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The Blagger's Guide to F Scott Fitzgerald
As Leonardo DiCaprio holds his breath and hopes that "The Great Gatsby" will FINALLY get him that Oscar, you can effortlessly dazzle your friends with this Blagger's Guide to F Scott Fitzgerald.
Column by Cath Murphy
To blag (v): toShow More Summary
Linguistic Quirks: What Wordbirthing & Name-Nicking Can Do for Fiction
I awoke from a nightmare last weekend and did the sensible thing. I got up and showered off the flop sweat, crawled back in with the ToolMaster, and poked him in the shoulder — firmly, since he was the cause of my distress. “Hey,” he said with a fair degree of irritation. Then something must [...]
TALES FROM THE ROAD–Part Whatever
Today, for the first time ever (that I’ll admit to anyway) I awakened with only the vaguest idea where I was. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a result of some spectacular bit of debauchery. Nor am I complaining. The hotel is grand—a terrycloth robe kind of place. If you’re going to wake up Read more...
Literary Agent Emma Patterson of Brandt and Hochman Literary Seeks New Clients
Emma is seeking: "I am on the lookout for literary and commercial fiction, upmarket women’s fiction, historical fiction, narrative nonfiction, pop culture, memoir, food writing, and YA and MG fiction and nonfiction. I’m open to mostly...Show More Summary
Sunday Summary and #ROW80 Update
So I think I mentioned to y’all that I was doing some exploration to see what other foods in my diet are aggravating my inflammatory response other than beef. I’ve had a watch list and have eliminated a bunch of stuff. … Continue reading ?
PR and Marketing for Self-Publishing: Do’s and Don’ts
It (finally) appears the stigmas once associated with self and indie-publishing are disappearing, or at least waning – though in some cases there are new ones arising and there will always be naysayers. Let me clarify that while I think there are pros and cons to traditional publishing, self publishing and Indie publishing alike, I [...]
Ten Ways To Torture Yourself As A Writer
Today’s guest is Marybeth Whalen. Marybeth’s novels include THE MAILBOX, SHE MAKES IT LOOK EASY, THE GUEST BOOK, and THE WISHING TREE, and she is the founder of the website, She Reads. Marybeth says, I’m passionate about sharing the ups and downs of the writing life with other writers and believe that building a community of [...]
5 Ways to Build Solid Relationships in Your Story
2. “The Stalking Test” -- Staring at a boy or girl from a distance is fine, every once in a while. Especially if the staring shows something he/she is doing that helps the reader get to know him vs. telling how attractive he/she is. A few mentions of observation/appearance are plenty. Show More Summary
Can an app be the next horror movie?
Can an app have the same impact as a horror movie? Neal Edelstein thinks so. He’s produced a number of traditional movies but his latest venture is a ghost story app (Apple only) called “Haunting Melissa.” You can download the...
The End is Nigh! No Wait, It’s Here!
Hear ye, hear ye! Yesterday I wrote “The End” on Riven. It is no mistake that Snoopy is dancing with bunnies because that’s exactly what my brain is doing right now. During the last several months, I’ve been attacked NUMEROUS times … Continue reading ?
Hacks for Hacks: The Basics of Author Branding
The highway to publication overflows with cars: luxury behemoths; sensible hybrids; nondescript, windowless vans with strange dents that protrude from the inside. Each bears the logo of the mechanic who brought it to life. You’ve built a car, too, with good mileage and a cherry spoiler. [Author’s note: The cars are a metaphor for your [...]
What Writers Can Learn From Dan Brown’s Inferno
Back in 2000, Dan Brown changed my life. I have a Masters in Theology from the University of Oxford and religion, art history, architecture and spirituality are just some of my obsessions. Up until 2000, I thought that the only option to be a successful author in that arena was to follow in the footsteps [...]
Brian Kimberling: An Interview With the Author of SNAPPER
Brian Kimberling's debut, SNAPPER, details the brief but romantic career of a backwater birdwatcher. It won the 1st Annual Janklow & Nesbit Prize, and will appear from Pantheon (April 2013) and from Tinder Press (UK, May 2013). In aShow More Summary
How not to make a movie (even if you have Brad Pitt)
Vanity Fair’s June issue reveals the many troubles of the film “World War Z.” They include: an unfinished script at the start of production a budget that went out of control (ending up somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 million—and...
$20 for $50 Sold Out!
We’ll leave off the week with this final item. It is true that poetry is a kind of money. Vanessa Place drilled this lesson into us this week when we found out that the first poetry-product from VanessaPlace Inc., a book of poetry made of literal money called $20 (selling for $50), sold out at [...]
The Stud Book: An Interview with Monica Drake
Monica Drake talks writing, inspiration, workshoppin', and her latest novel, 'The Stud Book'.
Interview by Rob W. Hart
Funny thing about The Stud Book by Monica Drake: You know how some people turn their noses up at genre fiction? I'm...Show More Summary
Let’s Begin to Read Julien Poirier’s WAY TOO WEST
Over at Filip Marinovich’s WOLFMAN LIBRARIAN is a PDF of the first of Julien Poirier’s long poem “WAY TOO WEST,” scheduled to appear there weekly in serialized form for thirteen episodes. The post includes a music video! Poirier was a founding member of Ugly Duckling Presse, where he co-edited 6×6 and edited New York Nights [...]
‘Inherent Vice’ Casting Roundup
Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel continues to add cast members, including Joaquin Phoenix, Benicio del Toro, Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon,. News by Dean Fetzer Back in December we reported that Thomas...Show More Summary
The Believer Reveals Something We Did Not Already Know About Ezra Pound And Walt Whitman
-the story of Sadakichi Hartmann, a bohemian artist who befriended both Walt Whitman and Ezra Pound! Who the heck is Sadakichi Hartmann? Well friends, The Believer‘s Michelle Legro has done the legwork here and if you thought you knew all the crazy anecdotes there are to know about the great and powerful poets Ezra Pound [...]
Fix-It Friday: Info Dump Dialogue Makeovers
Info dumps, or long, unnatural passages of exposition, are a good way to bore and lose your reader. Sometimes we try to sneak in that backstory through dialogue, but it isn’t always better to have a character say the info dump than to...Show More Summary
