“There is an immense, painful longing for a broader, more flexible, fuller, more coherent, more comprehensive account of what we human beings are, who we are, and what this life is for.” “Art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos. A stillness which characterizes prayer, too, in […]
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Quick take: Aim for Messy Emotions
Storytelling must give readers an emotional experience. To bring about emotions in your readers stir in thorny situations that bring up messy emotions. By messy I mean the ones your characters have difficulty managing, perhaps would prefer not to feel or even acknowledge. Messy can also means complex–the character is feeling a troublesome brew of […]
Read the rest of this entry »In case you missed it….
Writerly gatherings from the internets: 1. 20 Amazing Writing Residencies You Should Apply for is here. (This list is from 2014, but the residencies are still viable.) 2. Sadly, the final Scratch magazine is online. The topic, fittingly, is The End. Sigh. 3. How to Master Anything, at Any Age. The 9 concepts […]
Read the rest of this entry »From Michael Cunningham: Literature is an act of seduction
The writer of fiction, no matter how edgy or unorthodox, is stuck with a simple and an unalterable truth. Literature is, inescapably, an act of seduction, whether the writer hopes to seduce millions with a story of an adolescent vampire in love, or a handful of readers, who are willing to take a darker, strange, more […]
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