Carolyn Kremers I’ve never written for a blog, ever. I’m someone who usually drafts her poem or nonfiction by hand on a lined white notepad, then types a copy and fiddles with it—for days, weeks, years. If I journal, I do it by hand or, if near electricity or desperate for time, on my laptop. […]
Carolyn Kremers: The Non-Conforming House Read More »
Printed copies of Animal Stories are now in warehouses scattered across the U.S. (and also available in electronic form). And so it begins: the selling of Animal Stories. Actually, the selling—or marketing—of the book began months ago, even as I was working with a copy editor on polishing and improving the manuscript. One of the
Bill Sherwonit: The Selling of Animal Stories Read More »
The early stages of turning my “Animal Stories” idea into a book went remarkably smoothly. Two decades of writing wildlife essays had given me plenty of material to choose from. Though there are some iconic Alaskan animals I haven’t yet encountered and/or examined in story, I had more than enough diversity in the species, locales,
Bill Sherwonit: Getting Tense While Moving from the Present to the Past Read More »
Bill and Denali along Turnagain Trail In opening up my month’s worth of guest author postings, I’ll briefly reference an earlier 49 Writers contribution I made way back in September 2010, titled “Some Musings on the Essay.” To quote myself from that piece: “When people ask what I do, or how I make
Bill Sherwonit: Of Essays and Animal Stories Read More »
This blog post was originally scheduled to run last week, on Aug. 13. But following Robin Williams’ suicide on Aug. 11, I asked that the post be delayed so that I could reframe my thoughts in light of the national conversation occurring in the wake of this loss. Nothing I say will provide new solutions
Jessica Ramsey Golden: The Self-Destructing Creative Read More »
Raymond Chandler You’re going to love this. Listen: “A large black and gold butterfly fishtailed in and landed on a hydrangea bush almost at my elbow, moved its wings slowly up and down a few times, then took off heavily and staggered away through the motionless hot scented air.” Staggered! What better way to describe
Jessica Ramsey Golden: In Praise of Late-Bloomers Read More »
Lynn Lovegreen, featured author I recently heard some great writing advice at the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference. Here’s my two cents on what writers need to know: 1. Forget the “rules.” You hear a lot of rules when you start writing: Don’t use adverbs. Don’t use flashbacks. Always write every day. Always get an agent
Lynn Lovegreen: Top 5 Tips for Writers Read More »
I have written drafts for four novels and a novella for my Gold Rush series. Two are published, and a third is in the editing process with my publisher (Prism Book Group) now. One thing I’ve learned is that every book or project is a little different. Like many things, generalizations about writing are just
Lynn Lovegreen: The Writing Process – Every book is different. Read More »
I attended North Words Writers Symposium in Skagway May 28-31. I was impressed with the experience and knowledge of the keynote speaker Simon Winchester and the faculty of authors from Alaska and Canada (Nora and Dick Dauenhauer, Michael Gates, Nick Jans, Marcel Jolley, Heather Lende, Lael Morgan, John Straley, and Deb Vanasse). But most of
Lynn Lovegreen: Alaskan (& Canadian) Authors – Generous and Kind Read More »
I was lucky enough to grow up in Alaska, and like many before me I fell in love with it. The scenery is beautiful, the history is fascinating, and the people have an independent yet friendly attitude. It’s home, but it’s also a great setting for writing. I have a young adult historical romance series
Lynn Lovegreen: Writing About the Alaska Gold Rush Read More »
