“Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams.” ― Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji Murasaki Shikibu was born sometime in the 970s to an aristocratic Japanese family. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, considered to be possibly the world’s first novel. In The Tale of Genji, […]
Writer Spotlight: Murasaki Shikibu Read More »
In many popular books on the craft of writing, a common pattern emerges: the reader, writer, and protagonists are purposely defaulted to male. John Vorhaus in The Comic Toolbox writes, “A lot of times I call these people he, though of course I mean both he and she. Language lags behind social change, and the
The Universal He by Kristen Ritter Read More »
Whether you are pro-Amazon or hate the powerful marketing juggernaut, you have to admit it the company is the master of sales, delivery, and marketing of everything from books to bras to bonbons. Now Amazon has introduced the serialized novel as part of their Kindle bookshelf. It’s called Kindle Vella and it allows the reader
Kindle Vella, Serial Time Killer? by Dan Walker Read More »
As the year turns in Alaska, outdoor rituals mark shifting seasons. Picking berries, harvesting gardens, splitting wood, first frost… Upon my family’s return from an overdue trip to Cape Cod, I’ve been thinking about how vacation fits into this puzzle. And what a boon it can be for a writer. For many, vacation is a
Vacation Returns by Sean Ulman Read More »
As writers one of the key elements of our craft that we all know (and sometimes love) is the revision process. For the uninitiated, revising is normally done after the first draft of a story is written. It’s where the writer goes all the way back to the beginning of the story and makes changes
Revising is Hard by Kellie Doherty Read More »
First published in 2004, Tidal Echoes is an annual Southeast Alaskan literature and arts journal administered by the University of Alaska Southeast. Although it originated as a university-specific journal only accepting submissions from students at UAS Juneau, the journal now publishes work from all over the southeast region. Over the last 17 years, Tidal Echoes
Tidal Echoes: Literary Journal by Shaelene Moler Read More »
The first opinion piece I ever wrote for a newspaper was published on April 15, 1969. Unfortunately, it was disguised as a news story. Not too cleverly, I should admit. I was a freshman at Purdue University, in conservative Indiana (my oops for taking the scholarship and not thinking about much else). The dorm had
On Opinion Writing by Larry Persily Read More »
I have a confession to make: I never wanted to write a book. Individual stories, yes. But books (novels), never. Until fairly recently. Over all the years I’ve spent in writing classes and at writing conferences, I’ve tried to keep secret my embarrassing lack of interest in writing books. My lack of ambition. Year after
Confessions of a Late Bloomer by Richard Chiappone Read More »
Seven or eight years ago, I retired from a state job and spent years getting an MFA in writing from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Then I dragged my feet for a few more years before publishing a book of essays. Many describe the lives of friends on the Kuskokwim River of Western Alaska. You
Read This? By Dan Branch Read More »
Andre Dubus III, author of The House of Sand and Fog, wrote that bestseller 17 minutes at a time. Employed as a teacher, and also busy as a husband and father of young children, Dubus had a twice-daily routine of stopping at a cemetery parking lot, to and from work. For less than twenty minutes
Seventeen minutes By Andromeda Romano-Lax Read More »
