The Importance of Reading with Purpose

When I used to interview guest authors on DIY MFA Radio, I used to end each episode with the same question: “What’s your #1 tip for writers?” Hands down, the most common answer to that question was: “Read, read, read,” and it’s no wonder why. Reading is one of the most crucial parts of a literary life. If writers want to improve their craft, they need to read.

A writer who doesn’t read is like a chef who doesn’t eat. They have no idea if what they’re creating is any good because they can’t put their work into context. Reading with purpose allows us to see how our books fit in the greater literary landscape and understand how to make our writing better. It also allows us to see how other writers solve certain problems and we can borrow those solutions and apply them to our own work.

Note that this doesn’t mean we are copying someone else’s writing, not by a long shot. Instead, think of it as like being a mechanic, looking under the hood of a car to see how it works. When we read with purpose, we analyze another writer’s work to see how they do things, then we apply the concepts to our own writing to make it better. We’re not copying the author’s actual words or ideas, but we’re looking at the way they do things and then borrowing some of those strategies.

What Reading with Purpose Entails

Reading with purpose means reading with an eye toward your writing. It means having a core set of books on hand—what I call “the essentials”—so you have ready resources when you need them. It means being strategic when you select books, so your reading will help you with your current work-in-progress. Most importantly, it means reading with an analytical perspective, so you can understand more fully how a piece of literature works, and apply some of those concepts to your own writing. There are three important components of reading with purpose:

1. Having a select group of essential books on hand
2. Compiling a reading list that servers our goals
3. Reading with a writer’s eye

Essential Books to Have on Hand

There are three books that I recommend every writer have in their library. I know what you’re thinking—only three? Yes, you only need three, and these three will be different for each writer. If you’re like most writers, you probably have more than one book in each of these categories, but at the minimum I recommend having one of each. To remember the three books, just think of your ABCs.

• A = Anthology of Short Form Work
• B = Book of Prompts
• C = Craft Reference

Anthology of Short Form Work: It’s useful to have an anthology of short stories, preferably in your chosen genre. If you write memoir, then look for an anthology of essays, and if you write poetry, get your hands on an anthology of poems. Make sure that what you choose is a true anthology with stories by a variety of authors and not a collection by a single author. This is because you want a book that represents the broadest possible range of voices. My go-to short story anthology is The Art of the Short Story, edited by Dana Gioia and R.S. Gwynn. It’s not super-new but it has the classics.

Book of Prompts: A book of prompts is always good to have on hand. I’m especially a fan of prompt books that are organized according to topic (dialogue prompts in one chapter, description prompts in another, etc.). The two prompt books I recommend are: The 3 A.M. Epiphany (and its sequel, The Four A.M. Breakthrough) by Brian Kiteley and the Now Write! series edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson. Both series group the prompts by category, only in the Kiteley books, the prompts are by only one author, while in the Now Write! series, the prompts are from various different authors.

Craft Reference: It’s helpful to have a craft reference handy in case you run into questions you don’t know how to answer. Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is, of course, the classic for matters regarding style and grammar. For broader craft topics, I love books by Donald Maass, Lisa Cron, and Steven James. For “small craft” (i.e., sentence-level stuff) check out Barbara Baig’s Spellbinding Sentences. And, of course, the DIY MFA book also gives an overview of general craft topics.

Building a Reading List

One of the most important parts of reading with purpose is compiling a reading list that truly serves your writing. I remember in the MFA program, reading some books that were completely irrelevant to what I was writing. I kept wondering “what’s the point?” It felt a bit like an exercise in futility. That’s why, when I started DIY MFA, one of the first things I did was develop a rubric so that writers could come up with their own reading list, their own syllabus. This rubric consists of four types of books:

1. Comps: Comparable books (i.e., comps) are similar to your book and would sit on the bookstore shelf next to yours. If a librarian were to recommend a book similar to yours, they would choose one of these comps.
2. Contextual: These are books you read for research. They may not be similar to your book in all respects, but they may have certain aspects in common, like the same setting, or a similar use of point of view. These books lend context to yours.
3. Contemporary: You need to keep your finger on the pulse of your genre or category. This is why it’s important to read a few contemporary books, so you can be aware of trends and know what’s new in your niche.
4. Classics: Everyone should read a classic at least once in a while. Keep in mind, classics don’t necessarily need to be hundreds (or thousands) of years old. Depending on your genre or category, books considered classics might actually be fairly recent.

Reading Like a Writer

I often call reading like a writer “reading like a revolutionary.” This is because when we read with a writer’s eye, we aren’t just passively taking in the story. Instead, we are actively analysing it, not just to understand, but to apply the concepts to our own writing. The key to reading like a writer is examining how the author does what they do on the page, and then considering which of those techniques you can borrow.

How to Read with Purpose

Reading with purpose is like swimming in the ocean: the swimmer is the reader and the ocean is the story. Like the ocean, the story has different layers of depth and reader-swimmers can explore some or all of those layers, depending on their inclination.

Ocean Surface: The WHAT

Most readers/swimmers skim across the surface, because that’s where the air is. At this surface level, they focus on the WHAT of the story (i.e., the logistics). At this level, the reader is con What’s happening? Who are the characters? What is the setting?

These basic, logistical considerations are what we focus on, particularly when we’re first developing as readers. These are the types of questions my kids would have to answer for homework in elementary school. They don’t require deep analysis, just a basic understanding of the facts.

There is nothing wrong with hanging out at the surface. That’s how most people read much of the time. This is the layer where you simply get carried away by a good story, and that’s a perfectly respectable way to read. But, if you want to read like a writer, you have to go deeper.

Coral Reef: The WHY

The second layer of reading is that in-between space between the ocean surface and the ocean floor. Imagine this layer as being like a coral reef with hundreds of colorful fish, lush corals, and brightly patterned shells. This reef represents the WHY of the story (i.e., the interpretation).

This is the layer where we consider deeper, more analytical questions. What does this story mean? Why did the author write this story? How does this story fit into the greater literary context? This is how we were taught to read in high school or college literature classes. We learned to go deeper than pure logistics, but still not quite all the way to the ocean floor.

Keep in mind, reading at this layer can be hard to sustain and you can’t do it indefinitely, just as a swimmer can’t stay underwater for hours on end. Instead, when we analyze literature in this way, we usually do so for contained, specific passages, rather than for the entirety of a book-length work.

Ocean Floor: The HOW

Finally, we get to the third layer. For this one, imagine you’re bobbing along on the surface of the ocean and then you spot a sparkling gem on the ocean floor. Then, you take a deep, gulping breath and you dive all the way to the bottom to retrieve it.

This is what we do when we read for the HOW. We look deep at another author’s work and we spot the gems, and we analyze what that author is doing to understand how exactly they managed to pull it off. Then, we take that gem and we see how we might apply it to our own work.

As with the coral reef layer, this deep dive is difficult to sustain for long passages. We can analyze a writer’s work at this profound level only for short passages. If we try to read an entire book at the ocean floor level, it will be very challenging. This is why reading like a writer is a delicate, aquatic dance, where we continuously shift up and down, from the surface to the ocean floor.

Personalized Anthology Project

One activity I often recommend to writers is to compile a personalized anthology. Whenever you read something and you come across a passage that captures your attention, make a photocopy and put it in a binder. Annotate each excerpt using the WHAT/WHY/HOW framework and once you have ten or more of them in the binder, sort them according to topic (character development, story structure, world-building, description, dialogue, etc.)

The idea here is that over time, you will amass a collection of excerpts specifically from books that are relevant to your writing—because they’re books you selected, not someone else like a professor. The fact that the passages are sorted by topic will make it easier for you to find what you need. Stumped by setting? Look at some of the world-building excerpts in your binder. Not only will they help you figure out craft-related techniques, but they will be directly relevant to what you’re writing.

Until next time, keep writing and keep being awesome!

P.S. For more info on Gabriela Pereira, the founder and instigator of DIY MFA, check out her profile page.

The post Writer Fuel: What It Means to Read with Purpose appeared first on DIY MFA.

Spoiler Alert! Obviously, we can’t talk about the structure of a book without mentioning the ending and giving away spoilers. Given how long this book has been around, I think the statute of limitations on spoilers has long since passed. So, if you haven’t read this book and you want to do so without spoilers, stop reading now. Go read the book first, then come back to this newsletter for this deep dive into its story structure.

Okay, let’s dive into our analysis of Pride and Prejudice.

ACT 1: At the beginning of the book, we see what normal life is like for the Bennet family. We see them interacting with each other, going to events, meeting friends, etc. The five promises are very clear (though because the chapters are short, they tend to span more than just the first chapter).

CHARACTER: Elizabeth Bennet is our protagonist, though she does not appear until Chapter 2. (She is mentioned in Chapter 1 in a conversation between her parents, but does not actually appear as a participant in the scene until the following chapter.) This might be a similar situation to our The Wainscott Weasel example from my last newsletter, where the character is more reserved so it makes sense for the author to hold back and introduce them a little later into the story. That said, because the chapters are so short, it doesn’t feel like we have to wait very long to meet Elizabeth. In the same vein, Mr. Darcy—the other member of the central couple—does not appear until Chapter 3.

VOICE: The voice of the narrator is very clear and opinionated. Just look at the opening line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” Right away we see the irony in that statement. It’s not the single man who is in want of a wife, but the other way around: a wannabe wife is in want of a single man with a good fortune.

WORLD: This story takes place in the English countryside of the early 1800s. While the first two chapters are mostly conversation between the characters, presumably taking place in a parlor of sorts, by the time we reach Chapter 3 we are out in the world at an assembly where the characters are interacting with each other and their friends. The story takes place in various different settings, from the great outdoors to the simple parlor of the Bennet estate, Longbourn. It also includes visits to lavish estates like Rosings Park (home of the antagonist, Lady Catherine) and Pemberley (Mr. Darcy’s home).

PROBLEM: There is a serious problem that overshadows the entire story and this is that the Bennet estate is entailed away from the female line and the women of the family are not permitted to inherit the land. Because Mr. Bennet has five daughters and no sons, the estate will go to his closest male relative: Mr. Collins. If Mr. Bennet were to die, his wife and daughters would be out of house and home… unless one of the daughters were to marry well. This is why Mrs. Bennet is so desperate to make sure at least one of her daughters marries a man of means. Keep in mind: while this problem may not be the central conflict of the book (MDQ:, Will Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy get together?) it does relate to that conflict and raises the stakes of the story.

EVENT: The event that kicks off the story is that a young, rich, and single man (Mr. Bingley) has moved into Netherfield, the estate next door. This event relates directly to the problem mentioned above. Mrs. Bennet is desperate to marry off at least one of her daughters and conveniently a young man of means has just come to the neighborhood.

PIVOT POINT 1: Elizabeth first meets Mr. Darcy at an assembly in Chapter 3, where he snubs her, saying: “She is tolerable: but not handsome enough to tempt me.” This is the external event that kicks off the first pivot point of the novel. The internal choice, however, does not come until Chapter 7, when her sister Jane falls ill while visiting the Bingleys. Immediately, Elizabeth pulls up her skirts and goes on foot to tend to her sister, “crossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over stiles and springing over puddles…” Up until now she has been forced into Mr. Darcy’s presence simply because they are at the same social gatherings. This is the moment when, for the sake of her sister, she chooses to put herself in his presence even though she dislikes him.

ACT 2: This act can be summed up by two rules of three: “Boys, Boys, Boys” and “Road Trip!” Let’s examine how each rule of three works.

BOYS, BOYS, BOYS: There are three key suitors who pursue Elizabeth throughout the story. The first is Mr. Collins, her distant cousin who is set to inherit her father’s land. He tries to court her and when that fails, he turns around and marries her best friend, Charlotte Lucas. (So classy!)

The second suitor doesn’t really go anywhere, and this is Mr. Wickham. He starts out as a visitor in the nearby town of Meryton, then joins the militia. While he is staying in Meryton, he and Elizabeth cross paths multiple times and he confides in her, telling her the sad story of how Mr. Darcy wronged him. While Elizabeth is certainly attracted to him, this flirtation doesn’t go anywhere and eventually the militia leaves to go to Brighton, Mr. Wickham going with them.

The third suitor is Mr. Darcy himself. While Elizabeth is not interested in him in the slightest, he begins to develop feelings for her. At the center of the book he proposes (the worst proposal of all time) and she turns him down. He sends her a letter explaining himself and she begins to think maybe she misjudged him. They cross paths again later and his personality is much softer so Elizabeth starts to develop feelings for him. Eventually, they fall in love and get married.

As with any Rule of 3, the first two elements are similar—in this case they are relationships that don’t work out. The third element is different. The relationship takes a different trajectory, starting with animosity and ending with the two characters falling in love.

ROAD TRIP! There are also (sort of) three road trips that anchor Act 2 in Pride and Prejudice. The first is a trip that her sister Jane takes to London in the hopes of running into Mr. Bingley. The trip ends in failure, with Mr. Bingley’s sister snubbing Jane, leaving her demoralized and convinced that Mr. Bingley does not love her.

The second trip is one that Elizabeth takes to visit her friend Charlotte Lucas (now married to Mr. Collins). While there, she has the opportunity to visit Rosings Park, home of the pompous and imposing Lady Catherine and her sniveling daughter. Mr. Darcy also arrives at Rosings and it is on this trip that he makes the failed proposal.

The third trip is the one that Elizabeth takes to the Lakes with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. There they take a tour of Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s home, thinking that he is away in London, only to have him arrive and surprise them. It is on this trip that Elizabeth’s opinions of Mr. Darcy begin to change.

Note: simultaneous with Elizabeth’s trip to the Lakes is her sister Lydia’s trip to Brighton at the invitation of Colonel Foster’s wife. While on this trip, she runs away with Mr. Wickam, thus cutting Elizabeth’s trip to the Lakes short. So, while there are actually four separate trips that take place in Act 2, they happen in three separate chunks of time, the third being different because that is where most of the drama happens.

MIDPOINT: A series of scenes make up the midpoint, starting with Mr. Darcy’s failed proposal, followed by his letter explaining himself, and culminating in that moment where Elizabeth says her famous line: “Till this moment, I never knew myself.” That line is in itself the embodiment of the classic midpoint. The main character looks inward and realizes they don’t like what they see and makes a choice as to how to move forward. That is precisely what happens when Elizabeth reads Mr. Darcy’s letter.

It is important also to note that this midpoint is what I like to call a False Failure. Most midpoints are a moment where it appears that the character is getting what they want, only to realize that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. The latter type of midpoint is called a Temporary Triumph. A more rare alternative is the False Failure, where it seems like things have failed for the protagonist (in this case, her choice to reject the proposal and her realization that she has misjudged Mr. Darcy) and yet that supposed “failure” actually opens the door for the story to move in a more positive direction.

If Mr. Darcy hadn’t given the world’s worst possible proposal, they might not have argued and he never would have written his letter explaining his side of the situation. Without the letter, Elizabeth would never have had that moment of self-reflection and she would not have begun to have a change of heart toward Mr. Darcy. By that same token, if Elizabeth had not told Mr. Darcy off during the proposal, he likely would not have realized how big a jerk he was and he may not have mended his ways. For these reasons, the failed proposal was a necessary step in order for the relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to move forward.

PIVOT POINT 2: Elizabeth receives a letter (external event) from her sister Jane telling her that Lydia (their youngest sister) has eloped with Mr. Wickham. Worse yet, it appears Mr. Wickham has no intention of marrying Lydia, bringing tremendous shame to the family. Mr. Darcy walks in on her moment of shock, just after she has read the letter, and she confides in him (internal choice) and tells him the whole story. He then leaves abruptly and she thinks that he is rejecting her, wanting to have nothing to do with her now that her family is in disgrace. As we later find out, he’s actually leaving in order to try to help.

ACT 3: Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle return to Longbourn and the uncle continues on to London to help with the search for Lydia. It takes a while before they hear anything, but eventually, they learn that her uncle has discovered Lydia and Mr. Wickham, and that they will marry in London. Of course, the truth is that the uncle must have had to bribe Mr. Wickham with a sizable sum of money in order to convince him to marry Lydia.

Once the marriage has taken place, Lydia and Mr. Wickham stop at Longbourn for a visit on their way to Newcastle (where he will now be stationed). During that visit, Lydia lets slip that Mr. Darcy was present at her wedding. Elizabeth questions her aunt about it and discovers that Mr. Darcy was the one who set the whole marriage up and dealt with all the money. A few days after the situation with Lydia is resolved, Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane and it now looks like things are going in a good direction for the Bennet family.

CLIMAX: Yet there is still unfinished business. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth still have not gotten together, and one major obstacle stands in their way: Lady Catherine. As Mr. Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine objects to the possible match and she comes to Longbourn to convey her displeasure. Of course, at this point Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are not engaged, and Elizabeth isn’t even sure if Mr. Darcy likes her, given how he behaved back when she first told him about the letter. Still, Lady Catherine’s accusations get under her skin and Elizabeth stands up for herself, refusing to back down and comply with Lady Catherine’s demand that should Mr. Darcy propose she would not accept. Instead she says her other famous line: “I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.” This moment is the climax and it is important because it is the moment when Elizabeth stands up for her own happiness.

DENOUEMENT: Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth go for a walk and find themselves separated from the rest of the group. They speak at length about their previous misunderstandings and (it is presumed) Mr. Darcy proposes. It is important to note that the proposal itself does not appear on the page, nor do effusive declarations of emotion. Instead, the proposal is understood based on what we see in the chapter that immediately follows, where Elizabeth confesses to Jane that she is engaged to Mr. Darcy. After that we also see a scene where Mr. Bennet questions Elizabeth on her choice. It is interesting that while Elizabeth does declare her feelings for Mr. Darcy in that scene, we see it only in exposition. We never see it in actual dialogue.

“Elizabeth, still more affected, was earnest and solemn in her reply; and, at length, by repeated assurances that Mr. Darcy was really the object of her choice, by explaining the gradual change which her estimation of him had undergone, relating her absolute certainty that his affection was not the work of a day, but had stood the test of many months’ suspense, and enumerating with energy all his good qualities, she did conquer her father’s incredulity, and reconcile him to the match.”

It’s significant that when the professions of love go wrong between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy—as in the failed proposal—we see the play-by-play through dialogue. Now in the denouement when they finally get together, all of the lovey-dovey moments happen either off the page or in exposition.

This makes sense because the story isn’t really about whether Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy get together. Yes, it seems to be so on the surface, but if we dig below the surface, we discover that the story is really about Elizabeth’s pursuit of happiness. She starts out thinking that her happiness will come from being single and eventually discovers that her happiness will truly come from being married to Mr. Darcy. The author drives that point home when Elizabeth writes to her aunt and tells her: “I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh.” This shows us just how profound Elizabeth’s newfound happiness is.

ENDING TYPE: As I mentioned in my last newsletter, there are four possible endings in a story and they depend on the answers to two questions: Does the character get what they want? And do they still want it?

If we look at Pride and Prejudice on the surface level, it appears we have a Change of Heart Ending because Elizabeth starts out wanting nothing more than to stay single. She dislikes Mr. Darcy and rejects his proposal. Then, as the story evolves, she has a change of heart and ends up falling in love with him.

Yet, if we look at the story from the perspective of happiness, it turns out this is a Happy Ending (i.e. where the character gets what they want and they still want it). At the start of the book, Elizabeth believes staying single will bring her happiness, but by the end she realizes that this happiness will come from marrying Mr. Darcy. Considering how that the climax centers around Elizabeth’s pursuit of happiness, it makes sense to look at the story through that lens.

CONCLUSION: There you have it: a detailed analysis of Pride and Prejudice based on the three-act structure, and you can see how perfectly plotted this book is. There is one more detail I wanted to call your attention to: throughout the story, Elizabeth receives three proposals of marriage. The first is the horrible proposal from Mr. Collins, the second is Mr. Darcy’s failed proposal, and the third is the final, successful proposal where she gets her “happily ever after.” These proposals also form a Rule of Three where we have two proposals that are similar, both because they fail and because they happen on the page. The third proposal is successful but we don’t even see it on the page. We see the aftermath of the proposal when Elizabeth tells Jane and later speaks with her father, but the proposal itself is completely off-page. This means that there are actually three Rules of Three in the book.

Until next time, keep writing and keep being awesome!

P.S. For more info on Gabriela Pereira, the founder and instigator of DIY MFA, check out her profile page.

The post Writer Fuel: Three-Act Analysis of Pride and Prejudice appeared first on DIY MFA.

Whatever your pleasure, I hope that you will find inspiration, renewal and sheer delight among the following:

Beatrix Potter: The Secret Life Of A Victorian Genius

Documentary, 45 mins. (free)

May I have a moment of your time? I respectfully request that you stop your jam-packed day to take a minute and consider this question: have you ever met anyone – anyone in your life – who doesn’t like Peter Rabbit? I have yet to meet such a person. I wonder if such a person even exists. However, from the completely unscientific research I’ve gathered from friends and (mainly) Whole Foods customers, it seems conclusive to me that such a soul does not exist. For, it’s as if Beatrix Potter’s work represents a universal constant of charm.  

But just because Ms. Potter is remembered for Jemima Puddleduck and Peter Rabbit doesn’t mean that Ms. Potter’s days consisted solely of drawing and writing. As fellow authors, you understand the many layers of actual life and research that go into creating a well-formed work.  

In the documentary Beatrix Potter: The Secret Life of a Victorian Genius, famed thespian Dame Patricia Routledge leads viewers into the other facets of Beatrix’s life. Learn how this unintended author/illustrator was dismissed by scientists (“treated scurvily” by the Linnean Society), and therefore somewhat relegated to becoming a Victorian breakout star, whose work continues to sell at the worldwide rate of one book every 15 seconds.  

LitHub’s (Better) Version of the Oscars

List of Lists

On March 12, Hollywood’s most notable will convene for the 95th presentation of golden statuettes. Yes, The Oscars (aka my personal “How To Know What’s Worth Watching” guide). Now, I am all for the glitz and glamor of couture styled artistes, but I also know that I’ll be spending a good portion of my evening with my Kindle.

_{¹ There is always one.
² Accompanied by a suspiciously large rabbit, which simply must be a hare IRL.}

If you are of the same mindset, I invite you to bookmark LitHub’s 2022 “If Books Were Given Oscars” article. From Best Documentary (Non-Fiction) to Best Cinematography (Setting), their take on The Oscars (But For Books!) will not only provide you with a smile, you will also be spending the night with some of literature’s most up-and-coming stars with all of their splendid, sparkling brains.   

Mountain Talk  

Documentary, 1 hour (free)

Everyone reading this knows how very important words are. When words become specialized into a specific dialect, they can expose layers of culture, values and history.

The documentary Mountain Talk chronicles some of the most frequently occurring yet unheard words and phrases spoken today. This film follows linguists and locals through the mountains of southern Appalachia to get at the heart of how words and stories can bind a people both within a region and throughout time. Moreover, you’ll be introduced to unforgettable, real-life characters like pro moonshiner Popcorn Sutton. This production is part of North Carolina State’s Language and Life Project, which seeks to document American dialects (including sign language). The Project invites you to view the entire film on YouTube for free. 

Operation Mincemeat

Film

I’m sure you are familiar with those stories that are so outlandish, they could only be true. Like, if the British government used a real corpse to transport fake documents in the hopes of deceiving Hitler. What if that corpse needed a backstory? What if you could order the future creator of James Bond to write it as part of his service to Royal Naval Intelligence? While pitching such a story would probably get you turned down by agents and publishers, the true to life factors in Operation Mincemeat have made it intriguing enough to be turned into a full-length feature film, starring Firth. Colin Firth. 

Operation Mincemeat was an actual, implausible, yet successful military operation carried out in 1943, with the purpose of redirecting Hitler to invade Greece rather than Sicily. This movie is filled with the wry humor its actual story implies. Still, on a more serious note, it highlights just how very important not only writing but also implementation of the human imagination can be when used in times of crisis.  

Tales from the Emerald Isle

Spectacular website

Old wives’ tales are serious business in Ireland; so much so that in 1935, the National Folklore Commission of Ireland was formed by the government. The project aimed to formally collect the legends of leprechauns and fairies from the Emerald Isle. As oral histories, songs, and regional languages were added to the initial materials, these resources were turned over to academics at the University of Dublin and aggregated into the National Folklore Collection. 

In 2012, these materials began to be uploaded via The Dúchas project and has become a localized Heritage.com for the realm of Irish folk knowledge. The Dúchas project contains oral histories, fables, jokes, remedies and more passed down by the Irish, generation to generation, with just the right amount of magic.

Moreover, one of the primary methods of collection couldn’t be more endearing: stories, as told by elders in the community, were recorded by children which visitors can actually see handwritten in the striving penmanship of grade school. 

Finally, check out their extensive Folktale Index, as it is an excellent way for writers to compare what regional variations (ahem, dialect) may reveal about the rich life Ireland is known for.

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages, getting some sparkle in your inbox every other Wednesday or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out more Leisure Learning related content at www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.

The post Leisure Learning: Almost Spring! appeared first on DIY MFA.

Creative Routines from the Masters

Traditionally, January is a time to reset, which often means looking at your writing routine. This is the time to re-evaluate how long projects may take, tighten up the specifics and, of course, try and get the best work out of yourself, despite your actual life.

For centuries, creators have asked the eternal question authors still sit with today: How do I do my best work while trying to do everything else required by life?  

This infographic provides a visual for how W. H. Auden, Benjamin Franklin, Maya Angelou, and many other artists and composers planned their days on this pale blue dot. According to these creative luminaries, an artistic life mainly consists of:

• deep work
• taking care of the body (food, drink, exercise)
• time spent with other people
• trying to make ends meet
• personal development / learning
• sleep

See how close your ideal writing day compares to the standards of these legendary creators. Moreover, get inspired by the evidence that long, wandering strolls are central to an artist’s life work. 

The Library That Dolly Built

Dolly Parton is one of America’s most well-known figures, quite literally. Her chest is internationally famous for its dimensions, and her wholehearted spunk could easily serve as a trademark of Americana.

