January, or “Jani,” was born a genius; at three years old, she could read and calculate mathematics in her head. But if she didn’t receive constant mental stimulation, she could succumb to violent meltdowns.
Category: Articles
Review — Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster by Kristen Johnston
Love is exactly the word that comes to mind when reading the memoir of actress and literary newcomer Kristen Johnston. Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster (Gallery Books, 2012) encompasses her brilliant journey from darkness to light.
The Writing Life: After the Story is Told by William Henderson
Which is what telling stories is, if you think about it – attempting to leave behind something that wasn’t there before. Arranging words in the order in which they belong, even before you knew that these words, in this order, existed.
The Writing Life: Show and Tell by Lisa Ahn
Show and tell is theater. As writers, we can’t help but love it. Like children, we harbor indeterminate, odd wonders. The idea that slips inside a pocket. The fringe of inspiration. We collect words like talismans – tessellation, shambolic, caducity – and cup them in our palms.
Interview: Teresa Rhyne, author of The Dog Lived (and So Will I)
Author Teresa Rhyne’s memoir, The Dog Lived (And So Will I) tells of the cancer battles fought by both her and her rescue beagle Seamus. Funny and poignant, the book speaks volumes about the love humans feel toward their pet companions…and vice versa.
Craft: All’s Well if it Ends Well by Risa Nye
If I had to name the most challenging aspects of writing—no matter if we’re talking about fiction or nonfiction—nailing the ending would come at the top of the list, followed by “getting started” and “doing the middle bit.” Coming up with the right ending can throw a writer into a tizzy.
Interview: Marion Roach Smith
When I was a child, my mother always twisted my long black hair in tight pigtails. But when her back was turned, I tossed off the rubber bands and delighted in feeling my hair going off in all directions, loose and unkempt. That was a metaphor moment for me, and it’s the kind of detail that author Marion Roach Smith promotes in her book The Memoir Project
The Writing Life: Writing on the Edge of Crazyville by Lisa Ahn
After I finished my first novel, I had several lengthy, insightful conversations with Oprah Winfrey. Our dialogue was the stuff of legends – and it took place entirely in my head.
Interview: David Lazar, author/editor
The last two summers, I’ve had the good fortune to spend a week in June at Chautauqua Institution in New York where I do readings and teach writing workshops. On a particularly balmy Sunday afternoon, I sat on the porch of the Writer’s Center listening to that week’s prose writer-in-residence, David Lazar. His discussion focused…
Review: The 90 Day Rewrite by Alan Watt
“At the heart of every story lies a dilemma.” So begins the new book by Alan Watt, The 90 Day Rewrite. Latching onto the success of his first book, The 90 Day Novel, he attacks the rewrite process with the same vigor. He starts off with a review of what we learned from his first…
