In Defense of Outlining
And here’s a tip for how you can improve that execution… It’s very fashionable to say you don’t plot out your stories before writing them. And it’s certainly the epitome of geekdom to even allow the word “outline” to fall from your lips. It seems very few writers will admit to outlining their work, and…
continue readingIt’s All About the Execution
I often hear writers spend an inordinate amount of time talking about their search for the great idea. I do it myself. Often, we get frustrated at rejection letters from The Toilet Paper Review or the fact that managing editor at Headbanging Accordion magazine won’t return our phone calls and we blame it on the…
continue readingYet Another Literary Fraud
I’ve seen various posts about this around the literary web, but I just didn’t have the stomach to get into yet another fraud story. But when Sherman Alexie speaks, I definitely perk up. Alexie, the creator of what is one of my favorite titles of all time with The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in…
continue readingThe Good Life Reviewed
Jay McInerney’s newest novel was reviewed in today’s edition of the New York Times and I’m not in the slightest bit surprised by the critic’s opinions. When you see that Michiko Kakutani is the reviewer, you can bet a car payment on the outcome. In some ways Kakutani praises McInerney’s work. She writes that…
continue readingToday, Experience The Good Life
When I first started writing, I searched through the library for young men like me. My college literature classes were filled with old guys from what seemed like ancient periods. Although I loved Fitzgerald and Joyce, I couldn’t connect with flappers and Irish pubs in terms of picturing myself as a writer. I devoured Melville…
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