narrative nonfiction | narrative nonfiction
Feb.07.2013
One day I plan to write a book for writers called Don’t Do As I Did. Included will be a chapter on applying for grants and residencies.
I’ve been a slacker in this regard. In the spirit of better late than never, I thought I might apply for funding to help me finish Wealth...
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Jan.23.2013
I have been working on a first chapter that is all about movement and emotion. The trick of it has been to tie the two together in a compelling way that feels authentic rather than contrived, but too often I have found myself lost in it and unable to regain the necessary perspective to effectively...
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Jul.06.2009
Hemingway gave perhaps the best writer's advice when he said something to the effect of, "I sit down and try to write one true sentence each day..." What he was saying is that it is not good enough to log thousands of words if those words are merely fish wrap. Nor is it good enough to sit...
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Jan.19.2009
I finished my next book today and sent it to my agent. Just taking a moment to celebrate.
It's narrative nonfiction. Are they still publishing that these days?
I guess we'll see.
Of course, I have finished it before. Several times. But this one feels like it might stick.
I guess we'll see. ...
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Jan.14.2009
Now that the eggnog-hazed Holidaze have passed, it comes to mind that "The Alchemy of Air," my latest book, actually made it to a few "best of" lists. These include Kirkus Reviews -- notoriously the most prickly and "toughest" prepublication book review -- which named...
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Jan.09.2009
When I think back to enduring the pain of cancer treatment and the intensity of it there are two memories that come instantly to mind. The first is while enduring the pain of radiation I sat down to write my two young children each a letter in case I died during surgery or some other area of...
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Dec.10.2008
Does jealousy make me a better writer?
I ask that because this morning as I was reading through the blogs I came to a posting that brought that ugly little bear out from its den. I am not prone to jealousy. The times when I have been jealous of a girlfriend or partner have been blessedly rare and...
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Dec.09.2008
In the early 1930s Lou and a few of his friends from Boys High in Brooklyn founded what they called the "Social Issues Club." For them it was intened to be a means to help the many people living around them that were fast becoming victims of the Great Depression--people who were suffering...
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Dec.08.2008
One of the biggest problems I have with a number of memoirs is the lack of honesty held within the pages. This is not to say that they are dishonest, unless it comes as an act of ommission rather than commission. Instead, so many memoir writers tend to shy away from writing with great honesty not...
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Dec.02.2008
It doesn't really matter if the economy is strong or in tatters as it currently is, the challenge and importance of writing a very good query letter are always the same. If you can't catch the eye of an agent or publisher your writing is simply going nowhere.
For me, I obsess over nearly every...
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