Posts Tagged ‘fiction’
Writers: Finish your work!
Enjoyed a column in the latest issue of The Writer, in which television screenwriter and playwright Norman Barasch offered authors some valuable advice: “The most important thing about writing is to make sure – once you’ve started a project – don’t stop in the middle if you can help it. Just get to the end,…
Read MoreCan books teach their authors?
“A good book is more intelligent than its author. It can say things that the writer is not aware of.” -Umberto Eco Yet more wisdom from the recently deceased Italian author Umberto Eco (1932-2016). I’d never thought of this before, but once I read it I knew it to be true. How many of us…
Read MoreAre all writers hopeless liars?
“Is the artist a liar, or simply one for whom even a fact is not a fact? ” -Ned Rorem I love this quote by American composer Ned Rorem in The Paris Review. What do you think, writers? Are we merely liars when we make up an entire world and populate it with invented characters story after…
Read MoreWriting inspiration from Lord Byron
If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad. Lord Byron These words from the great Romantic poet, George Gordon Noel Byron (1788-1824), more commonly known as simply Lord Byron, may feel quite familiar to writers. Well, hopefully not hauled-off-in-a-straight-jacket mad, but I’ve been known to have stories jingling around in my head,…
Read MoreA Nobel laureate’s views on women’s stories
Women tell things in more interesting ways. They live with more feeling. They observe themselves and their lives. Men are more impressed with action. For them, the sequence is more important. Svetlana Alexievich 2015 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature quoted in the New Yorker, 26 October 2015 I was struck by this observation by Svetlana…
Read MoreMy short story, Gender Equality, is now online
I’m pleased to announce that my short story, Gender Equality, has been included in the latest edition of Digital Papercut and is now available online. In my story, Francesca has left her native Naples to work in an international organization in Brussels. Recently promoted to a director position, Francesca feels the pressure of espousing progressive…
Read More#ReadWomen2014
I read about this great initiative, the #ReadWomen2014 Twitter campaign earlier this year. In recent years, a lot of attention has been focused on the gender bias in the publishing industry. Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of readers are women, male authors still enjoy the lion’s share of media attention, awards, covers of…
Read MoreToday’s the book launch of Catherine McNamara’s Pelt and Other Stories
I am very excited to announce today’s launch of a short story collection spanning continents, Pelt and Other Stories, by my friend, the author Catherine McNamara. I’ve already had Catherine on this blog when her novel The Divorced Lady’s Companion to Living in Italy came out. In an author interview, Catherine shared information and advice…
Read MoreA conversation with writer Francesca Marciano
An English-language university here in Rome hosts author nights, open to the public. Last year, I wrote about the fabulous Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates I attended. This year, I decided to attend a conversation and reading with the Italian author, Francesca Marciano. Ms Marciano was introduced by John Cabot University’s Writer in Residence, Jhumpa…
Read MoreMore fun with historical research: Ball gowns!
And here’s where most men will stop reading… As Mr. Bennet himself put it so elegantly when his wife attempted to describe ball gowns to him in the BBC film version of Pride and Prejudice: “No lace. No lace, Mrs. Bennet, I beg you!” Chapter three of Pride and Prejudice expresses Mr. Bennet’s disdain for discussions…
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