Want to make yourself unpopular? Correct someone’s grammar. And yet, for a writer, grammar isn’t just making sure you’ve got the right their-there-they’re, it’s about understanding how sentence structure and punctuation can be used to make your writing more effective. My students have often jumped to point out e e cummings’s lack of adherence to […]
Grammar is Your Friend Read More »
There is one seat left for a civilian, and three seats left for veteran/active service members for the Danger Close: Alaska workshop. More info below. Also, now is the time to sign up for classes that start in January and February, including Deb Vanasse’s Craft Intensive: Masterful Writing ONLINE. 2016 Class Schedule Registration for 2016
Weekly Roundup of Writing Opportunities for January 22 Read More »
The first book length memoir I wrote came in at 689 pages. Clearly I had a lot to say back then. The first edit cut 300 pages but still, there were too many pages left to read. At the other end of the wordiness spectrum is a succinct little memoir like the classic,“Wedding dress for
Guest Blogger: Judith Conte on Mini-Memoirs Read More »
“It strikes me that in America we don’t much have a ‘sacred’ place or role for the isolate artist any longer. Everything has been sucked up into marketing and celebrity and the almighty commodity—so if you are a writer, you are meant to sell something. If it sells, it has worth. But in my heart
The Sustainable Writer: What’s Your Return? Read More »
There are times when empirical approaches to history simply don’t do the job. I say this both as a novelist and as a former archaeologist and historic preservation specialist with two college degrees in the subject. For example, there is a mountain in the northern part of the Wrangells called Pingpong Mountain. Back when I
Guest Blogger Kris Farmen: Desktop History Read More »
What is a poetic line, exactly? What difference does it make where the line “breaks?” When we look at words on a page we can instantly identify a poem because a poem is lineated. Lines (or their conspicuous absence) are a large part of what makes a poem a poem. How does a poet decide where the line begins and
Guest Post by Susanna J. Mishler: Line, Please! Read More »
Alaskan writer and poet, Eva Saulitis passed away this weekend. Eva has touched almost every writer in the state in one way or another, through her writing, her teaching, her kindness, her support, her example of living completely and authentically. On Saturday, I watched as people grappled with her passing by posting memories on Facebook,
Remembering Eva Saulitis Read More »
With all the great workshops and events organized for us it is often difficult to decide which ones to attend. I wish I could attend all of them! There are still a few seats available for the exciting workshop Danger Close: Alaska. If you are interested, register soon. Resolve To Write! Invitations were sent out
Weekly Roundup of Writing Opportunities for January 15 Read More »
It is a common complaint of my partner that I make a mess of our shared home office—and to be fair, she’s totally right. My half of the room is covered in stacks of books, papers, clippings, and tape, not only on the desk itself, but in concentric rings around it; her desk bears only
Guest Post by Kate Partridge: Research at the Heart of Creative Writing Read More »
My fourth book is about to come out in print—the advance copies, in fact, may already be out by the time this post runs—and my mind lately has been dwelling on my first book, The Devil’s Share. It’s the story of a kid from Fairbanks named Jack who goes to work for a hunting lodge
Guest Blogger Kris Farmen: First Book Read More »
