These days, it is normal for authors to go to writing workshops – or teach them. So why does the idea they produce derivative writers persist?What makes a writer? How do you become one? When I was younger, even asking those questions seemed to disqualify me: a writer isn’t something one becomes, I thought, a writer just is. Despite writing, rewriting and reading all through my 20s, I was no closer to completing, let alone publishing, a novel. I realised I would need help if I was going to succeed, and I applied to several creative writing MAs.This was, depending on who you ask, either a decision that condemned my writing to being forever derivative and tired, or, an important step on the path towards the publication of my first book. The debate about the value of a degree in creative writing has been done, one might think, to death – good writing depends on an innate facility that cannot be taught, versus good writing depends on devoted time, support, and elements of craft that can be studied – yet it continues to rage. This week, a much-lauded debut novel was criticised in a review by an author for its “MA creative writing-speak” and “oh so tediously writing workshop description”. For some, “writing workshop” is shorthand for bad. But why?'One must have in mind between 68 and 73% of the ending' before starting a story, my teacher once advised Related: Buy a cat, stay up late, don't drink: top 10 writers’ tips on writing Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tracy K. Smith’s To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul is available tomorrow, so we asked her a few questions about her readers, when she writes, and her favorite book to recommend to others. * Who do you most wish would read your book? People who are weary of the limits of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-06 09:56:46 UTC ]
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Sarah Anderson, who founded the Travel Bookshop in London before becoming a writer and painter, discusses the value of quiet in 'The Lost Art of Silence' (Shambhala, Dec.). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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On March 11, 2022, Molly McGhee shared a resignation letter on Twitter. She was quitting her job as an assistant editor at Tor, despite the fact that her first acquisition, The Atlas Six, had debuted at number three on the New York Times Bestseller List. She cited “systemwide prejudice against... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-10-20 11:03:00 UTC ]
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Books & Books recently had the pleasure of hosting three-time National Book Award finalist and best-selling author Lauren Groff, presenting her new novel, The Vaster Wilds. The New York Times calls it “a lonely novel of hunger and survival.” The brilliant Groff reads from her adventure novel... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-20 08:11:49 UTC ]
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Tiffany D. Jackson's newest book is YA novel about the Marvel superhero Storm, titled Storm: Dawn of a Goddess. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-17 15:40:54 UTC ]
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Since my first novel was published, at almost every interview and live event, I get asked a version of the same question. Usually people seem just curious, but occasionally there are notes of hostility or amazement. They want to know why, and often how, I write my female protagonists. The answer... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-16 08:50:29 UTC ]
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Rushdie, who was grievously injured onstage last year, said the forthcoming book was a way “to answer violence with art.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-11 14:10:29 UTC ]
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Writers are often advised to write as if we are dying. Awake to our mortality, the theory goes, we will write with urgency and acuity about what matters. We will write honestly, vulnerably, bravely without fear of judgement. We will write for the pure readers: ourselves and our loved ones. We... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-11 08:50:48 UTC ]
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Tips for feeling motivated, embracing bad ideas, getting over creative blocks, and more. Some conference room tables boast bowls of candy or a gaggle of diminutive bottles of water. Others, painfully benign centerpieces, like a vase filled with colored glass beads. But when the Chronicle Books... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-10-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The much-acclaimed Irish author of Small Things Like These on her quietly devastating new story and why George Saunders wouldn’t read it aloud for a podcastClaire Keegan’s five books to date run to just 700 pages and some 140,000 words. “I love to see prose being written economically,” she tells... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-09-02 17:00:10 UTC ]
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PW spoke to the editors and authors at Usborne about the process of bringing each new children’s book into the world, what makes the books unique, and the inherent joys of the work they do. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Pidgeon and I met in the summer of 2020, the summer of sickness, and violent change. We spoke over Zoom, nearly 800 miles apart—I had been hired as a developmental editor for an intersex activist named Pidgeon Pagonis. A developmental editor is a bit of a catch-all title: we do a bit of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-17 09:20:26 UTC ]
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I was deep in the throes of a slow-moving depression, feeling frustrated with a job I had held for seven years, and reeling from the disappointment of a first novel that debuted without the critical and commercial acclaim I was afraid to admit I desired. So I called my mother. “I think I need a […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-09 09:10:27 UTC ]
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Paul Reubens 'finished a first draft' of a memoir about his life and career before he died, a representative for the Pee-wee Herman actor has confirmed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-08-01 18:13:09 UTC ]
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Richard E. Grant, star of 'Loki,' 'The Lesson' and much more, on how writing his memoir 'A Pocketful of Happiness' helped him grieve for his wife. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-07-28 19:53:27 UTC ]
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Tool is said to have been pitched to several US news outlets as an aid for journalists rather than a replacementGoogle is testing an artificial intelligence tool that can write news articles, in the latest evidence that the technology has the potential to transform white-collar professions.The... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-20 12:04:29 UTC ]
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From Bono to Jarvis Cocker, Bruce Springsteen to Cosey Fanni Tutti, the last decade has seen an explosion of books by artists from every walk of musical life. Why is this once-rare genre striking a chord with stars and readers alike?By her own admission, Miki Berenyi was not a woman itching to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-15 08:00:25 UTC ]
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For years I refused to read historical fiction. It seemed to me that there was something artificial—dishonest, even—in summoning a time and place that hadn’t been experienced firsthand. I couldn’t see past the affected dialogue, the funny hats, and my suspicion that the author was making it all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 08:51:46 UTC ]
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The site hasn’t published anything by its correspondent-at-large since he was roundly condemned for a piece about Brittany Higgins. Plus: News Corp at odds with the press councilFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-07 02:47:34 UTC ]
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The influencer and Slay in Your Lane co-author talks about her journey via Twitter to become a writer, and channelling her experience of social media into debut novel The List“Honestly, I’m a better painter than I am a writer,” says Yomi Adegoke, cackling, as she takes a sip of prosecco.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-01 08:00:07 UTC ]
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