Friday Find: “How To Write Your Best Story”

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

I’ll be honest: I didn’t find Philip Martin’s slim new book, How To Write Your Best Story, on my own. Rather, it found me: I was in the middle of some struggles with a short story of my own when the author–whose anthology for writers I’d previously reviewed and admired–contacted me and asked if I’d like to receive a complimentary copy.

Subtitled “advice for writers on spinning an enchanting tale,” this is a nice, focused little book (about 100 pages) that concentrates on three specific “aspects of story.” As Martin writes: “A story needs the other normal things too: good characters, a plot that works, and all that. But in my experience, a story will sink or swim based on the appeal of those three elements: intriguing eccentricity to draw us in, delightful details to make us enjoy the course of the story, and a satisfying conclusion to wrap it up well.” I liked especially Martin’s choice of quotations throughout; I was less enthralled with “The Princess and the Apple,” a story that threads throughout the book to illustrate concepts.

What I discovered only after reading the book is that there’s a blog to accompany and complement it. There, you will find a much more complete sense of what the book offers and how Martin presents his material than I’ve been able to give you here.

With that, I wish you all a great weekend. See you back here on Monday!

Thursday’s Work-in-Progress: On the Dangers of Disrupting the Fictional Dream

by Erika Dreifus on
2

One of the best things about the surgery that I underwent last month is that–just as we’d hoped–it has corrected a medical problem and therefore vastly improved my quality of life. For instance, for a long time before the surgery, I was often unable to make (or keep) plans with friends and family because I was often too exhausted and/or housebound.

And I missed so many literary events that I would have loved to attend.

Last week, as you’ll remember, I wrote about a Jhumpa Lahiri reading that I’d just attended. This week, I had the privilege of going to a launch event for Boundaries, the latest novel by Elizabeth Nunez. I’ve been lucky to get to know Elizabeth through my work at The City University of New York, where she is a Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College. (And I assigned and edited this profile of her after her novel Anna In-Between was published in 2009.)

Boundaries is a sequel to Anna In-Between, and I’ve just begun reading it. At the Americas Society here in New York on Tuesday evening, Elizabeth was interviewed by literary critic and professor Donette Francis. Toward the end of the evening, audience members were able to pose questions, too.

One young woman asked Elizabeth–a native of Trinidad–why she had chosen not to name the island in which Anna In-Between is set (and from which the protagonist of Boundaries hails). In her response, Elizabeth explained that when she published an earlier novel, in which she specified Trinidad as the setting, a good friend–also from the island–had told her that he couldn’t read past the third page. Why?

Because Elizabeth had gotten a certain island detail wrong. This friend was an experienced sailor, and there was something about the way Elizabeth had written about the local wind patterns that immediately broke his sense of immersion in the story.

Fiction-writers-in-training are often warned about the precariousness of “the fictional dream,” that fragile bond that links the reader to the world evoked within a novel or short story. We’re taught to do whatever we can to avoid disrupting that dream. We’re taught that it’s part of the job, and that it often requires additional research (Elizabeth gave us examples of the lengths to which she has gone in pursuit of getting the details right).

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The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • Roxane Gay writes about “Modern Submission Convenience,” and what is gained–and lost–now that we have it.
  • Haruki Murakami is in the news quite a bit these days for his new book, IQ84. Read an excerpt that was published a few weeks ago in The New Yorker (translation by Jay Rubin).
  • The New York Times asks: “Will Amazon’s plan shake up the book publishing industry as more writers have the option of a one-stop shop: agent, publisher and bookseller? Are publishers still needed?” A virtual roundtable of respondents replies.
  • I’ll ‘fess up: I’ve fallen prey to the “advisor/adviser” dilemma.
  • Ever wonder about all of those “#WW” and “#FF” hashtags on Twitter? Debbie Ridpath Ohi explains and advises.
  • Also regarding the world of social media: The new issue of Poets & Writers includes an article by Thomas Israel Hopkins on “how to use LinkedIn to connect with your community.
  • And still more about social media, this time via Galleycat’s post on “5 Ways to Improve Your Facebook Page.”

    • Quotation of the Week: Richard Wright

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled

    “And then, while writing, a new and thrilling relationship would spring up under the drive emotion, coalescing and telescoping alien facts into a known and felt truth. That was the deep fun of the job; to feel within my body that I was pushing out to new areas of feeling, strange landmarks of emotion.”