This country music queen has a reputation for “doing good things” with the money she has earned through her success. Dolly grew up in a family where her father didn’t have a choice in trading his own education for hours of work in the fields of Appalachia. Her father couldn’t read or write, and Dolly is passionate about ensuring American children have a foundation for literacy.

In 1995, Parton started The Imagination Library as a local, early-literacy program in Tennessee. Since then, it has expanded to where it now provides 10% of America’s children, from birth to age 5, with free books every month. This notable statistic was obtained, unfortunately, because Covid sent the program into overdrive. 

The importance of reading in the home is a key predictor of how well a child will thrive in school. These books constitute some of the child’s first very owned property, and the experience of getting mail adds to the idea that books are something important and special.

The Library That Dolly Built provides more information about this unique non-profit. However, it is for nostalgia and sentimentality that I am recommending this selection. It’s a 68-minute documentary that shows something everyone should be seeing more of: children falling in love with reading.

DIY Your Ultimate Literary Canon

On the opposite end of serving literary needs sits Benjamin McEvoy, graduate of Oxford University. McEvoy earned his degree in English Language and Literature, an experience that taught him to hate reading.

Fortunately, after a few years in the real world, books called to him once again, and he realized that what he was seeking at Oxford was a way of living the lessons he’d learned in books.

That’s the excitement about reading the Great Books: they change you for the better through thoughtful contemplation, rumination and (ideally) action.

In this YouTube segment, McEvoy reveals assignments Kurt Vonnegut formerly gave his students to cultivate a love of literature that they could carry throughout their entire lives. McEvoy builds on these as well as his own education to show how one can practically and passionately approach literature by making one’s own literary canon.

Even if you choose not to DIY your own stack of required reading, Vonnegut’s instruction and commentary about the reader’s state of mind will change how you read and deserves a watch.

Take a Tour of The Charles Dickens Museum

Last month, I doled out Dickens recommendations for a warm and cheerful December. To get an even better idea of Dickens’ version of Christmas, take this short tour of his former home, now The Charles Dickens Museum.

Find out why Ebenezer specifically brought a turkey to dinner, learn what pseudonym Dickens’ wife published her 1851 cookbook under, and see how the English Christmas pudding collided with hygiene in this charming house-turned-museum on Doughty Street.

Writers and Their Notebooks by Diana Raab and Peter Selgin (ed)

For writers, notebooks serve as our studios. Whether you’re committed to paper, have gone digital, or (like myself) are somewhere in between, a writer’s notebook is essential when you work in words. If there is any rule of writing that authors can actually agree on, it’s that you must keep a notebook.

Easier said than done.

Many people are starting 2023 with the intent of keeping a writing notebook…but what exactly goes in there? A writer’s notebook is part gym, part wilderness, part gobbledy-gook, and 100% affordable therapist.

Writers and Their Notebooks is a collection of essays on how writers have learned to use their notebooks over the years. It’s about the relationships they’ve formed with this often embarrassingly messy tool. It is not an instructional book, nor is it a visual look at anyone’s Moleskins. It’s about how authors figure out what they think they want to say on the road to figuring out precisely what they need to say.  

This book is a worthwhile read for authors of all genres and levels of experience. Contributors (aka people who talk to themselves via notebook) include John Dufresne, Sue Grafton and Kyoko Mori.

Whether you are starting a notebook or giving your own a re-evaluation, this is a terrific dive into what a writer’s notebook can be. 

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out more Leisure Learning related content at www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.

The post Leisure Learning, December 2022 appeared first on DIY MFA.

On this list, you will find sequels, alternate universe retellings, modern retellings, crossovers containing all the best characters, and mysteries with Austen herself as sleuth.

One aspect they all share is humor, wit, and portrayals of her characters that I believe Austen might have approved.

I feel honored to have a panel for this article consisting of a trio of Austen’s most beloved busybodies. They graciously assented to give us their impressions of the books. 

Our Panel

Mrs. Bennet – Wife and mother of five daughters (!). Receives no help in the onerous task of marrying them off from a sarcastic husband. 

Miss Bates – Longtime denizen of Highbury. Well respected by all (except Emma Woodhouse once). Thinks no one in the world is as wonderful as her niece Jane Fairfax, except maybe the person she is currently talking to. 

Mrs. Norris – Sister to Lady Bertram. Widow of Mr. Norris, the parish curate. Has plenty of time to help out at Mansfield Park and with this column and thank heaven for that. None of it could get done otherwise. 

Mr. Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, benefactress to Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, also make cameo appearances. Without further ado, let us indulge our Austen-mania, crime fiction-style. 

Pride and Prejudice Pastiche

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

James brings a darker atmosphere to an intriguing murder mystery set at Pemberley, the home of Mr. Darcy and the former Elizabeth Bennet. On the eve of the Darcys’ annual ball, a carriage races up the drive, alarming everyone. Inside is Lydia Bennet Wickham, an unexpected guest, screaming that her husband lies murdered in the woods of Pemberley. 

Darcy and several other men go to investigate and find instead the body of Wickham’s friend Denny with Wickham very much alive. Wickham confesses, is arrested, and put on trial. But despite his dislike of Wickham, Darcy does not believe him capable of murder. 

I found this book gripping, due to the dark atmosphere and excellent writing. P.D. James was an admired and bestselling writer, as well as an ardent Austen fan, so it is no surprise that she turned out such a satisfying Austen mystery. The TV adaptation was also excellent with perhaps the best cast Elizabeth Bennet I’ve ever seen. 

Mrs. Bennet: Our dear Wickham a murderer? Something must be done! Surely he is innocent. Mr. Bennet, you must do something!

Mr. Bennet: (Turns page of book.) It’s a book. It’s fictional, my dear. But rest assured, if our “dear” Wickham was ever really to be on trial, I certainly would do something. 

Pride and Premeditation (Jane Austen Murder Mysteries 1) by Tirzah Price

I’ve long wanted to read Price’s Austen retellings. This column helps so much with prioritizing my TBR! (Price’s series currently includes this work and a retelling of Sense and Sensibility described below. Manslaughter Park will arrive in 2023.) Price’s takes on Austen’s stories and characters were not what I expected, but I found them a pleasant surprise. Price puts an alternate universe spin on Austen’s stories. 

Elizabeth Bennet wants to work at her father’s law firm Longbourn and Sons. Mr. Bennet has chosen the odious Mr. Collins to take over eventually. Collins is incompetent and rude, but Mrs. Bennet remains dead set on Lizzie marrying him. 

Mr. Bennet tells Lizzie he will consider her for the open solicitor position and train her if she shows she can solve a case purely with logic, no hunches. She finds out that Mr. Bingley, head of Netherfield Shipping, stands accused of the murder of his brother-in-law George Hurst. He found the body and spent time with him the night before. Hurst was drunk and he helped him home from his club. 

Bingley has already engaged Mr. Darcy of the Pemberley Associates Law Firm to be his solicitor. But he agrees to have Lizzie investigate. Lizzie is determined to do whatever it takes to find the real killer, not just win the case against Bingley, but she soon isn’t sure who she can trust or if she will even make it to court alive. 

Mrs. Bennet: (Sniffs.) My husband and daughter as lawyers. I would die of shame. Whoever heard of such a thing?

Miss Bates: A lady lawyer! How very novel!  I would like to see her argue before the court. 

Mrs. Norris: Women shouldn’t be lawyers. But if any of them were, it would be me. I have a deep understanding of people. 

Sense and Sensibility Pastiche

Sense and Second-Degree Murder (Jane Austen Murder Mysteries 2) by Tirzah Price

This is the only Sense and Sensibility retelling I’ve encountered so far. I liked it very much, even better than the first in the series Pride and Premeditation (described above). 

In this retelling, Mr. Dashwood supports his family by working as a private investigator. Marianne is very eager to follow in his footsteps and helps him with cases sometimes. Elinor is passionate about science, particularly chemistry, while younger sister Margaret spends her time reading and writing novels. 

After Elinor finds Mr. Dashwood dead in his study, her sister-in-law Fanny unceremoniously removes the Dashwood women from their home. Marianne suspects that their father’s death wasn’t natural and John and Fanny’s eagerness to move into the family home increases this suspicion. Elinor will have none of this until she remembers the open window in Mr. Dashwood’s study. When she and Marianne discover a mysterious substance in his teacup, the investigation begins. But will Marianne’s passion prove her downfall when her new love Willoughby seems to be involved? Will Elinor save the day with Science or will she blow up the kitchen? Or both? 

Never fear, alternate versions of Colonel Brandon and Edward Ferrars (renamed Farrows for some reason) both play important roles in the story. 

