In 2014, Marie Kondo sparked a worldwide minimizing trend with the release of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. When I read the book and decided to implement her “tidying” method in early 2017, my space did, in fact, get tidier, but that wasn’t all. As Kondo writes, “My… Read more »
Today I have the pleasure of speaking to middle grade author William Meyer! From the Indus River to the Italian Renaissance, no topic has piqued the imagination of this high school history teacher’s students as intensely as the study of Ancient Egypt. As a result of both their interest and his own childhood curiosity about… Read more »
I almost didn’t write this article. My every attempt at beginning failed. Interestingly enough, my last Writing Small article, Tips and Techniques for Training Your Writing Brain, covered a number of techniques to fire your writing muscles up. Yet somehow, I still found myself at a loss. While I’m by no means a prolific author,… Read more »
When I first became a librarian in the early 1990’s, it was common for libraries to devote an entire section to western novels. Authors such as Louis L’Amour, Zane Grey and Larry McMurtry graced those shelves. We even stuck “boot” stickers on the spines so readers could find these books quicker. Then, a new millennium… Read more »
Every year, I watch budding new writers nervously pitch their books to literary agents and acquiring editors at our annual writer’s conference, Pitch, Publish, & Promote. They pace the halls, practicing their query with shaking hands. Pitching to an agent is THE big first step in releasing your writing into the world, and it can… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have executive director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and cofounder of 100 Word Story, Grant Faulkner, on the show! His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, like Tin House and The Southwest Review, plus his essays on creativity have been published in places like the New York… Read more »
Artificial intelligence (AI), like time travel, is a perennial subject for writers of science fiction. And, like time travel, AI is subject to a number of misunderstandings which can make writing a story in that setting, on that subject, using it as a McGuffin, or as a character, problematic. With movies like Blade Runner 2049,… Read more »
“No sane person would think of setting out to construct a skyscraper or even a one-family home without a detailed set of plans.” – Albert Zuckerman When Eero Saarinen built the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis, he built from the ground up. In other words, he calculated extensive mathematical equations so that the arch curved… Read more »
Whether it’s your first time or your hundredth, there is something exhilarating about entering your work into a writing contest. And for those of us who feel the pull toward ink and paper, clicking “submit” can mean a variety of positive things. From expanding your writing repertoire to potential prizes, here are five reasons to… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting novelist and screenwriter Augustus Rose on the show! Augustus has a strong passion for numerous weird, esoteric, and fringe concepts, and found a way to thread them all together in his stunning debut novel, The Readymade Thief. Listen in as we pick apart the… Read more »
