In my little New England town, we had several inches of snow a few days ago, which preceded a shocking drop in temperature. January is the coldest month, traditionally, but this was bitter cold. The combination of snow and cold reminded me of something I taught in my writing classes years ago. I searched through my files and finally found it: John Gardner’s ideas on psychic distance. Psychic … [Read more...]
Words Matter
“I tore the couch apart and vacuumed up all the crumbs, and five minutes later the kids are sitting there pounding down chips.” So said the woman beside me in the hair salon. She certainly caught my attention with her opening remark: I tore the couch apart. Why would anyone do that? I wondered. Ah, to vacuum. But then the kids are pounding chips. Her word choices suggested that a battle raged … [Read more...]
Writing Advice, Le Guin and Woolf
When successful writers write books on how to write, the books tend to be one of two kinds: actual how-to books or how-I-did-it books. I find the former highly useful, and many of them have sat on the bookcase in my office for years, frequently revisited for use in my classes. But the latter tend to be much more interesting. Students and clients alike often cite Stephen King’s On Writing as their … [Read more...]
Favorite Quotes
During a recent class, I discussed rhythm, starting with a passage from Ursula Le Guin’s excellent Steering the Craft, and moving on to Virginia Woolf’s equally excellent explanation: “Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can’t use the wrong words.” Simple, right? I then read aloud one of my favorite examples of style/rhythm/right words. It’s three paragraphs … [Read more...]
Summertime Reading!
Two of my clients are publishing books this summer. First up is David Flinn's Climb Like a Mzungu, which is available through Amazon starting Friday, June 23. My other client, Jasmin Attia, won the 2022 Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature. Her book, The Oud Player of Cairo, will be published on August 1, available at Barnes & Noble, independent bookstores, and on … [Read more...]