March slips out a snow-dumped, slightly shivering lamb—and the cruelest month is all but here. Here’s a little known alternative fact for you. T.S. Eliot was talking about April in Alaska for that section of The Waste Land. Didn’t know that did you? Although he died 17 years before the first dividend payment, and despite the […]
Guest Blogger Don Rearden | Avoid the Wasteland: Pick.Click.Give. More Read More »
You’ve somehow beaten incredible odds. You weren’t killed by an errant golf ball, struck by lightning, or mauled by a bear. No. Not you! Your book is on the cusp of publication. Congratulations. Now, if you’ve been paying attention to any of the recent trends in publishing, you know that the real work is only
Guest Blogger Don Rearden | Book Launch? Why Bother? Read More »
A crazy thing happened the other day. When I catch my students writing language similar to the previous sentence, I often ask them to think of the word “thing” as a great opportunity to replace a word with little meaning and instead insert words that reveal specific details, clarity, passion and power. Sometimes, however,
Whether in person or via social media, I can’t help but hear a common refrain of late. Similar discussions all related to media pieces that focus on silly distractions and spectacle created purposefully to keep people from focusing on the real issues at hand. I want to suggest that within that very refrain, while the
Guest Blogger Don Rearden | Make Art Not More Content Read More »
Last year and the year before, I invested in do-it-yourself writing residencies. Don’t get me wrong: I love and appreciate writing residency programs. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been awarded four, all of which granted up to a month of a free and comfortable space to do nothing but write, and read, and daydream,
Guest Blogger Cinthia Ritchie | Should You Consider a DIY Writing Residency? Read More »
Two summers ago, I failed spectacularly at almost every writing project I attempted. I failed at my novel rewrite, opting to not follow my editor’s suggestions (because, you know, even though she was at a major house and even though I’m just a skinny Alaskan, I was sure that I knew more than she did).
Guest Blogger Cinthia Ritchie | How Following a Training Plan Improved my Writing Read More »
I did something I thought I’d never do: I hired a beta reader to help with the beginning chapters of my second novel. I’d been struggling for months, with no end in sight. I was literally making myself sick with the worrying and the obsession. I had, no exaggeration, over twenty takes of the
Guest Blogger Cinthia Ritchie | Why I Hired a Beta Reader Read More »
When I was in fourth grade, there was a fat girl in my class. She wore glasses that slid down her nose and hair that hung lank and she had breasts (breasts!) when the rest of the girls in the class wore undershirts with one pink flower embroidered in the middle (bought two for a
Guest Blogger Cinthia Ritchie | Dazzled by the Past Read More »
It is the day after the Women’s March and I am asking the question: Am I a well-balanced reader when it comes to the multiplicity of writers, especially that of women writers and characters? I sit down in my office this morning to take stock of all the books on my shelves. I want to
Guest Blogger Bryan Allen Fierro | Taking Stock Read More »
The one question I get more than any other regarding my new fiction collection, Dodger Blue Will Fill Your Soul, is Did all those stories actually happen? I usually respond with something about truth being no excuse for fiction, or some other defensive-ism that confirms a satisfying enough response for the reader/interrogator. I explain that
Guest Blogger Bryan Allen Fierro | Let Me Pin You Down Read More »
