What is the most annoying question you can ask a writer? It’s hard to zoom in on one because there are so many contenders for this dubious honour. As most ...
I had a conversation with an old man who was a stranger a few weeks ago. He told me he had fought in the war. I asked him if the ...
Toni Morrison paints a vivid picture of the writer’s entry into the writing space in a 1993 interview with the Paris Review. “I always get up and make a cup ...
What’s more difficult than writing a good story? Writing good dialogue. Dialogue is an essential part of every writer’s arsenal. Get it right and it can do wonders for your ...
Many a creative writing professor has lectured me on the pivotal role a “sense of place” plays in fiction. Writers work hard at creating credible worlds in which to set ...
Tortured beasts, addicted to alcohol and drugs, full of whimsy and imagination, conjuring creations with their gut, their anger, using their addiction, their coffee and cigarettes, their absinthe and hallucinogenic ...
Novelists are caught in a double bind. The novel is a sprawling expanse that offers us the scope for detailed excavation and explanation.
To get under a word’s skin is sheer joy. To tap into the incredible power of language to shape a story is a grand adventure.
Somewhere between the excitement of taking a chance on something and the real world practice of taking a chance on something, the disdain hangs in the balance.
