Cynthia Closkey's blog
Nathalie Chicha shares notes from Lorrie Moore’s Q&A with her writing workshop: -She almost always has a story’s ending in mind before starting it. Then, one-third into the story, the ending becomes clearer, and she skips ahead and writes it. -A student asks how she goes about assigning characters their jobs, “something poets don’t need …
Continue reading “The only writer constantly discouraged from writing novels”
Stephany Aulenback is linking up a storm at Maud Newton’s blog today, and it’s all good. Make sure to see the entry on 86-year-old LaVonne Snowden’s self-published book.
Absinthe may become available again. But not for a while. In the meantime, we must console ourselves with Pernod. Here’s a promising-sounding cocktail with a Hemingway theme: DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON Creator: N/A Ingredients: 1 Champagne 1.5 oz. Pernod Glassware: Champagne Flute Directions: Pour Pernod into a chilled glass and fill up with champagne. (Alameda …
Continue reading “Drink of the week: Death in the Afternoon”
[We interrupt this blog for a brief advertisement.) Dear Pittsburgh-area writer: Do you have a manuscript moldering in a bottom drawer? Starting April 18, Fat Plum will present Book Boot Camp, a six-session workshop with tracks for manuscript revision, publishing strategy, and book development. Each week’s discussion will be tailored to your specific needs and …
Please go enjoy Crazy Arms That Long to Strangle by Rennie Sparks: The octopus may also wave its arms in rhythmic patterns that attract and immobilize fish. Fishermen off the coast of Washington report seeing hundreds of small fish frozen in the water as if hypnotized by a passing giant Pacific octopus. One fisherman said, …
Nifty and useful: A readability checker for Word documents and web pages. (Lia via Cup of Chicha.)
I missed this pointless Hemingway diversion yesterday. I travelled to Europe with my sister Laura a few weeks after I graduated college. I wouldn’t have gone but for her: She wanted to travel but our parents wouldn’t let her go alone, so she talked/bullied me into it. It was a great trip, but she and …
Continue reading “Now I’m wishing I was sitting at a cafe on the Rive Gauche”
Continuing the topic of the previous post: Stephany Aulenback received an email from a bookseller who explains some issues with print-on-demand. You can read the full text there, and if you’ve an interest in books and publishing you should, because it’s a well-written and interesting letter. But I’d like to focus on one aspect, which …
Stephany Aulenback wonders when electronic books and print-on-demand will come into their own. I think e-books are waiting for the right delivery mechanism, devices that are easier to read from than the tiny screens on PDAs. But I don’t see any such holdup for print on demand — the hurdles seem to be in people, …
Continue reading “Friday morning mini-rant: the state of publishing”
The launch of my new venture has taken most of my time lately. It is Fat Plum: We’re beginning by offering workshops, private consultations on writing and publishing, manuscript reviews and edits, and so on. Soon we’ll expand into writer-focused products. And then we’ll start publishing books and other cool stuff. We have very grand …