somewhere in the proverbial drawer? Take heart, dear writer. Roberto Bolaño will show you how to salvage from the wreck.
What is wrong with that story? One of these three common mistakes may be holding it hostage.
Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway, Stephanie Powell Watts talks about her debut collection, Elvis as tragic hero, and authenticity in storytelling.
