What Do We Write About When We Write About Sex?

June 16, 2011
Thumbnail image for What Do We Write About When We Write About Sex?

Your characters want to have sex and you’re quaking at the thought. But fear not: At a recent writers conference, I sat in on a panel discussing the scenes that can give anyone severe writers block, and I took notes for you. Bloody Words 2011 panelists Mallory Wilkins, Tess Gerritsen, Denise Dietz and Caro Soles came [...]

Read the article…

Writers Conferences: Should You Try a New Genre?

May 31, 2011
Thumbnail image for Writers Conferences: Should You Try a New Genre?

When I’m trying to teach people how to read like a writer — a worthwhile skill for both writers and dedicated readers — I often suggest they read a book or ten outside their usual genre. Let’s say your bedside table is usually piled high with blue books; if you try a few pink or [...]

Read the article…

Book Club Blunders

May 11, 2011
Thumbnail image for Book Club Blunders

Have you ever squirmed through an awkward moment in your book club? There’s an excellent example of such a moment in the movie. And while on the surface the book club scene shows the bad side of literary sharing, it also demonstrates one of the best things about reading. Phil (Steve Carell) sits in a [...]

Read the article…

10 Novels With Notable Mothers

May 6, 2011

In honor of Mother’s Day, I browsed my bookshelf looking for novels with mothers of note. Here, listed in no particular order, are ten books I’ve enjoyed: , Margaret Laurence , Carol Shields , Toni Morrison , Sue Miller , Lionel Shriver , D.H. Lawrence , Sue Kaufman , Allison Pearson , Betty Jane Hegerat [...]

Read the article…

A “Wilder” Version of Dorian Gray

April 27, 2011

Not so long ago, the literary world was in a tizzy over the censoring of new editions of Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. (For more on how a writer might view such literary cleansing, read this post.) Now, Harvard University Press is publishing a “new” version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian [...]

Read the article…

When Good Writers Go Bad

April 18, 2011

Another memoir hits the dust: Greg Mortenson, author of the bestsellers Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, stands accused of fabricating parts of his “true” stories. Mortenson’s books are based upon the fact he “stumbled into” the village of Korphe after trying to climb K2 and getting lost; then, to make a long [...]

Read the article…

Nordic Noir – Mystery Solved?

April 5, 2011

Ever wonder why it is readers are ravenous for Nordic noir? I recently attended a talk by Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardottir, who attempted to explain—or at least provide an indepth examination of—the phenomenon. Sigurdardottir, a civil engineer when not writing, displayed a set of tables and stats to make the point that, relative to other [...]

Read the article…

Do You Overwrite? Adventurous Prose May Not Be Rewarded

March 23, 2011

Last night, I grabbed a bottle of wine off the shelf and, with the first sip of the evening, read from the label on the back of the bottle. My wine, South African, was a cheetah from a land where Nature reigns supreme, with dark blackberry notes, and a glass of it would be to [...]

Read the article…

An Irish Literary Treat: Nuala O’Faolain

March 16, 2011

So, I’ve painted my nails green and perused my bookshelf for a favourite Irish read to thumb through with a pint of Guinness. It didn’t take me long to decide: Are You Somebody?, the gutsy, candid and often heart-breaking memoir of Irish writer and journalist Nuala O’Faolain. It came out in 1996, and The New [...]

Read the article…

Safe Writing vs. Provocative Words

March 6, 2011

My friend Lou is the editor of a parenting magazine and writes a great column for each issue. She’s been at this job several years and knows enough to make her column neutral on most subjects. “But sometimes,” Lou tells me one night when we’re sitting up at the bar, “I long to write something [...]

Read the article…

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →