Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i The Writer

Susanna Moore belongs to a small class of writers whose work performs the paradoxical miracle of giving solace by offering none. For all their sensuous engagement with the Hawaiian landscape of her childhood (which led to the myopic critical judgment that there was something restrictively “lush” going on), her first three novels, My Old Sweetheart, The Whiteness of Bones and Sleeping Beauties, contain alarming — and unalarmed – confrontations with cruelty, desire, violence, betrayal and death. It took the controversial and nationally bestselling In the Cut to wake the dozing consensus to a writer whose imagination has always been informed by seared understanding and a shaming innocence, and to establish her reputation for not shirking the darkness. She cares about getting it right at the level of the sentence, delivering…

Where do we get our stories? How do we start with the first flicker of an image, or a string of words, or a “What if?,” and turn those ephemera into a fully realized universe that we, and our readers, can enter? This article will explore five ways “into” a story — character, voice, situation, image and message — and the advantages and challenges of each approach, from chasing those initial and often elusive thoughts, to understanding their role in the developing story, and then using what seems to be working well to find a natural end. The steps are numbered, but I recommend starting with the section that interests you most. 1. Find the character. All roads lead to character. No matter how plot-driven and action- packed you envision…

Hardly a day passes but some young man or woman climbs the stairs to the office of The Bostonian to ask me that question. Always I tell them that the only way I know for a beginner to earn a living by writing is for him to get a job on a newspaper. So far no one has followed my advice. Young writers dearly love to ask for advice — I used to myself. There is always a chance someone will tell you how perfectly wonderful your work is. But for those who want to write, and who are honestly debating within themselves whether or not it is a practical career for them to start on, I have a few suggestions. I have been writing for a living a dozen…

TODAY WE REMEMBER EDGAR ALLAN Poe as one of the earliest authors (some would say the creator) of both detective stories and horror stories, and as the writer of some of the most haunting poems in the language. We may be less familiar with his nonfiction works, including his articles and essays on the art of writing. To supplement the sporadic, often meager payments he received for his tales and poems, Poe published as often as he could in magazines and newspapers. He wrote on a wide range of subjects, from the nature of the soul to his proposal to change the country’s name to Appalachia. Among his favorite topics were the process of writing and the characteristics of great literature. Perhaps his words will provoke us to re-examine some…

INTERVIEWING IS A HIGH ART. Whether a series of questions conducted for a primetime television show, the probing of characters by a fiction writer or the one-chance question shouted at a public figure, the results can make or break the final product. Yet, writers often fear the act of interviewing. It is the moment when you emerge from your privacy and takes a more public stage as a performer yourself. As in theater, the more prepared the actor, the better the performance. The following steps can increase your chances of conducting a strong interview and delivering a stellar final product. First, gather as much information about the source, expert or personality as possible. Look at his or her background on LinkedIn, view Twitter feeds and read Facebook postings. Search for…

“A word after a word after a word is power,” says novelist Margaret Atwood. Part of that power is the power writing bestows upon its author – the power not only to reflect our emotions but to impact them. But we usually want more from our writing than these internal benefits; we want our words to transform themselves into newspaper pieces, poems, magazine articles, novels — solid pieces of ourselves ready to greet an audience. We hope that we have done our job well enough that our published words also have the power to touch others’ feelings, stir thoughts, fire up spirits. We don’t have to be “inspirational writers” to inspire our audiences, after all. But it’s essential to ask: In what directions are we inspiring readers? In the post-election/newly…

As a freelancer, my time is limited. With two little kids and a part-time schedule, I have to make the most of every minute I’m at my desk. Over the last five years, since my son was born, I’ve become more efficient than ever about making the most of my time. You can, too, when you give these 10 strategies a try. They may be simple, but they add up to saving minutes every day, which results in hours of increased productivity. 1. Stop thinking so big. When I started freelancing, I tended to over-research. I’d interview more sources than I actually used in an assigned story, wasting my time and theirs. Since then, I’ve developed the following rules of thumb: For a piece of 300 words or fewer, I…

Many writers want to hone their craft but don’t want to commit to or pay for a full-blown MFA program. Luckily, many local and online classes, workshops, and certificate programs can support writers’ needs without obliging them to commit several years and multiple paychecks to the cause. While MFA programs are valuable for many reasons, local craft workshops can be helpful as well. Consider these options: Writing centers. Most big cities have a writing center that offers work space, breakout sessions, and critiques. Libraries. The place where the written word is most sacred often plays host to writing groups. Colleges and universities. Not only will you be instructed by top-level writers, but chances are you’ll also come out of your course with a certificate in hand. Adult learning centers. Geared…