In my last blogpost, I touched on the inevitability of doubt in the creative process. It’s such an important issue, I thought I’d speak about strategies I’ve found for profiting from it. Getting in your own way In fiction, the first thing we do is give our characters obstacles. Both external and internal. The external […]
Getting Off the Couch and Embracing Doubt by Lucian Childs Read More »
This June something extraordinary happened. I published my debut novel, Dreaming Home. It has already gotten positive notice, including—unbelievably to me—a favorable review in The New York Times. I’m over the moon about this recognition for something I labored over for more than fifteen years. But here’s the thing, I didn’t write the novel alone.
It Takes a Family to Write a Novel by Lucian Childs Read More »
Hoarse from hollering over the bar din at Alice’s Champagne Palace, I walked out to the parking lot with my anthology contributors, Teeka Ballas and Dawnell Smith. We’d just finished celebrating the Homer event on our Alaska book tour for Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry. We
Martha Amore | On the Lit Road Read More »
When people Outside think of Alaska, they imagine snow, rugged mountains, sled dog races, grizzlies, homestead cabins and “The Deadliest Catch.” That people would be living up here in an urban context would probably not occur to them. Lucian Childs But over half of us Alaskans live in cities. What makes our experience unique is
Tomorrow is the culmination of almost three years of work on the part of myself and my co-editor, Martha Amore. Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry has just been published by the University of Alaska Press. To commemorate the day, I’d like to take a sentimental journey
Guest Blogger Lucian Childs | Reading My Way to a Gay Life Read More »
Some thoughts on revision with quotes from Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” Call me Clarissa. I like to give a good dinner party. I like a smart table full of good food, conversation, and laughs. What are the elements of a successful dinner party? Setting, a
Guest Blogger Lucian Childs | After the Soufflé Falls Read More »
“He says, narrative is the aftermath of violent events. It is a means of reconciling yourself with the past. He says, the violence in the Odyssey is a story told afterwards, in a cave.” —Rachel Cusk, Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation I find it difficult to write about the present day. Specifically, it’s been hard
49 Writers: Guest Blogger Lucian Childs | Writing and Nostalgia Read More »
Originally published in Issue 6 of Jelly Bucket. 1.How are the girls? How do you like schlepping them around for a change? Here it’s no picnic either. Bells, service, work period, tea ceremonies. Meditation ten times a day. The head monk is like that gruff ballet master who lived off Marlboros and Diet Coke. The
When the Rasmuson Foundation announces its annual Individual Artist Awards, it’s always exciting to see Alaska’s creative community acknowledged and supported in this way. Attendees at the awards reception earlier this week included trustees of the Western States Arts Federation, who were in town for a meeting. I happened to be standing next to the
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Tonight’s main event: First Friday, April 5, 7:00pm, Crosscurrents with visiting writer Nancy Zafris and Fairbanks author Frank Soos at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center (7th Avenue entrance), who will discuss The Short Story: Alive and Well? Check out Nancy’s blog post earlier this week about Stories That Matter. There is still one slot
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