Tag: artistry
-
Of Apprenticeships, Marketing and Patience…
[Writer’s Digest]–“What’s the most important change happening in the publishing industry right now that’s impacting the future of the author-agent relationship?” [Agent–Paige Wheeler of Folio Literary Management]: “The change in the delivery mechanism is huge. Barriers of entry to publishing are down, and authors are able to make (their work) available to anyone with an…
-
Of Reversals, Plausible Endings and the Artistry of Thwarting Expectations…
“A successful resolution thwart the our expectation; it doesn’t (fully) satisfy them.”—-Peter Selgin, 179 Ways to Save a Novel: Matters of Vital Concern to Fiction Writers Reversals sit at the heart of a successful resolution. And since novels consist of a continual list of crises fostered by a string of obstacles, both physical and human…
-
Of Plot, Authenticity, and Knowing Who We Are…
“A story should generate it’s own actions and emotions organically…A story should be authentic…made of stuff that has never been appropriated from other forms of narrative art…other stories…movies or television. Or it has it should be sufficiently re-processed through the author’s unique sensibilities so the resulting work has its own authenticity.” –Peter Selgin, 179 Ways…
-
The Muse, Mystery and Grace…
“It isn’t easy. Nobody has ever done it consistently. Those who try hardest, scare it off into the woods. Those who turn their backs and saunter along, whistling softly between their teeth, hear it treading quietly behind them, lured by a carefully acquired disdain. We are speaking, of course, of The Muse.” –Ray Bradbury, Zen…
-
Change for the Sake of Change
I recently attended a book clubs summit where, for a weekend, participants gathered to meet and greet writers from around the country. Authors signed books and thanked readers for support of our work and artistry between giving individual talks, and participating in panel discussions with other writers.
-
Writing and Cyberspace
As the economy languishes in limbo and many of us wonder what comes next, I have made several observations as an author, one of which is that the Internet has become an important meeting ground for both industry and consumers. That I am an author makes me part of the publishing industry. The Internet offers…
-
The Value of Earning a MFA
The jewel in the crown of my experience in earning my MFA lay not in achieving a marked improvement in my writing. While my MFA thesis went on to be published by a small press, the greatest gift I gave myself in undergoing the rigorous and rugged course of study, was the habit I developed…