Danish designer Poul Henningsen was obsessed with light. Inspired by the soft glow of pre-electric lighting, he devoted his life to designing electric lamps that would capture that glow. Electricity, he said, gave humans the possibility of “wallowing in light,” and yet there was the danger of losing the harmony of what once had been. […]
Deb Vanasse | Bring on the Light Read More »
Ah, the Olympics. A welcome distraction this time of year—athletes displaying their best efforts, coaches cheering them on. Writers, too, have their coaches—fellow writers, literary agents, editors who acquire their manuscripts. In lieu of these – or more often, to supplement them – some hire coaches. Why hire a writing coach? The most straightforward
Deb Vanasse | Go, Team! Why You Might Want a Writing Coach Read More »
These are stressful times. More than ever, we creative types need grounding. By the dictionary, being grounded results in balance and stability. But I think of it more in terms of process, connecting with whatever it is that helps me to be in the moment when I write. Author John Straley talks of warming up
Deb Vanasse | The Grounded Writer Read More »
Last week, my husband and I made a trip we didn’t want to make, back to the Midwest to visit a friend who’s failing fast with early-onset Alzheimer’s. A good visit, but under incredibly sad circumstances. You’ve made trips like that, too, for all sorts of reasons. Life doesn’t stop. We make room. I hauled
Deb Vanasse | Writer, Interrupted Read More »
One thing that can be easily said about writing—there’s no shortage of resources to help writers hone their craft. In general, that’s a good thing. But this abundance also adds to confusion as writers try out different rules and formulae, determining in one way or another that there are “have-tos” involved in this enterprise. There’s
Deb Vanasse | What’s Your Misbelief? Read More »
On Mother’s Day, David Sedaris made a sold-out appearance in the 900 seat house at Juneau Douglas High School. A humorist—a writer—filling the biggest house we have in our small town in Alaska was somehow reassuring. After reading for about an hour, mostly funny, some overtly political (he was in a friendly crowd), and a
It’s a crazy hypothetical, but let’s say you could only give one piece of writing advice, and the advice had to be expressed in a single sentence. Based on where we are along our trajectories as writers, each of us would choose differently. In large part because of the developmental editing assistance I render, my
Deb Vanasse | Know It All Read More »
Have news, events, or opportunities you’d like to see listed here? Email details to info (at) 49writers.org, preferably with “Roundup” as the subject. Items might get edited for length. Your message must be received by close of business the Wednesday before the roundup is scheduled to run at the latest. Unless your event falls in the “Opportunities and
Literary Roundup | July 21-August 2, 2017 Read More »
Artificial intelligence that advances real human creativity This branding hits me straight on, and not in a good way. First off, I’m bothered by “real.” It juxtaposes nicely with “artificial,” but in these days of fake everything, must we now also worry that creativity has gone the way of eyelashes and news? I suppose
Deb Vanasse | Book by Algorithm Read More »
Have news, events, or opportunities you’d like to see listed here? Email details to info (at) 49writers.org, preferably with “Roundup” as the subject. Items might get edited for length. Your message must be received by close of business the Wednesday before the roundup is scheduled to run at the latest. Unless your event falls in the “Opportunities and
Literary Roundup | July 7-20, 2017 Read More »