Mrs. Bennet: What if this happens to me after Mr. Bennet dies? Living in a flat? My daughters working?! (Shudders and faints, falling on Miss Bates, who fans her anxiously.)

Mrs. Norris: If they were better people, this wouldn’t have happened to them. I am indispensable at Mansfield, but I would never enter a profession. 

Miss Bates: (Struggling a bit to hold up Mrs. Bennet) Those young ladies are so plucky! And really remain so genteel, no matter the circumstances. (Author reminds her of some of Marianne’s behavior with Willoughby.) Oh, well, youthful high spirits. We can’t condemn young love. I’m sure my niece Jane would say the same. 

Crossover Pastiche

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

George and Emma Knightley host a house party at their home Donwell Abbey. Their two children are at the seashore with the Westons, but we soon meet Jonathan Darcy (oldest son of Darcy and Elizabeth) and Juliet Tilney (daughter of Henry and Catherine from Northanger Abbey). We are also reacquainted with Darcy and Elizabeth, Marianne and Brandon, Anne Eliot and Captain Wentworth, and Fanny and Edmund Bertram. And Wickham, of course. (The Eltons, Miss Bates, and Harriet Smith all make cameos, since the book is set in the Knightleys’ home village.) Frank Churchill and his daughter Grace also play important roles in the story. (Jane Fairfax died in childbirth and Lydia Bennet Wickham died of smallpox three years before the events of this story.)

Wickham shows up uninvited during dinner the first night, causing great upset. And not just to Darcy, Elizabeth, and their son. It turns out everyone there, except for Juliet Tilney, has a connection to Wickham. When foul weather traps them all under the same roof the next day and the next, someone snaps. Juliet finds Wickham dead in the portrait gallery. Which of Austen’s beloved characters is a murderer? And will they get away with it? I mean the author making a loved Austen character into a murderer. (I kid. Partly.)

Mrs. Bennet: Wickham again! Why must everyone besiege poor Wickham? I’m sure all of these other people are not so very agreeable. 

Mrs. Norris: If I had been in charge of this house party, this never would have happened. I would not allow a murder at my house party. And there was no need to invite Fanny.

Miss Bates: Oh, but they are all such lovely people! I cannot believe any of them a murderer. I cannot believe anyone a murderer. At least I can be sure it wasn’t my niece Jane Fairfax, since she died in childbirth in this story. (Wipes away a tear.)

What Happened on Box Hill (Austen University Mysteries 1) by Elizabeth Gilliland 

Austen University in Highbury, Louisiana, boasts a thriving Greek system. Freshman Caty Morland is thrilled to get into the Kappas along with her new best friend Isabella Thorpe. 

On Initiation Night, Isabella plummets to her death at the after-party on Box Hill. Everyone thinks it’s an accident except true crime aficionado Caty. With the help of new friend Tilney, she sets out to find justice for her best friend. But many secrets are revealed before the killer is, including incidents between Caty and Isabella. Isabella had a secret life and one of those secrets might have killed her. 

Lady Catherine de Bourgh: I run this university, yet I don’t appear in the story. I cannot countenance this insult. I demand this be rectified in the next installment. 

Mrs. Bennet: My daughter. At university. I – I (Begins wailing incoherently.)

Mrs. Norris: How dare they besmirch Maria’s reputation? As if calling her Marla fools anyone. 

Miss Bates: My dear Jane studying music! Nothing else suits her so well! I am so gratified. 

Austen Cultural Impact

Midnight in Austenland (Austenland 2) by Shannon Hale

Charlotte Kinder needs to occupy herself while her kids stay with her ex James and his mistress turned fiancée Justice for a month this summer. She finds a list of “Things to do before I’m 30” that she wrote in middle school. One of the unfinished goals is to read Jane Austen.  So, after devouring and thoroughly enjoying all of Austen’s books, she finds out about Austenland and books a stay. 

Austenland is fun, if strange. As Charlotte works to overcome her nervousness about being charming enough for her assigned romantic interest, one of the other actors introduces an old mystery into the proceedings. Charlotte, desperate to keep her mind off her nerves and her worry about her kids, latches on to the problem to solve. But a secret room and a real corpse weren’t supposed to be part of the package. 

Author Shannon Hale, who writes the Princess in Black children’s series with her husband Dean Hale, is a favorite of mine. So, I was delighted to see she is the author of this series. The same cheeky humor and heart pervade the story, but with romance and murder added. 

Mrs. Bennet: None of us are in this. And I find it confusing. They dress and act like us for amusement? 

Mrs. Norris: I like this idea. I wonder if I could start something similar at Mansfield? Perhaps they could pay to pretend to be Americans? 

Miss Bates: Such a lovely story. Such a comfort to know the future isn’t that different. I must write to Jane about it this minute. 

Fictionalized Versions of Austen’s Life

The Being a Jane Austen Mystery series by Stephanie Barron 

I have read many installments of this series and enjoyed them all. I think this is still my favorite Austen pastiche. (I previously profiled the first book Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor in my “Famous Authors as Sleuths” column.) In this series, mystery novel manuscripts written by Austen based on mysteries she solved in real life have been discovered in a coal cellar in Maryland. Austen is an amateur sleuth who stumbles upon mysteries going about her regular life, in the grand tradition of amateur sleuths everywhere. 

Barron’s Austen is an eager, incisive sleuth while staying true to what we know of Austen’s personality. Barron also uses some of the events and travels of Austen and her family in the series, as well as beautifully imitating Austen’s writing style while slightly modernizing it. 

Mrs. Bennet: Who is this Miss Austen? I’m sure I never heard of her. She and her sister are still unmarried? Their poor parents. 

Mrs. Norris: I could catch murderers just as well. But I don’t need to. No one in our acquaintance would ever stoop to murder. 

Miss Bates: Ohhh, I enjoyed this very much. So scary. Miss Austen must be very brave. Such an elegant writer. Just like my niece Jane. Let me read you her latest letter. 

Tell us in the comments: What is your favorite Austen pastiche?

Sara Farmer lives in Austin, TX, with her husband, three kids, and two cats. When she’s not chasing kids and cats, she reads and writes mysteries. You can find her at www.kittymomma.com and on Twitter @avonlea79.

The post Cozy to Cold-Blooded: Jane Austen Mysteries appeared first on DIY MFA.

50 Greatest Deaths in Fiction (Not Horror)

Attention, authors! Are you struggling with writing a death scene right now? Even if you aren’t, check out Slate’s Top 50 Greatest Death Scenes in Fiction, which covers basically the last 2,500 years of Western culture (i.e., the entire Western canon). This list spans the gamut of media, from Shakespearean plays to novels to video games. There is even a comic strip or two. What is even more impressive is that the majority of scenes come from outside the horror genre.  

This Top 50 list is not a ranking of scenes by their “blood and guts” factor. Rather, this is a far more worthwhile compilation of death scenes proven to hit audiences in the feels, generation after generation. These are the meaningful deaths, the ones that stay with you well after the initial absorption of the work. Even a skim of this list is guaranteed to prompt strong, long buried emotions.

DIY your own masterclass by studying several of the scenes (5-10), both alone and in context, to see what makes these scenes so enduring. I assure you, this list is worth bookmarking, screenshotting, even printing out on actual paper.

7 Spooky Stories from Prestigious Literary Authors

The supernatural tends to get dismissed among works that are considered “serious literature.” Yet, the fact remains that not only do a lot of people simply like a good ghost story, several distinguished authors couldn’t help but pen some themselves. Discover another side to authors often introduced through required reading: Vladimir Nabokov, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Edith Wharton supply just a few of these paranormal tales that get lost among their heavier works.

Cool Story, Poe.

Personally, I have always thought of October as the beginning of Shirley Jackson Season. However, it’s Edgar Allen who has become the patron saint of the grim and gothic – and deservedly so. If you have someone who can handle Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, I suggest you schedule a movie’s worth of time to sit down with them and watch Extraordinary Tales, in which five of Poe’s classics are transformed into animated stories. You can even imbue your protégé with some pop culture history, as you’ll both be treated to a terrifically creepy, scratchy recording of the late Bela Lugosi reading one of the most suspenseful stories ever written. 

If your (PG-13 permitted) kid is wondering where all of the weirdness came from (or you yourself would like to be the ‘cool one’ at the adult dinner party), take 10 minutes to watch this punchy, updated bio of Edgar Allen Poe from Answer in Progress. Find out why his obituary constitutes one of literature’s most memorable backstabs.

Cornell University

It’s the outlier of Ivy Leagues, the one known for its…hmm, <drawing a blank>…not sports teams…<still thinking>…

How could I have forgotten? Cornell’s (seriously prestigious) School of Hotel Administration.

Still just fading into the background of your mind?

Well, here is a detail that shall henceforth be burned into your brain: Cornell University has the largest, most notable collection of witchcraft books in North America. It’s even called The Cornell University Witchcraft Collection. When did this become a thing? How long has this been going on? Surprisingly, since the 1880s.

