BOOKS – WRITING – HUMOR – ABSURD
#guestpost written by Laolu Ogundele “So, what’s your style”? Someone once asked me in the middle of a neighborhood writers meetup I attended a decade or so ago. “Straight jeans, dark-colored zip hoodies, and basketball shoes…” I began, but my voice trailed off as I noticed a couple of people try hard and fail to stifle a laugh. “I mean writing style,” the original asker graciously clarified. “Oh, my bad....
#Keytakeaways 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 to...
Today’s post is about Chaim Potok’s book, The Chosen, which I consider an excellent read as well as great studying material – for all of us: writers, booklovers, nerdy teenagers, religious folks, even conscious non-believers. I have to admit, I fell in love with this novel when I read an introduction by Shalom Auslander, where he said (the very first words before you open chapter 1): Dear God, I hated...
We chatted with John W. Howell about his new novel Eternal Road: The final stop, the transformation of the heroes, and the meaning behind historical and supernatural elements. 1. What is the significance of the book’s title Eternal Road? The title came to me one day while I was writing one of the scenes. Eternal Road is the avenue to one’s selected spot to spend eternity. The road is well-traveled...
No book worth its salt is meant to put you to sleep, it’s meant to make you jump out of bed in your underwear and run and beat the author’s brains out. Bohumil Hrabal, Czech novelist There’s a book called Aspects of the Novel, a series of lectures from E. M. Forster, written in 1927. I haven’t read it myself yet, but I saw a mention about it in the...
There’s a beautiful Sanskrit work – Samadhi OR समाधि – which roughly translates as a state of oneness, or complete absorption. How often do you experience such a feeling when you write? You know… that golden moment when you get entirely lost in your own words, and the page fills up effortlessly. The great challenge for us, soulful scribes, is that, all too often, the state of Samadhi alludes us. Our minds swirl with...
Written by Jemima Have you found yourself wondering if the whole New Year’s resolutions concept is getting a little jaded and tatty around the edges? If so, allow me a shot at rekindling your passion for pledges to the Self. I know that most of us writers can raise a hand on having made heartfelt promises that have been spectacularly broken, with a mighty tumble before the end of January....
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,...