    –Richard Wright

    Source: Another lovely quotation received through the The Southeast Review Writing Regimen.

    Monday Morning Markets/Jobs/Opportunities for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • “The Missouri Warrior Writers Project, in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council, is pleased to announce a contest and call for submissions for its national anthology of writing by veterans and active military service personnel of Afghanistan and Iraq about their wartime experience.  This experience includes deployments and those who have never been deployed.  Transition back into civilian life is also a topic of interest for this anthology. The contest will award 250.00 each to the top entries in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.  All entries will be considered for publication in the anthology.  There is no entry fee.” Deadline: December 31, 2011.
  • “Shenandoah is currently publishing two completely new online issues a year (with regular updates and supplements and a blog that never closes) and is open for submissions of previously unpublished work in the areas of poetry, short stories, short short stories, creative nonfiction, interviews and reviews….” Pays: “Payment will coincide with publication.”
  • From last week’s WritersWeekly.com: “We’re out of success stories! Have a Freelance Success Story to share? We pay $40 on acceptance, non-exclusive electronic rights only. Success stories run around 300 words but we’re very flexible. Our guidelines are here: http://writersweekly.com/misc/guidelines.php.”
  • By the end of the month, subscribers will have the November issue of The Practicing Writer at their fingertips. Don’t miss out on all of the additional paying calls and no-fee contests listed there! If you don’t already subscribe (it’s free, and your email address is kept confidential), now’s the time to do so.
  • The Center for Asian-American Media (San Francisco) is looking for a Publications Coordinator (half-time position November 14-December 31, 2011; full-time January 1-February 15, 2012).
  • The National Writing Project (Berkeley, Calif.) seeks a Development Specialist.
  • Sojourners (Washington) invites applications for a Digital and Social Media Associate.
  • “Bennington College [Vt.] seeks two published writers of distinguished literary accomplishment to teach a broad spectrum of essential works in the history of literature to highly motivated undergraduates. One position will be full-time, one part-time; both positions are benefits eligible. In keeping with our commitment to the teacher-practitioner model, we seek writers of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction (including narrative journalism) whose own interests and abilities as teachers will shape our future curriculum.”
  • “The Department of Literature and Languages at The University of Texas at Tyler invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Creative Writing on a nine-month contract starting in fall 2012. Required qualifications include MFA in Creative Writing or Ph.D. in English with specialization in creative writing by August 15, 2012 and experience in teaching writing at college level.”
  • “The English Department at Smith College [Mass.] seeks a poet with a distinguished record of publication and commitment to teaching to fill a 2-3 year term as the Grace Hazard Conkling Writer-in-Residence. The appointment will begin in the fall of 2012. Previous recipients include Elizabeth Alexander, Henri Cole, Eleanor Wilner, and Nikky Finney. We welcome applications from all locations on the aesthetic spectrum, from highly formal verse to language poetry.”
  • “The Department of English in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Columbia College Chicago seeks applications for a tenure-track position in Creative Writing – Poetry, beginning August 2012 (contingent upon funding). Qualifications include at least one published book (poetry); a solid record of magazine/journal publications; MFA, PhD, or equivalent; and college-level teaching experience.”
  • “The Department of English at East Carolina University [N.C.]…seeks applicants for a position in Poetry Writing at the assistant professor level to begin August 13, 2012. Successful candidate will teach graduate and undergraduate poetry workshops in the Creative Writing Program and literature courses….”
  • The University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies seeks a Writing Program Coordinator/Outreach Instructor. “Work in a team environment teaching and creating online and in-person workshops in mostly noncredit. Prefer a candidate who has published and taught fiction (genre and/or mainstream/literary) with poetry and creative nonfiction a plus. Should have experience coaching/critiquing writers, teaching online and in-person, program planning, budgeting, marketing. Master’s degree (or near completion) with relevant professional experience required.”
  • “The Department of Creative Writing at San Francisco State University seeks candidates for an approved tenure-track position in Creative Writing, fiction with a secondary emphasis in creative nonfiction, at the level of Assistant Professor, to begin Fall 2012, subject to financial ability.”