I’m still not convinced that eBooks are as successful literary devices as print books are, or even that they have as great potential. (They have other potential – speed and info abundance and portability – but they fall short, I believe, in pure storytelling impact.) Compare how differently each stimulates the use of brain, especially… [Read more…]
June 26, 2010
Here”s a bit of advice from Robert Louis Stevenson, in writing about the genesis of Treasure Island (from his 1905 short work Essays in the Art of Writing). He speaks to the imaginative power of starting by making a map! The story begins in 1881 in the Scottish Highlands, during a rainy spell spent confined… [Read more…]
June 1, 2010
Some might disparage the memoir as unverifiable history – perhaps inflated or poorly remembered facts from the past. Memory may indeed be seen by historians or journalists as somewhat inferior, flawed, imperfect history. But as a folklorist and a book editor (currently editing several memoirs), I want to encourage you to consider what memoirs do… [Read more…]
December 11, 2009
When I was a kid, maybe 3rd grade, we lived for a brief while on the outskirts of Evansville, Indiana. I remember two scary things about that home. One was a deserted house I had to walk past to get to the corner where the school bus stopped. It was the kind of empty place… [Read more…]
July 26, 2009
“I write to relive the itch in my head.” So said American fantasy author N.D. Wilson, author of Dandelion Fire and 100 Cupboards, a wonderful emerging trilogy (set in Kansas) for young readers (and up!) who enjoy Harry Potter and the great works of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. I have to admit, that “itch in… [Read more…]
January 28, 2009
Stories are like spiders and like spiderwebs. That’s what Neil Gaiman thinks. Or he does via the invisible narrator of the trickster tales found in Anansi Boys, his 2005 novel. Stories are like spiders, with all they long legs, and stories are like spiderwebs, which man gets himself all tangled up in but which look… [Read more…]
January 22, 2009
Imagery for a master writer isn’t just coming up with a nice turn of phrase . . . one that conjures up a sunset suddenly appearing like a distant marching band turning the corner . . . or the sense of a breeze on the skin like a silk scarf. A truly compelling image is… [Read more…]
December 12, 2008
As 2008 prepares to lead us into 2009, here are a few thoughts (about creativity, the writing process, and looking ahead) to savor: Fiction. . . . It’s like goading a mongoose and a cobra into battle and staying with them to see who wins. – Shauna Singh Baldwin, author of What the Body Remembers… [Read more…]
November 3, 2008
A farewell tip of the hat to Louis “Studs” Terkel (1912–2008), who passed away last Friday. I owe a great personal debt to his inspiration. His books got me started in collecting oral history and writing my first book, an effort of many years to record the stories and music of ordinary, homegrown fiddlers, the… [Read more…]
August 5, 2008
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” What is notable about that famous opening line? Repetition. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch… [Read more…]
The Writer's Handbook
February 27, 2012
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