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Behold The Unfilmable: Hyperion Cantos
The Hyperion Cantos is a fantastic work of Science Fiction, but it would be a disaster if it were made into a film.
Column by Erik Wecks
I am a firm believer that doing something poorly can be worse than doing nothing at all. That is why I hope no one ever makes a movie out of Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos. Show More Summary
Poetry et Le E-book Revolution
‘Tis happening, friends! Not only are your favorite fiction and non-fiction books available in electronic formats—but now—your favorite books of poetry are rapidly becoming available in e-book form, as reported by The Associated Press in the Seattle Times. Part of the challenge is the devices themselves, with screens varying in size and feel from Apple’s [...]
Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 220
Sorry for the late prompt today. Was finishing up some edits on Writer’s Market all morning. For this week’s prompt, write a late poem. I know, I know–how original! But seriously, write … Read more
2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Winners Announced
Now in its sixth year, Amazon has released the category winners for their annual awards promoting unknown or unpublished authors. News by Dean Fetzer I know, we’re all getting awards fatigue — oh, that’s just me? — and now it’s time for Amazon’s annual Breakthrough Novel Award. Show More Summary
‘I eat self-doubt for dessert’: Kate Lebo, Poet & Piemaker
Over at the Ploughshares blog is a conversation with Seattle-area poet and pie expert Kate Lebo, who is more than expert; she’s the “proprietress (or rather, proPIEtress) of Pie School, which teaches pastry-phobics the art of the perfect pie. Other manifestations of her awesomeness include A Commonplace Book of Pie; a ‘semi-regular semi-secret social’ called [...]
Allen Ginsberg’s Celestial Homework
We have our friends at the Paris Review blog to thank for pointing us to Open Culture where they’ve posted the celestial syllabus to Allen Ginsberg’s 1977 course at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. A bit about the class: “Argh, you’re all amateurs in a professional universe!” roared Allen Ginsberg to a young [...]
Scandal Erupts Over Plagiarism!!
Poets! What’s going on here?!?! We’ve caught wind of yet ANOTHER plagiarism scandal, reported by the Guardian. Last month Paisley Rekdal shared her thoughts on being plagiarized by Christian Ward here. This time, it looks like another British poet has been lifting lines (nay, entire poems!) from numerous poets in the U.S. The deets: The [...]
Rejection: A Critical Device
Got a story that keeps getting turned down for publication? Here's how you can use industry rejection as a critical tool to improve your work.
Column by Jon Gingerich
Most writers who publish with any regularity are familiar with the...Show More Summary
How to Write a Novel: 7 Tips Everyone Can Use
2. Begin with character. Make her flawed and believable. Let her live and breathe and give her the freedom to surprise you and take the story in unexpected directions. If she’s not surprising you, you can bet she’ll seem flat to your readers. Show More Summary
Midweek #ROW80 Check-in and Amazon’s Going To Monetize Fanfic?
So the Hammer and Gobsmacker are still working their way through Riven. I’m not bleeding too badly yet. There’s nothing being mentioned that I didn’t kind of expect. While I’m waiting on that, I’m up to my ears in historical research, … Continue reading ?
A tail, er, tale of perseverance and success
How big a role does perseverence play in the success of artists and writers? In a newsletter from ArtYouGrewUpWith.com, I found this example, a cartoonist named Rupert Fawcett who has done very well with his cartoons about parenthood as well...
Reading List: May 2013
After a brief hiatus for National Poetry Month, our monthly Reading List returns. In this installment, contributors to Poetry’s May issue share what they have been thumbing through: Michelle Boisseau The UC London biochemist and writer Nick Lane’s book Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution has been fascinating me. My heart is liable [...]
New Company Script Lit Turns Unproduced Screenplays Into eBooks
For heaps of scripts in Hollywood whose future hangs in the balance, Script Lit offers a new life in a different medium.
News by Christopher Shultz
A new company called Script Lit hopes to turn unproduced screenplays into successfulShow More Summary
Flogometer for Rebecca: would you turn the first page?
Submissions invited: If you’d like a fresh look at your opening chapter or prologue, please email your submission to me re the directions at the bottom of this post. The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels....
Character arcs at the climax: an example in high art
This entry is part 11 of 11 in the series character arcsEarlier this month, I presented at the LDStorymakers Writers’ Conference on character arcs. There was one question that my examples didn’t seem to address very well on character arcs at the climax. Show More Summary
Meet Steve Erickson: Video Interview and eBook Release Info
The master storyteller is featured in a new video interview to herald the arrival of six of his genre-defying novels on eBook.
News by Joshua Chaplinsky
I've already sung the praises of Steve Erickson HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and...
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Endi Bogue Hartigan Wins Omnidawn 2012 Open Poetry Book Prize!
Omnidawn announced the winner of the 2012 Open Poetry Book Prize this week: Endi Bogue Hartigan, for her manuscript pool [5 choruses]. Hartigan hails from Portland, Oregon where she works for the state university system. Her writing has been published in Chicago Review, Pleiades, VOLT, Free Verse, Peep/Show, Yew, Jack London is Dead, The Oregonian, [...]
B.I.C. (Bum in Chair)
It is a cool, slightly overcast morning. I’d like to be in my garden, planting more of the bedding plants I have waiting, puttering, pruning and plucking weeds. It has been a very long wait for spring this year, and every fiber of my being is screaming to get outside, play in the dirt, create [...]
Color me a happy writer
I recently put a little color into my life, but apparently I need a whole lot more. When we moved to the small Montana town where we live, we bought a small old building, moved in and went to work since both my husband and I had deadlines. The walls were once white, I think. Read more...
Happy Birthday, Bob!
We’d be remiss to leave off without giving birthday wishes to Robert Creeley, who would have been 87 today. We have poems galore here to celebrate, and other accoutrement. Thanks also to Chris Stevens for pointing us to this lecture by Creeley on Jack Spicer and Robert Duncan. Enjoy!