The university’s co-founder, Andrew Dickinson White, started the collection along with librarian George Lincoln Burr, who often acquired rare manuscripts for White’s personal collection. White had a passion for collecting rare books as well as exploring conflicts between science and religion, which gives us an idea about how the Witchcraft Collection got started.

In 1885, one of the first books ever written against witchcraft, a German tome known as the Loos Manuscript (1592), believed to have been burned as part of the Spanish Inquisition, was acquired and the Witchcraft Collection became a more formal subdivision of Cornell’s holdings. 

Most of the books detail the persecution of witches, beginning in Europe and spreading most familiarly to Salem. I could go on and on about this, but I have a feeling that if you haven’t stopped reading this to embark on your broomstick, you just want to see the goods.

Still, I can’t help but note what a magical thing it is – that with just a click, we can actually read these accounts for ourselves.

A History of Folk Horror

Scrolling through Kanopy, I came across the documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror. Little did I know what a gem this would turn out to be! This darling of SXSW is for everyone who’s ever wanted to take that class on “Horror and Society” but never got around to it.  The film, which has a 100% rating on Rotten tomatoes (and yes, there are more than 3 votes), is a surprisingly in-depth overview of international folk horror, featuring some of the most respected academics studying the subgenre. If you’re an adult who loves Halloween, but has become irritated by the commercialization of a truly great holiday, grab some wine and make an evening of watching Woodlands.  

Should you wish to make a weekend of it, follow-up with Midsommar.

More Spooky Than Scary

Dracula, Frankenstein. Cthulhu. By now, you’re familiar with all of the monsters a person needs to navigate modern-day society. You’ve probably even heard of Slenderman.

But what about Sirenhead?

Or Mapinguari, protector of the Amazon? 

Shape-shifting fireflies, anyone?

Update your knowledge of things that go bump, squeal and hiss in the night with Dr. Emily Zarka through PBS’s Monstrum, short YouTube videos dedicated to shedding light on the beasts lurking in the back of our collective imagination.

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out more Leisure Learning related content at www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.

The post September 2022 Leisure Learning appeared first on DIY MFA.

The novel was written in Chinese and published in 1994. It was translated to English five years later, then published by Oxford University Press in 2000. Its description notes that the novel won “the coveted China Times Novel Prize,” which is striking to me considering what (little) I know about attitudes still surrounding LGBTQ+ people and rights in China and its territories.

This first-person tale of a Taiwanese gay man reflecting on his life, loves, and intellectual influences is said to be one of the most important contemporary novels in Taiwan. I think what must have caught the prize readers’ attention is not necessarily the subject matter, at least not solely that, but the brilliance and creativity of the novel’s form, style, and synthesis of ideas.

True to its mid-1990s origins, the book is postmodern in style. The chapters function as snapshots, or time capsules, of moments in the narrator’s (Xiao Shao’s) life. Within each, however, is a unique and provocative kind of stylistic. T’ien-Wen moves back and forth between treatises on major concepts–psychology and medicine, literary theory and history, art and philosophy–and narration. This balancing of intellectual exposition with creative storytelling can be a bit jarring at first, as it feels in one moment that we are dealing with an academic essay and in the next, a rich, vibrant cultural story. 

It doesn’t take long to get used to the approach, though, and when one recognizes and accepts what’s happening, it becomes not just easy to enjoy the relationship between Xiao Shao’s personal moments and his intellectual ruminations related to them, but it also becomes an exhilarating exercise in elevated thought. 

The reader can, in other words, simultaneously relax and enjoy a beautifully tragic story while engaging critically with an incredible range of philosophical explorations. It’s the kind of storytelling one might expect from, say, a Tolstoy or Woolf; from a Joyce or Steinbeck. Perhaps the closest comparison I can make is to Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, as this novel, too, begins with a specific memory but then, as ruminations on the past tend to do, spreads rapidly into tangents and asides, some of which are easier to follow than others, and none of which tend to follow chronological order.

At the heart of the novel, holding together the story and its cultural and philosophical exercises, is one man’s journey through life and loss. The main concern for Xiao Shao, which fuels everything else that happens in the novel, is the loss of his dear, lifelong friend to AIDS. A year ago, if you had asked me to read another gay story about AIDS, I would have politely declined. That theme (rightly) dominated the genre for so long, that I became quickly burnt out by it.

But here’s the rub: aside from one British novel on the topic, all of the novels, short stories, essays, poems, and plays that I had read about this topic were from the American perspective; after all, I am American, and my history is intimately wrapped-up in what happened here in the United States. Reading about this crisis and how deeply and painfully it was felt on the other side of the world, though, reminds me just how intimately we are all connected, and just how quickly we can become myopic about what we think we know.

Despite the difficulties inherent in reading a translated novel, and particularly one in the challenging postmodern genre, I found myself unable to put this book down. It is somehow dense and light as a feather. It is erotic and illuminating. Xiao Shao’s journey was to me like an exposé, or an introduction, to the activism, society, love, culture, history, and poetry of Taiwan, all couched in universal metaphor, in western philosophy, and in cinema. I was delighted to be reminded of feminist film studies concepts like the “male gaze,” for example, alongside the anthropological theories of Lévi-Strauss and literary allusions to the likes of Beckett.

I should mention that I was under the impression, by my own fault, that the book was autobiographical, so learning that the author is a woman was surprising. In the United States, there was a time when it was much more socially and professionally acceptable for women to write about same-sex love and relationships between men (read my book if you’re interested in learning more about that). So, it’s entirely possible that the same was true in Taiwan in the 1990s, and this would be interesting to research further.

Notes of a Desolate Man is a gem; it is a gem as a story, a gem as a Taiwanese cultural artifact, and a gem of a literary masterwork. I think it’s safe to say that this one has earned a permanent place in my library. I hope readers interested in LGBTQ+ literature, and especially literature in translation, will give it a chance.

Adam W. Burgess is an English Professor at College of Southern Nevada. He has a Ph.D. from Northern Illinois University and is pursuing a post-doc writing certificate at the University of California, Berkeley. He loves engaging in all topics related to LGBTQ literature and craft. You can find Adam on his website or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

The post LGBTQ+ Literature in Translation: Notes of a Desolate Man appeared first on DIY MFA.

Ultimately, this syllabus is a mix of craft books to get you prepared and a list of comp books to keep you on track. But, of course, at some point, we have to stop reading and start actually doing the big project, so there are a few things you need to consider when you start putting together your own syllabus. As well as a few suggestions for picking the right books.

Things to Consider Before Making Your Syllabus

I know, it’s exciting. A reading list you are actually looking forward to conquering! But you don’t want to go in and start adding a bunch of books all willy-nilly because you want to keep the syllabus focused so that at some point you actually do start writing.

First things first, gather your materials. For writers, these are pretty standard: pen and paper, laptop, notes app on your phone, whatever you use to record ideas. You’ll also want your bookshelves handy, whether they are physical bookshelves, on an eReader, or in some fancy spreadsheet you have that lists all of your books. I say this because you probably already have the books you need for this syllabus on your shelves and don’t actually need to spend more money on this project.

Now you need to do some thinking so that you can be sure to choose the right books and the right number of books for your syllabus. So pour yourself a drink, grab your idea recording implements, and ponder the following:

• Think about the scope of your project: What are you wanting to do? 
• Consider your timeline: How long are you giving yourself for the different phases of the project? 
• Consider your existing knowledge: How much do you already know about writing in this genre AND how widely have you already read in this genre?

For instance, I am planning to really devote myself to writing personal essays. I want to develop a regular writing routine and amass a pretty big arsenal of completed drafts so that every so often I can go on a polishing and submitting spree. 

I’m giving myself two weeks to review a couple of craft books I’ve already read on memoir writing before I want to start that regular writing routine. I plan to hit the writing hard for a solid month before I start polishing and submitting anything. 

I am already pretty knowledgeable about memoir and essay writing, but I need to gather and refine this knowledge, which is why I am reviewing craft books I’ve already read. While I am doing the writing, I am going to be reading within the genre. Not exclusively, because I do enjoy novels and I have books to read for work, but I am going to amp it up a bit.

Now we can start making the syllabus.

Your Textbooks

This section consists of your craft books. Craft books are useful for your syllabus because someone who has already done the thing is walking you through what worked for them. You can learn from their mistakes and you can learn what worked for them. Many often have jumping-off points to get you writing by way of exercises, prompts, or journaling activities. As you work your way through the craft books, mark these down somehow; they’ll be useful when you get to writing and inevitably feel stuck.

Chances are you’ve already got a couple of craft books focused on the genre you’re wanting to write in and you’ve also probably already read them. I’ve identified three books on the type of writing I’m wanting to do that I’ve already read, which is great because I can more quickly flip back through them, jot down some notes, and compare what the different writers have said.

