The limitations that any writer imposes on his work will grow out of the necessities that lie in the material itself – Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manners Isn’t it wonderful, being a writer? The joy! The freedom! Anywhere, anytime, inspiration may strike. And we’re ready, with our notepads and laptops and smart phones, ready to […]
From the Archives: Deb Vanasse on Push-ups and Poses Read More »
Lynn Lovegreen I have been blessed with many critique groups/partners in my writing life. I am working with some now to revise my current work in progress, so it’s a good time to acknowledge them and those who fulfill that role for others. A critique partner (or member of a critique group) provides feedback in
Lynn Lovegreen: In Praise of Critique Partners Read More »
Ready to revise part or all of your novel or memoir? We have a good group of 6-7 people ready to start the Revision Intensive class on April 4, and there’s space for a couple more. Andromeda Romano-Lax is teaching this 6-week, asynchronous class with workshopping and mini-lessons in revision specifics like openings, scene structure,
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Rhythm and Solitude To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music the words make. ~Truman Capote, McCall’s, November 1967 Christmas Eve, one hundred miles from Anchorage, silent and still, a crisp, clear night pillowed with two feet of fresh snow, lit by a small string of lights hung on
From the Archives: Deb Vanasse on Rhythm and Solitude Read More »
As a cub reporter right out of high school, my first newspaper editor threatened to tear up my notebook if I did not compose directly from my scribbled notes to the computer. No second drafts. Just get the story done by deadline. I soon came to love that fast-paced, adrenaline rush of getting a breaking
Kaylene Johnson: Writing Through Writer’s Block Read More »
For artists, the great problem to solve is how to get oneself noticed. ~Balzac Once upon a time there was an easy order to the business of writing: create, pitch, publish, promote. A writer’s creative energy went mostly into her work, and the rest followed from there. That everything’s different is old news. Your work
From the Archives: Your Book Marketing Plan Read More »
Today is my first official day as blog coordinator for 49 Writers. It strikes me, reading the pages of this blog, that writing is a vulnerable activity. In a time when perfection is so easy through the use of the technology, writing is a voice that maintains its human frailty. If it did not, it
Ben Armentrout: New 49 Writers Blog Coordinator Read More »
Last chance! Submission deadline for Savor the Rising Words Poetry Broadside Invitational in honor of National Poetry Month is today, March 20. We’ve got two workshops in Juneau next week. On Tuesday, Jeremy Pataky will lead a Reader’s Approach to Poetry. Thursday, Andy Hall will share insights from his long career as a writer and
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I watched the ferry chug off toward Alaska every week from Bellingham, Washington while I was in college. I loved northwestern Washington, and the proximity of the Canadian border twenty miles up the road. Every time I watched that blue ferry leave, though, magnetic bits inside me pulled for points north. I’d studied the maps,
Jeremy Pataky: 30 Years Later—An Island Institute Retrospective Read More »
Finding the best title for a book has always been a bit of a puzzle and most book authors I know have stories to tell about how their books were ultimately christened. So how do you come up with three or four words that somehow encapsulate what took some 70,000 to expound in the first
Kaylene Johnson: A Perfect Title Read More »
