Friday Finds for Writers

Treasure Chest
Writing-related resources, news, and reflections to enjoy over the weekend.

  • “Do I wish I’d begun when I was younger? Yes. Do I regret that I didn’t? No. And that is a distinction it took me half a century of living to understand.” Heather Young, on beginning her first novel when she was 43 (and publishing it at 51).
  • Especially for freelancers: “Worst Writer Mistakes: 8 Editors Reveal What Makes Them Say ‘No’.”
  • Next Thursday (December 10) in New York: Meet the Agents at the CUNY Graduate Center (“the agents” being Julie Barer, Richard Morris, Anna Stein, and Kent D. Wolf).
  • And here’s something in DC: a free fiction workshop with an application deadline of December 30. (via Michelle Brafman)
  • Finally: This week, on the anniversary of his death, Tablet published an appreciation of Romain Gary (1914-1980). Under the pseudonym/construction of Émile Ajar, Gary published one of my all-time favorite novels, La vie devant soi. I’m always glad to have an opportunity to consider that novel anew.
  • Have a good weekend, everyone.