If you haven’t already read a couple of craft books in your specific chosen genre, I’d recommend picking one or two and give yourself time to go through them. Just be sure to give yourself a deadline to finish them. 

Whether you’ve read the craft books before or not, deadlines are important here because you really do need to get writing. Like I’ve said, craft books can be useful, but they don’t get words on the page. A lot of times we use craft books as a method of procrastination.

I want to pause here to highlight a fourth book I am putting in this category—Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within by Kim Addonizio. Yes, she talks a lot about poetry because that’s her genre, but the prompts and advice she gives could be translated for any genre. Plus, I think a little poetry practice could only benefit my nonfiction writing. Just think about it.

Your Supplemental Reading

These are the books within your genre. Again, I’m betting you’ve already read a bunch of these and own a bunch more, because I think most people decide to write in a genre they like to read. This is good because you’re already familiar with the genre and how it works and it’ll help save your bank account a bit.

Look at your shelves and start listing authors within your genre, whether you’ve read them before or not. This will probably be a pretty long list. I didn’t look at my shelves and came up with a list of 28 contemporary memoir and essay writers off the top of my head, many of whom have published multiple books that I own. 

Don’t worry. You’re not going to have to read all of the books by all of these authors. The list I made would easily include well over 50 titles by these 28 authors (I’m way low-balling it). I might read 50 books in a good year, but I’m not wanting to forgo reading novels for an entire year. We’re going to cut the list in a minute.

Be sure to write down the authors of your textbooks and read. It’ll give you a chance to see their advice in action.

Now we start winnowing down the list. We’re looking for maybe 8-10 books that you can keep close to your writing space to inspire and excite you. Books that you can pick up when you’re not sure what to read next. Books that you can flip through to remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing, to show you what you’re doing in action.

Look through the list of authors you’ve amassed and start thinking about your specific project. Which ones capture some element of your project? 

For instance, my writing tends to skew more humorous than Joan Didion, so while I love her, she wouldn’t be on my shortlist. On the other hand, Nora Ephon is known for infusing humor into her writing. Her earlier collections are previously published journalism pieces, so those wouldn’t make the cut, BUT her last two collections are more solidly in the personal essay column.

Think broadly here. I included a couple of full-length memoirs, even though I am writing essays because the writing style fits. I added a memoir told in vignettes because that’s something I’d like to experiment with. Another essay collection doesn’t match my tone, but explores themes I’m wanting to write about. And so on.

Again, the point here is to inspire you, to challenge you, and to show you writing techniques you want to try in action.

Also, this shortlist of supplemental reading isn’t set in stone. If you suddenly get the urge to read a book by an author from your long list, go for it! See where it takes you. The shortlist is really to give you some titles to grab without having to think too hard so that you can be reading in your genre while you work on your project.

I want to pause here to highlight another great source to consider: the Best American series. This is a yearly edition of the “best” twenty-ish short pieces in a variety of genres—essays, short stories, mystery and suspense, science fiction. There are a few series they’re no longer publishing (like sports writing and travel writing), but the old volumes are probably pretty easily findable. I love this series because every year they have a different guest judge who is a big name in that field and they write an essay that’s a nice little masterclass. Another thing to think about.

Now that you’ve got your syllabus put together, it’s time to get cracking. 

Happy reading and writing!

Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. Though she’s fallen off the wagon as a writer, she’s hoping to return to writing essays (perhaps even a novel!) through her involvement with DIY MFA. She is also Launch Manager, Web Editor, and Podcast Producer for DIY MFA and a Book Coach. She resides in Smalltown, Oklahoma, with her husband and their cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.

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Just like last time, I rated the celebrity sleuths in deerstalkers, ranging from 5 (pretty much solved the murder single-handedly) to 1 (Where have you been since the corpse turned up?).

Beatrix Potter in The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series)

Miss Abigail Tolliver dies while reading a letter and eating tea cakes after her birthday party, thrown by her friends in the village. She leaves behind her home Anvil Cottage and her cat Tabatha Twitchit, one of a network of village animals who can speak to each other. (The humans don’t know this.) Her heir is her nephew, a draper from Kendal, who does not make a good impression in the village. 

Having recently purchased a farm in the area, Beatrix Potter arrives with her animals (They also talk to each other.) and boards with the Crooks, since the Jenningses still live in the farmhouse she just bought and the late Miss Tolliver can’t board her now. She soon discovers that some are suspicious of a lady farmer and worried about what she intends to do with the place. 

Rumors begin to spread that Miss Tolliver was poisoned. One of the village cats sees the nephew trying to break into the cottage one night. Miss Potter realizes one of Miss Tolliver’s paintings is missing and reveals that it was a rare miniature done by Constable. This right after the Parish Register and the School Roof Fund money go missing. 

This book is charming and readable, perfect for cozy mystery fans. I also enjoyed learning more about Potter and her life. The characters are typical village types without being stereotypes. 

First in series: The Tale of Hill Top Farm 

Number of books in series: 8

Actual sleuthing done by author: 1 deerstalker (Other characters, including the village animals, do most of the sleuthing, but Potter contributes a little.)

Taylor Swift in The Secrets of the Starbucks Lovers by Larissa Zageris and Kitty Curran (illustrator)

Swifties (raises hand) will love this romp of a mystery novella. Taylor Swift and friend Lorde—yes, the famous singer—are writing a song in a New York City Starbucks when they hear a scream. 

A young woman dropped her drink in a state of great fright. Lorde and Taylor (I like the references to the defunct department store chain that pop up in the book) find out her name is Bianca and she is an actress. She has been receiving threatening messages written on her cups instead of her name, no matter which Starbucks she goes in. She has been looking for her missing sister and someone obviously wants her to stop. 

Taylor decides this is a perfect case for Taylor Swift, girl detective. Amid Swiftie-delighting injokes, punny chapter titles, and self-aware banter, Taylor, Lorde, and the rest of the squad solve the mystery without having to “breakup song” anyone. 

First in series: The Secrets of the Starbucks Lovers (only one so far)

Number of books in series: 1

Actual sleuthing done by one of the best singer/songwriters: 5 out of 5 deerstalkers 

Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Murders by Heather Redmond (A Dickens of a Crime series)

Charles Dickens, 23 and working at two newspapers, not yet the legendary writer, feels ready to be married. He is interested in the oldest daughter of his editor, 19-year-old Kate Hogarth. (Fun factL she later became Dickens’s real-life wife.)

During dinner with the Hogarths, a scream rings out. Charles, Kate, and her father go to investigate. The neighbors of the Lugosons are having an Epiphany dinner and Christiana, the daughter of the house, has become seriously ill. She is a young woman who will be “out” soon and is heiress to fortunes from both her parents. 

Charles and Kate stay to help tend Christiana that night, but she dies in the morning. The next day, Charles’ colleague and neighbor William Aga tells him that another young woman, the same age and from the same neighborhood, died in a remarkably similar fashion on Epiphany night the year before. Her name was Marie Rueff. 

Charles and Kate embark on an investigation of the deaths, discovering adultery, children born out of wedlock, and the possibilities of parents or siblings killing their own family members for money. It’s a strange courtship, but it seems to work for them. The story unfolds a bit slowly, but I enjoyed the journey. 

First in series: A Tale of Two Murders 

Number of books in series: 4

Actual sleuthing done by author: 4 deerstalkers (Future wife Kate assisted him as much as propriety would allow. Sometimes a bit more.)

Claire Clairmont in Claire’s Last Secret by Marty Ambrose (Lord Byron Mystery series) 

Claire Clairmont, stepsister to Mary Shelley and former mistress to Lord Byron, is living out her waning years in Florence with her niece Paula and Paula’s little daughter Georgiana. Neither is accepted by society due to having children out of wedlock. (Claire is the mother of Allegra, her daughter with Byron, who died at the age of 5). Consequently, they live in a state of genteel poverty and need money. 

A man named Michael Rosetti (sibling to Dante and Christina) visits, saying Claire’s friend Edward Trelawny sent him. He wants to buy her letters from Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley for research for the Shelley biography he is writing. After he leaves, Claire discovers a note under her teacup that reads “Your daughter lives.”

It causes Claire to begin thinking about 1816 when the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora caused weather changes that stole summer from the young group living by Lake Geneva—Claire, Mary and Percy Shelley (although they weren’t married yet), and Lord Byron. 

To escape from the dreariness they wrote ghost stories. Mary’s became the classic Frankenstein, but this book is not about that. It’s about family and society and the cruelties both could visit upon women who dared to follow their hearts. Also, the lengths they would go to cover their actions, as Claire discovers when she begins to investigate her daughter’s death and a dear friend who helps her is murdered before he can reveal all he knows. 

