"Reading is the creative center of a writer's life." — Stephen King
Satsuki Ina’s memoir includes excerpts from her parents’ letters from the years they were imprisoned during WW II in a so-called “relocation center” for American citizens who had Japanese ancestors. Her parents never talked about it. While Ina knew that she was born in a prison, she didn’t know how … Read More
Have you ever gotten stuck when working on a creative project? What do you do when your work grinds to a halt? Here’s an idea: spend 10 or 15 minutes every morning doing a type of meditation where you write down whatever is going through your mind. Don’t judge. Don’t … Read More
In 1978, the BBC invited Barbara Pym to be a guest on its program where well-known writers discussed their work. Her views on the “distinctive voice” of a writer was of particular interest: in the 1960s, her publisher declined her seventh novel because he said her style was “old fashioned.” … Read More
After winning the UK’s most prestigious writing award, this Irish novelist was asked which books had influenced her most. She said she loved Writing Down the Bones because it told her to “just have a go and see what comes out.” This 30-year-old book still sells 30.000 copies a year… Read More
What’s the hardest book to write successfully? For me, it would be a novel about teenagers who have cancer, fall in love, and then die. The challenges include: creating a page-turner (even though the readers know how it will end), having the characters be interesting but not unrealistically heroic, using … Read More
Anna Quindlen says that when Barry Jenkins was filming The Underground Railroad, he directed the actors to “Show me yourselves.” In other words, don’t act. Similarly, Quindlen recommends doing the kind of writing where you don’t posture for an audience. Just write the truth. Privately. For yourself. This is … Read More
Is this book a memoir? The title – The Anthropocene Reviewed and the subtitle Essays on a Human-Centered Planet — offer no clues. However, in the introduction, the author says that he wants to tell us stories about his life so that we can see how he has formed his … Read More
How does a writer create suspense when the outcome of the real-life story is already known? This book excels at keeping readers at the edge of their seats. How? Woo did a “staggering amount” of research to learn the sensory details of the way things felt, smelled, sounded, looked, and … Read More
Seven pages into the preface of his huge collection of poems, Carl Sandburg tells us that he will not pontificate on the art of poetry, which is what famous writers often do in that section. Instead, he says “A poet explains for us what for him is poetry by what … Read More
“… while in reality, you stretch thy groin so much that you nearly split yourself in half for the whole world to see.” The author, JVN, whose trademarks are joy and kindness, shares what happened after the first memoir was published. Some readers expected JVN to be their source of … Read More
Lakin continues, “Think of yourself in the role of storyteller . . . instead of as the victim who has been wronged and deserves retribution or pity . . .” For all the memoirists who are reluctant to write about difficult episodes because they don’t want to come off as … Read More
But how much can we trust the new conclusions drawn by this author, writing 150 years after Dickens died? That’s the question readers need to consider. Newly digitized information is now available, and the author has a Ph.D. in English literature from Oxford University. I enjoyed this book, knowing that … Read More
Fiction is the wildest form of writing. It attracts explorers, artists, and fighters. Their goals might be to punch a hole in the wall between the writer and the reader (Knausgaard), or tell us how the idea of equality fell short (Whitehead), or show us how … Read More
Poetry is the most textured form of writing. It attracts artists who weave sounds and images with mystery. They may be cranky (T. S. Eliot) or homesick (Heaney) or humorous (Billy Collins). They may believe that poetry is an instrument of investigation (Jane … Read More
Memoir is the most entrepreneurial form of writing. It attracts inventors who are willing to take risks and use nontraditional skills and interests. Though their goal might be as simple as recording history, or telling stories, or finding meaning, their materials are original. They may use stand-up … Read More
