Tag: Writing

This is How a Flash Fiction Contest on Chuck Wendig’s Website Got Me a Playwriting Gig and Then a Writing Residency in England.

This is the story of how I turned a flash fiction story written in an hour for a Flash Fiction thing on Chuck Wendig's blog into a week-long writing residency in Exeter in the U.K. Chuck Wendig is the author of numerous books (buy Wonderers and thank me later) but I first encountered him as … Continue reading This is How a Flash Fiction Contest on Chuck Wendig’s Website Got Me a Playwriting Gig and Then a Writing Residency in England. →

5 Rather Excellent Noir Crime Books

I got to spend a week in Exeter this summer, as the International Writer-in-Residence at the Quay Words literary festival. Part of the deal was to give a talk on Icelandic crime writing and at the end of that talk (which I may post here later) I told the audience about the books that most … Continue reading 5 Rather Excellent Noir Crime Books →

The Sublime Weirdness of Jeff Vandermeer’s FINCH

FINCH is one of my favorite books. I can't understand why it hasn't been made into a series, or why there aren't more people running through the streets, thrusting a copy of FINCH upon random strangers exclaiming "You need to read this!" Ok. That last one was maybe a bit much. It's about a detective, … Continue reading The Sublime Weirdness of Jeff Vandermeer’s FINCH →

How Douglas Adams wrote The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

I was thumbing through my copy of Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (a book on Douglas Adams written by Neil Gaiman!) and came across a great passage. It certainly made me feel a little better about my glacial writing pace. This is Douglas describing how the Restaurant at the … Continue reading How Douglas Adams wrote The Restaurant at the End of the Universe →

Take a Look at Joe Lansdale’s Writing Schedule

Us writers can obsess endlessly over the optimal amount of daily writing time. Should it be measured in words written? Pages? Hours spent ass-in-chair? I try to get up at around 5:30 to get some writing done before going to work. It doesn't always happen, but I've learned that the best time is from 6:00 … Continue reading Take a Look at Joe Lansdale’s Writing Schedule →

The 79 Authors You Need to Read to Become a Writer According to Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons is a writer you might know, and he once said something about writing and reading that has stuck with me ever since. His best-know books are The Terror, Summer of Night, Drood (personal favorite) and Carrion Comfort.  The Terror was recently made into a fantastic, if somewhat slow, TV-series, and the book is … Continue reading The 79 Authors You Need to Read to Become a Writer According to Dan Simmons →

The Best Writing of the Week – Wuthering Heights

Sometimes you come across passages that remind you again of what good writing is. I just started the classic Wuthering Heights last night (yes, you need to read the classics) and was taken aback by a passage not just because of the quality of the prose but also by the tone. It was like the … Continue reading The Best Writing of the Week – Wuthering Heights →

Two Awesome Quotes From The Hobbit’s 1973 Introduction

In my edition of The Hobbit, cheap mass-market paperback, there is an introduction by Peter S Beagle from 1973 that contains not one but two passages that are amazingly political and powerful. A Quote For Today, From 1973 The Sixties were no fouler a decade than the Fifties - they mere reaped the Fifties' foul … Continue reading Two Awesome Quotes From The Hobbit’s 1973 Introduction →