Karen Stevens's collection of essays offers practical advice and inspiration for those embarking on the long, lonely journey of writing a novelAccording to Karen Stevens, "writing a novel is the longest and loneliest journey a writer can embark upon". Her collection of essays by established and new writers splits that journey into four stages: inspiration, research, voice and form. There is also practical advice from a literary agent and an editor who notes honestly that "chance does play a part" in getting published. Lionel Shriver is equally frank about what comes after the acceptance of your first novel: "struggle and disappointment". Although Hanif Kureishi candidly admits, in an excellent piece from 2002, that "most writers do not entirely understand what they are doing", these essays are both perceptive and inspiring. Alison MacLeod writes beautifully on the voice of a novel: "It is the unknown quantity every novel needs." Kishwar Desai admits to being driven by "the demons of insecurity" to over-research, and Jane Feaver, writing about form, advises authors to develop "an alertness to the collective materiality of words". But all agree with Wena Poon: the process of writing a novel is a "strange and wondrous journey".PublishingPaperbacksEssaysPD Smiththeguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
Jonathan Raban’s “Father and Son” is a memoir of illness and recovery paired with a parental history. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-09-18 09:01:46 UTC ]
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At a GlanceExpert's Rating ProsEasy to useSupports 12 simultaneous devicesDecent for streamingConsInterface feels outdatedSmall list of available serversPricey for the features offeredOur VerdictStrongVPN doesn’t have the largest server list, nor does it offer a very extensive feature set.... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-09-13 14:30:00 UTC ]
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“We are thrilled to announce that The Paris Review has won a 2023 Whiting Literary Magazine Prize.” Continue reading at The Paris Review
[ The Paris Review | 2023-09-13 14:10:36 UTC ]
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The new cookbook from Bricia Lopez approaches Mexican cuisine with a festive, LA vibe. The recipes, which heavily feature open-flame cooking, are universally delicious. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-09-06 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Oksana Vasyakina’s first novel is a family history and a reflection on womanhood. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-09-05 09:00:20 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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After several critics complained of being quoted out of context on the covers of Jordan Peterson’s new book, the industry body has spoken out against the practiceThe Society of Authors (SoA) has spoken out against publishers misrepresenting negative reviews on book covers and the UK publisher... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-09-01 06:02:22 UTC ]
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At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsHefty performance for a 14-inch deviceCrisp oled displayTop-notch keyboard and mouse padSturdy, durable chassisConsCan get hot to play onSome fiddling with settingsOur VerdictIf you’re looking for serious power in a tiny package, the Asus Zenbook 14 Pro OLED... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-08-31 10:30:00 UTC ]
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In 1966, after more than a quarter century in obscurity, the Dominica-born British author Jean Rhys published what is now considered to be her masterpiece. Wide Sargasso Sea is an astonishing, hallucinatory fantasy about the early life, and eventual psychological disintegration, of the first... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-24 12:59:00 UTC ]
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Naomi Duguid’s The Miracle of Salt is a magnificent single-ingredient trip around the world. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-08-22 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Are you a fantasy mega-fan? Well, let's put it to the test: Can you guess these fantasy books based only on their 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-08-21 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Kate Winkler Dawson’s audiobook original reveals the origins of a society of occult-obsessed supernaturalists that included Dickens, Doyle, Yeats and more. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-08-18 09:00:23 UTC ]
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Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk’s era-defining debut novel about a load of disaffected men beating the bejesus out of each other in order to feel alive, was first published twenty-seven years ago today. The book rapidly gained a cult following, was adapted into one of the most iconic movies of the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-17 15:30:58 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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In 2019, Samsung released the original Galaxy Fold, the first phone with a flexible display (not counting pretenders like the Royole Flexpai). And even though it had more than its fair share of flaws, you could see its potential. Over the next couple of years, Samsung refined its flagship... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-08-09 14:00:02 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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At a glance ProsResolutions up to 8K possible, direct extraction of MP3 filesConsNo downloading of videos behind paywallsOur VerdictThe Video and Audio Downloader Pro 2 is easy to use and useful, especially for users of public service media libraries. Watching videos offline has evolved... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-08-04 16:46:51 UTC ]
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From the Gutenberg press to the word processor, a detailed trawl through the history of print offers lessons for the digital ageThe Gutenberg Parenthesis is a term coined by Danish scholar Lars Ole Sauerberg, who proposed that the history of literary culture as we had hitherto known it – the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-08-02 11:00:02 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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The Oscar-nominated actor’s new memoir is at once a Hollywood air kiss and a moving tribute to a happy marriage that ended too soon. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-08-01 09:01:10 UTC ]
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