Claire persists in discovering what really happened to her daughter and who murdered her friend. In the process, she discovers that everything and everyone were not what they seemed in that long-ago summer. 

I cheated a bit with this one, since the famous authors involved aren’t really celebrity sleuths. Claire is a real historical figure who played an integral role in that summer that saw the birth of Frankenstein as well as more of Byron’s poetry. How could I resist that? Mary, Percy, and Byron do play important roles in the story. 

This book is the first in a trilogy concerning the mystery of Allegra Byron and her fate. (Although I think in real life no one doubts that she died at 5.) I found it compelling and I always enjoy discovering female figures who were sidelined from their place in history. 

First in series: Claire’s Last Secret

Number of books in series: 3 (Amazon lists 4, but the last is by a different author and doesn’t seem connected, except by the fact that Byron is the sleuth. The Claire series is named for him for some reason.)

Amount of sleuthing done by historical figure: 5 deerstalkers (She received help from her niece, Mr. Rossetti, and their household helper Raphael, but I still gave her 5. Claire did most of the work at an advanced age with considerable danger involved.)

Joe Biden and Barack Obama in Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer (Obama/Biden Mysteries)

Joe Biden doesn’t quite know what to do with himself now that he is no longer vice-president. He and Obama don’t hang out like he thought they would and the aging process bothers him. 

One night, he sees a mysterious spark of light among the trees in his backyard. Turns out Obama is paying him a visit and he has bad news. Biden’s old friend, Amtrak conductor Finn Donnelly, is dead. He was lying on the tracks and a train hit him. Biden is sure Finn wouldn’t kill himself and knows he was a teetotaler, so unlikely to be passed out on the tracks. 

Obama felt Biden needed to know because a map with Biden’s address on it was found on Finn’s desk. Biden knows Finn would never hurt him, but Obama wants to make sure and to help him keep his name out of the papers. 

Obama and Biden, along with trusty Secret Service agent Steve, end up investigating. This book is very fun, although it is a little weird to picture the two doing and saying some of the things they do and say in this story. The imagined complexities of their post-administration relationship are interesting. 

First in series: Hope Never Dies

Number of books in series: 2

Amount of sleuthing done by the current and former POTUS: 5 (Especially Joe as the narrator working with a serious knee injury for most of the book.)

Queen Elizabeth II in The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series)

A young musician is found dead in a compromising position at Windsor Castle the day after one of Queen Elizabeth II’s “dine and sleeps.” It soon becomes clear this was no accident, but the head of the investigation thinks Putin is responsible. The Queen knows this to be very unlikely based on her experience. It turns out, she’s not just talking about her experience as Queen. 

The Queen started solving mysteries at the age of 13, when she was still Princess Elizabeth. With the help of a succession of Assistant Private Secretaries (APS) to do the legwork and keep the investigation secret, the Queen uses her instincts and knowledge of people and international diplomatic and social protocols to find the answers. 

This time, her competent, kick-ass, intelligent new APS Rozie Oshodi proves an able sidekick. Along the way, the reader gets a delightful glimpse into the workings of Windsor Castle and the preparations for the Queen’s 90th birthday back in 2016. (This is especially fun for followers of the royals, of which I am one.) Royal cameos are few (mostly just Prince Philip), but most of the main royals are mentioned at some point. 

It’s interesting to know this book was written with the knowledge of the 2016 U.S. election and its aftermath, as well as Meghan Markle’s entrance into the Royal Family and her and Prince Harry’s subsequent exit. Bennett provides foreshadowing that feels natural to the narrative, such as the Queen musing that it would be interesting for the US to have a female President (sigh) and thinking that all of the younger royals are doing so well and now they just need Harry to “find a decent girl.” Boy, did he ever. 

First in series: The Windsor Knot

Number of books in series: 2

Amount of sleuthing done by Her Majesty, the Queen: 5 deerstalkers (The Queen can’t openly sleuth and doesn’t have time to do the legwork anyway, so she has help from Rozie and others. However, she comes up with most of the ideas and lines of investigation. Also, she’s Queen Elizabeth II and I greatly admire her. So she gets 5.)

Tell us in the comments: What famous figure would you like to see solving a mystery?

Sara Farmer lives in Austin, TX, with her husband, three kids, and two cats. When she’s not chasing kids and cats, she reads and writes mysteries. You can find her at www.kittymomma.com and on Twitter @avonlea79.

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First, I’ll give a brief definition of poetry of witness before moving on to some ideas that complicate this initial definition. Finally, I’ll leave you with some recommended reading so you can further explore this mode of poetry. 

How is Poetry of Witness Defined?

The term “poetry of witness” was initially coined by poet Carolyn Forché in her 1993 introduction to Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness. 

Forché defines the poetry of witness as inhabiting the social sphere, a space between the personal and political (31). Forché’s anthology focuses on poets who witnessed, first-hand, events of extremity. This includes poets who “endured social conditions of historical and social extremity during the twentieth century—through exile, state censorship, political persecution, house arrest, torture, imprisonment, military occupation, warfare, and assassination” (29). 

The Question of Extremity

Complicating the above definition of poetry of witness is the idea of extremity. In compiling the Against Forgetting anthology, Forché included poems from those who endured social and historical extremity—for example, war, torture, and imprisonment. 

It is unclear, however, whether personal extremity fits into this definition of poetry of witness. Does survival after a more personal tragedy, such as the loss of a child or parent, allow a poem to be labeled as a poem of witness? 

Forché writes that applying the “personal” label to poetry “call[s] to mind lyrics of love and emotional loss,” so it could be argued that poems and collections dealing with personal loss and grief, such as in Sharon Olds’ The Father, do not fit Forché’s “poetry of witness” definition, as such work is mainly preoccupied with the personal and, at least on the surface, does not occur within a space of political resistance and struggle (31). 

Cathy Linh Che’s Split, however, might better fit Forché’s definition. Though Che’s collection borrows from the confessional mode and is rooted in the personal, the act of writing about sexual abuse could be seen as an act of resistance, especially when there can be a lot of shame and silence surrounding the abuse.  

What about Proximity to Extremity?

Further complicating Forché’s definition of poetry of witness is the idea of proximity to extremity. Forché does not address how close a poet must be to extremity in order to classify their work as poetry of witness. 

Many of the poets included in her anthology seem to have experienced conditions of extremity first-hand—for example, one included poet, Miklós Radnóti, worked in a forced-labor camp during the Holocaust and was eventually executed when the Germans evacuated the camp. 

It’s unclear, however, if witnessing and writing about an event from more of a distance classifies a poem as a poem of witness. 

Poet Patricia Smith, for example, did not directly experience Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, but witnessed it through news reports and other documents, excerpts of which sometimes appear as epigraphs in her collection Blood Dazzler. 

It could be argued that, despite Smith’s relative distance to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, her poems in Blood Dazzler still occupy a space between the “personal” and the “political.” Many of the poems in the collection are “persona poems”, foregrounding the lyric “I” and individual experiences of the hurricane, but others gesture outward to encompass the political realm. 

What’s Next? 

It might be time to revisit Carolyn Forché’s initial 1993 definition of poetry of witness and consider the different ways in which events are witnessed.  

For instance, news reports and images that document a war are, in some places, widely distributed and accessible, making it easier for individuals to “witness” an event from afar. Though news reports and images can certainly be altered or edited in some way, this is not always the case. As such, Forché’s definition could be expanded to include a second tier: not only does poetry of witness encompass first-hand accounts (for instance, a prisoner of war), but also a form of “secondary” witnessing by those who experience an event through news reports, images, interviews, or other documents. 

Further, Forché’s initial definition seems to focus primarily on war and political extremity (issues that are reflected in her collection The Country Between Us), however, this definition could also be expanded to include other events of historical and social extremity, such as natural disasters and massacres. 

Recommended Reading

Carolyn Forché’s The Country Between Us

Carolyn Forché’s 1981 poetry collection, The Country Between Us, serves as a document of Forché’s time as a human rights activist in El Salvador between 1978 and 1980, a period when civil war was beginning to break out in the country. Split into three sections, the volume bears witness to shocking acts of murder, torture, and violence, as well as poverty and starvation. 

Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler 

Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler depicts the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Many of the poems in the collection are “persona poems,” meaning that Smith inhabits an “other” or “persona” who serves as the poem’s speaker. Most notably, Smith embodies Hurricane Katrina in the volume’s four opening poems, which track the progression and eventual landfall of the hurricane in Louisiana. 

Even More Suggested Reading

• Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness, edited by Carolyn Forché
• Poetry of Witness: The Tradition in English, edited by Carolyn Forché and Duncan Wu
• Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative, and History, by Cathy Caruth

Manuela Williams lives and writes in Nevada. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks and one paranormal fiction novella. When she’s not writing, Manuela loves reading romance novels, drinking *all* the coffee, and playing video games.

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