“Chefs, please open your baskets.” With those words, the competition on Chopped, my favorite Food Network show, where four chefs compete against each other in elimination-style appetizer, entree, and dessert rounds, begins At the start of each round the chefs open baskets containing four ingredients that must be used in the dish—unusual ingredients such as… Read more »
When it comes to writing historical fiction, there are all sorts of subgenres. Right now, I myself am exploring magical realism, legends, and myths. With legends come legendary characters, so I’ve had to think about different ways to incorporate well-known characters, real-life historical figures, and otherwise well-known personages into my fiction. I’ve tried all of… Read more »
How often do you come across nature? Even if you live in an urban area, the answer is probably, “Every day.” You see, nature isn’t limited to trees, animals, and bodies of water. It also includes the seasons, precipitation, extreme weather events, and seismic activity. As a result, the natural world can impact every aspect… Read more »
The first time I heard memoir teacher Marion Roach Smith say, “Memoir is not about you,” I thought, Wait … what? Of course my memoir is about me! This probably won’t be a shocker: Marion was right and I was wrong. She goes on to teach us, in her evergreen book, The Memoir Project: A… Read more »
“How is topic different from theme?” This question bubbled up while I was working on my previous Theme: A Story’s Soul post. Even though I briefly explained the difference between those two terms in that article, I realized the question deserved greater exploration. Then, as I began researching this subject (no pun intended!), I discovered… Read more »
Why do you write? If I were to take a survey of all of you right now, I bet I’d get some similar answers. Writing gets the stories in my head out into the world. I write to express emotions. I write because I want to see my byline. I do it for the money…. Read more »
Punctuation can feel like a burden, something we either do correctly or not. After all, grammar guides and style books were created for a reason. But in reality, punctuation is a powerful resource to enhance our writing. Looking in any two grammar guides for rules about punctuation usage, we’ll be sure to find conflicting advice…. Read more »
When people learn that I’m a poet, two questions usually come up. If someone hasn’t read my work before, they might ask, “What are your poems about?” On the other hand, if someone is familiar with my poetry or has read a particular piece, they sometimes want to know, “Why did you write that poem?”… Read more »
After graduate school and a short period of teaching English at a small college, I moved back to New York resolved to become a novelist. My mother loaned me her crowded, unheated painting studio on 14th Street overlooking S. Kleins and I attempted to plunge into my career. I wanted to write long intricately plotted… Read more »
When I was out at drinks with a friend a few weeks ago to talk about the first three chapters of my novel I’d sent him, one of the things that kept coming up was the language. Visceral and heavy, paranoid even. These were the words he used to describe it, almost like he was… Read more »
