Posts Tagged ‘fiction’
Writing as a way to banish concerns from your mind, according to Dos Passos
“When you write about something you often never think of it again.” —John Dos Passos I’m a big fan of John Dos Passos and his stories about how cruel the reality could be for immigrants arriving in American cities at the turn of the century – and how harsh and solitary life in those…
Read MoreFinding our author voice
For those who love writing and reading, the discussion about author voice and that feeling we experience when we’re fully immersed in a character voice in a new novel we’re reading is endlessly fascinating. Sadly, it also takes lots (and lots, and lots) of practice to develop. This is why I was eager to sign…
Read MoreWriters take heart – even John Steinbeck was intimidated by the blank page
“After many years, to start a story still scares me to death.” —John Steinbeck If it can happen to John Steinbeck, it can happen to anyone. Who can believe that the famed American author (1902 – 1968) of such classics as The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, East of Eden and The Pearl…
Read MoreA 2020 in books
I usually finish my annual Goodreads Reading Challenge with plenty of breathing room, but 2020 has been anything but a usual year. So I’m still uncertain if I’ll meet my annual goal as the year rapidly comes to a close. Chances are – with yet another government-mandated shutdown (because science), I will. Nevertheless, I’ve read…
Read MoreIn writing as in life, learn from your mistakes
“When it’s finally in print, you’re delivered—you don’t ever have to look at it again. It’s too late to worry about its failings. I’ll have to apply any lessons this book has taught me toward writing the next one.” —Eudora Welty I only just wrote about another brilliant Eudora Welty quote a couple of weeks…
Read MoreHoliday 2019 reading (Part 2)
Over the summer holidays, I was back in New York, and armed with my beloved library card. I managed to read lots of good books during my time there, and blogged about some of them last week. This week, I’ll wrap up the reviews of my holiday reading … also giving me a chance to…
Read MoreMarch travels to Alaska, North Korea, Australia, Dubai & NY
Although I am an avid traveller, I am neither an airline pilot nor an international spy (even if both professions sound rather intriguing…) I did travel to all these places last month, but alas, only on the written page. And isn’t that the point of novels? To transport us around the world, to different periods…
Read MoreBook review: The Stars are Fire
Author Anita Shreve is a master at penning realistic characters and delving deep into their psyches, and The Stars are Fire is a brilliant illustration of her significant talent in bringing her characters to life. Grace Holland is a young mother of two toddlers in post World War II Maine. Her husband, Gene, has retruned from…
Read MoreWhy women’s stories are so engaging
“I deem as heroic those who have the harder task, face it unflinchingly and live. In this world women do that.” —James Salter How can I not love this quote by American novelist and short story writer James Salter (1925-2015)? I’ve always been a great reader, and grew up reading all the (mostly male-authored) classics.…
Read MoreWho controls whom? Vargas Llosa on characters who have a mind of their own
“It becomes apparent that the author cannot mold characters as he pleases, that they have a certain autonomy.” – Mario Vargas Llosa A wonderfully insighful observation by brilliant Spanish-Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa. I doubt many authors would question this wisdom. After all, as writers, you may have clear ideas on how your characters should…
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