BOOKS – WRITING – HUMOR – ABSURD
#takeaway keys from the book “BECOMING a WRITER” by Dorothea Brande (first published in 1934, currently republished) Dorothea Brande was teaching a creative writing course. Her focus was: a) the imaginative power of the writer’s mind; b) the belief that “genius can be taught.” PART II #1 On Imitation You can imitate but you should not adopt the philosophies, the ideas, the dramatic notions of other writers. Always go back...
#takeaway keys from the book “BECOMING a WRITER” by Dorothea Brande (first published in 1934, currently republished) Dorothea Brande was teaching a creative writing course. Her focus was: a) the imaginative power of the writer’s mind; b) the belief that “genius can be taught.” John Gardner wrote a foreword for this book. I used his humorous phrase as the title for this post. PART I #1 The Four Difficulties No...
In the introduction to the book Aspects of the Novel, the author E. M. Forster says that his subject is to analyze the literary works written in English. He asks himself: can he ignore the prose written in other languages? He states, “as unpleasant and unpatriotic it sounds, the truth has to be faced. No English novelist is as great as Tolstoy – he has given a complete picture of...
How do you get your ideas? By thinking and thinking and thinking… till I’m ready to kill myself. Isaac Asimov 5 writing advices from “It’s Been a Good Life”, Isaac Asimov and “The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers”, John Gardener (currently reading). 1. The difference between Ordinary and Prolific Writer (by Asimov) The ordinary writer is filled with insecurities and obsesses over the right word,...