I like the funny political videos the folks at actually.org are creating. Rosie Perez sets Mitt straight on whether it’s easier to get elected as a Latino; Sarah Silverman and Lizz Winstead agree with Mitt that people aren’t people, corporations are people; and here’s W. Kamau Bell, who hates science: (Thanks, B.) *** Sometimes, after… Read more »
writing
Putting My Most Frequently-Asked Question to Bed
Warning: This post contains Fire spoilers. Where do you get the inspirations for your novels? There’s are two fundamental problems with this question: (1) It contains incorrect assumptions about where a book comes from. The tiniest proportion of a book — let’s say 3% — comes from inspiration. (2) It’s also unanswerable. Where does that… Read more »
On Setting Things Free
I’ve been playing chess on my phone during work hours. Initially, I started to do this because the writing I’m doing is kicking my heart around the room and I can only bear to work on it in small doses; a game of chess every 90 minutes or so stabilizes me and brings me back… Read more »
Advice to New Writers: Green Triangles Should Be Both Triangular and Green
Advice to new writers: don’t worry too much about reader reactions that don’t seem to be connected to what you were actually trying to do. What do I mean by that? Well, say you produce a yellow square and put it out in the world and the reactions are like, “Oh my goodness! As yellow… Read more »
Writing Tools (Bright and Dark)
A few weeks ago, I showed you all the book map that I built for my office wall. This tool has proven itself to be invaluable. I consult it constantly as I’m working. It’s a stupendous structural aid as I reorder the events of this book and refocus the plot. I WANT TO MARRY IT…. Read more »
Margaret Mahy, 1936-2012
New Zealand writer Margaret Mahy died on Monday, July 23. She was 76 years old. Margaret Mahy could write emotions like sadness, fear, the desperateness of courage, so that you felt them as you read. A few lines from Alchemy (2004): Certainly the sound of her sadness had spread itself backward and forward through time…. Read more »
Some Tips if You’re Revising
(Chinese cover of Graceling, published by Yongzheng —>) Have a manuscript that isn’t working? Might these suggestions help? 1. Divide it into its smallest components.Print out your manuscript. Sit down with a big pile of paper clips. Then, start pulling the manuscript apart and dividing/clipping it by scene. (Is your beginning more of a mess… Read more »
Good Is The Enemy of Great
It’s raining here today in Cambridge. I’m listening to DMX’s “Lord Give Me a Sign;” José González’s “Storm;” and The Cinematic Orchestra’s “To Build a Home.” I wonder if there are any TV fans out there so fanatical that you can tell from these songs (and maybe from my subject heading) what I’ve been watching?… Read more »
A Few Tour Questions
Before I get to the questions, I love Justine Larbalestier’s recent blog post, written to her friends and extended family: “You don’t have to read my books.” Now seems like an appropriate time for me to link to it, since I have a new book that’s just come out. Friends and family who might be… Read more »
TV Roundup — It’s All about Writing Character
The Dowager Countess: Wasn’t there a masked ball in Paris when cholera broke out? Half the guests were dead before they left the ballroom. The Earl: Thank you, Mama. That’s cheered us up no end. (From Downton Abbey) Spoiler warning: Assume that all the following sections contain spoilers for whatever TV show the section is… Read more »
