Last week I had the chance to participate in two separate discussions about David Shields’ Reality Hunger: a Manifesto, the first with members of the Working from Life: Writing Creative Nonfiction workshop and the second with two members of the Future of Publishing Think Tank (FOPTT). Shields’ book contends that shifts in perception—of self, of [...]
Archive for the ‘Fiction’ Category
At my desk
Posted in Blogger, Books we're reading, creative non fiction, Fiction on October 4, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Writing Prompt by Rob Roberge
Posted in Fiction, MFA Faculty, writers, Writing prompts on May 3, 2010 | 3 Comments »
A revision prompt: Go back through any story you’ve done (or essay or whatever) and highlight every simile or metaphor. Usually our first attempts at these are pat—using the borrowed language dead with, as Shklovsky points out (in the great book for writers “Theory of Prose”), the weight of familiarity. Say you’ve written a clunker [...]
Writing Prompt by Rob Roberge
Posted in Fiction, MFA Faculty, writers, Writing prompts on April 26, 2010 | 1 Comment »
I’m a great believer in forced limitations—stories/modes of composition that have some pre-enforced limitation that requires us to find creative and unique ways out of a bind (as writing is, among other things, a form of creative problem-solving). Lipograms, formal poetry, all these things tend to spur creativity. So, with that in mind, a writing [...]
Writing Prompt by Felicia Luna Lemus
Posted in Fiction, writers, Writing prompts on March 22, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Punk Nerd Revolution Writing Prompt Pick a central character you’d like to develop further. What is one thing you know for sure about said character? Revolt! Take the one thing you know for sure about your character’s identity and turn it on its head. For instance, if your character is male, make your character female [...]
Writing Tip by Lisa Teasley
Posted in Fiction, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on March 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Take Notes When it comes to fiction, my primary discipline, I’m brought to the page by character: his or her peculiarities, vulnerabilities, self-perceived shortcomings, and conflicts with others. If I’m stuck in any way with narrative flow, I’ll take notes on the character’s history, whims, scuffles, crises, and then come back to the page fresh [...]
Writing Tip by Eric Gutierrez
Posted in creative non fiction, Fiction, Writers at Work Recommends, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on March 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
That throbbing cursor at the top of an empty computer screen at the beginning of a new tale is the Medusa that can often turn imagination into stone. To get past not getting started I still use that old trick of writing the last sentence first, regardless of whether I’m writing fiction or non-fiction. If [...]
Writing Prompt by Alistair McCartney!
Posted in Fiction, MFA Faculty, writers, Writing prompts on January 25, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Writing Prompt: The Pitiless In Volume One of his collected letters, Gustave Flaubert wrote that “the highest and most difficult achievement of Art is not to make us laugh or cry, nor to arouse lust or rage, but to do what nature does—that is, to set us dreaming.” He went on to say that [...]
Writing Tip by Marisela Norte!
Posted in Fiction, Poetry, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on January 18, 2010 | 5 Comments »
I’ve chosen public transportation and my own two feet as my preferred means of navigating the city. Every day I make it a point to venture out with my camera and a small notebook and just take in this landscape that is Los Angeles. It can be a short tour around the neighborhood, a visit [...]
Writing Tip by Noel Alumit
Posted in Blogger, Fiction, Los Angeles, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on December 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I think it’s useful to mix up my routine. Don’t always write in the morning, try at night or the afternoon. Don’t always write at your desk, switch to the kitchen table, the bedroom. Even better, try a park. My mind is constantly shifting depending on time and place. Doing this allows me to find [...]
Writing Tip by Gerald Locklin
Posted in creative non fiction, Fiction, Los Angeles, Poetry, writers, Writing process and tips, Writing Tip on November 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Photo by Vanessa Locklin The most important advice I have for writers is that a poem can be on any subject in any type of language (but the best for its purposes of that type). In other words, there are no subjects that are “unpoetic” or unfit for poetry and there are no levels of [...]
