One really stressful prospect for authors is that we will be the only ones to show up for our readings. Anne Patchett's wonderful take on the problem (excuse me …
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Writing Quotes and Other Literary Fun
Shakespeare & Company, Paris France
where Anais Nin, Henry Miller, James Baldwin, and Ernest Hemingway have been I'm in Paris for a month, writing and walking in the steps of some literary greats. …
Writing a Novel is Like Paddling a Bathtub
Just came across this wonderfully funny and true quote in the New York Times Book Review: “Look, writing a novel is like paddling from Boston to London in a …
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The Scent of a Woman's Ink, Still
On the whole, the past year was a pretty good one for literary women: Huerta Mueller won the Nobel, Hilary Mantel the Booker, Annette Gordon-Reed the National …
Rules for Writers (from Some Amazing Ones)
I just came across the most wonderful "Rules for Writing" series at the guardian.co.uk site, thanks to a mention of it in yesterday's NYTBR's "Inside the List". …
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Chekhov on Failure and Persistence
"...you must at once and for all give up being worried about successes and failures. Don't let that concern you. It's your duty to go on working steadily day by …
Summerset Maugham Rules for Writing
I saw this quote the other day, and couldn't resist sharing it: "There are only three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." - …
From On Becoming a Novelist, by John Gardner
Some words of wisdom from John Gardner, whose The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers is the writing book I most often turn to. This one, though, …
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Hemingway's Advice to Writers
For a new slant in the new year right, I've decided to mix author guest posts with advice from other writers on how a writer might ... do whatever it is we do. …