In Jeffrey Lent’s new novel “A Slant of Light,” Union soldier Malcolm Hopeton comes home to his farm in western New York to discover that his wife has run off with his hired hand. What he does in a fit of rage propels him to flee — and sets in motion a somewhat unconventional narrative.… Continue reading A Portrait of Rural Life after the Civil War
Category: Writing/Rewriting
Harper Lee and Her Editor
Most of the hullabaloo over the announcement that Harper Lee would finally be publishing a sequel to her much-loved classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” focused on whether the 88-year-old author had willingly surrendered the manuscript or whether she was being taken advantage of after the death of her very protective sister Alice. Readers have been… Continue reading Harper Lee and Her Editor
What We Talk About When We Talk About Plot
E.M. Forster defined the difference between story and plot this way: “The king died and then the queen died is a story. The king died and then the queen died of grief is a plot.” Some writers visualize their plots as suspension bridges, with the towers representing key turning points. Photo by abarndweller. Plot is… Continue reading What We Talk About When We Talk About Plot
Prize-Winning Dandelions and the Best Time to Write: What I Learned in 2014
Last year was one of the busiest I’ve had in a long time. Here is some of what I learned: 1. Teaching is much harder than it looks. After teaching intro composition at a college last year, I have a profound appreciation and admiration for teachers. The work is hard, it is intense, it is… Continue reading Prize-Winning Dandelions and the Best Time to Write: What I Learned in 2014
Rewriting: How to Begin
Once you've written a complete draft of your story or book, you're ready for the next stage of the process: rewriting. The complexity of the revision process mainly hinges on whether you're the sort of writer who creates a detailed outline before you begin or someone who makes it up as you go along, by… Continue reading Rewriting: How to Begin
Writing When You Only Have Moments to Spare
To follow up on my earlier post about “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.,” the DVD version features a fascinating conversation among the show’s writers, who came together to talk about the experience of creating 27 episodes in one season. They described a “war-like environment” and some pretty insane deadlines — perhaps best summed up… Continue reading Writing When You Only Have Moments to Spare
The Art of Revision — And Why You Should Love It
Writing, like just about any creative pursuit, is a process. That process begins with exploring ideas, writing a first draft (which is where many people romantically think writing ends) and then revising, revising, revising. Writers who are now in the throes of National Novel Writing Month are in that starry-eyed first-draft stage. That is a… Continue reading The Art of Revision — And Why You Should Love It
Why I Haven’t Been Blogging: Part 2
My teaching gig ended in May, and in June, I packed up and moved several hundred miles up the East Coast. More dramatically, I moved from bustling suburban sprawl (and a townhouse whose tiny yard was little bigger than the back deck) to five beautiful acres on the outskirts of a small New England town.… Continue reading Why I Haven’t Been Blogging: Part 2
Why I Haven’t Been Blogging: Part 1
It’s been a while since my last post, but I haven’t been idle. I’ve been busy in unexpected ways. I was making some good progress on restructuring my novel when I got an offer to teach intro composition at the local community college. I had some concerns about maintaining my writing schedule, but I naively… Continue reading Why I Haven’t Been Blogging: Part 1
George R.R. Martin: A public case of writer’s block?
George R.R. Martin is a little behind on his writing, and all the world seems to know it. His "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels form the basis of HBO’s "Game of Thrones" TV show. But the show will soon catch up to where Martin left off in his books because he is years… Continue reading George R.R. Martin: A public case of writer’s block?
Tracy Chevalier and ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’
Tracy Chevalier, author of multiple historical novels, was part of the TED Radio Hour on NPR last weekend. In a sound bite from her TED Talk back in June, she explained how she came up with the story for her book “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” based on the painting by Vermeer. It is a… Continue reading Tracy Chevalier and ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’
Writing inspiration from Don Cheadle
When I was driving the other day, I caught an interview with actor Don Cheadle ("Hotel Rwanda," "Traitor," "House of Lies") on NPR. He struck me as a thoughtful, open, honest man. He was asked what advice he would give to actors trying to break into the business. He said it’s more difficult now than… Continue reading Writing inspiration from Don Cheadle
Terri J. Huck 