Sep 3, 2023 | Book Reviews, Craft
As we work through our drafts, the question of who’s the narrator and what point of view (POV) should I choose arises. Frederik Reiken suggests in his essay, The Author-Narrator-Merge, Why Many First-Time Novelists Wind up with Flat, Uninteresting Protagonists, that...
Aug 24, 2023 | Book Reviews, Craft
I recently met with author Devi Laskar (THE ATLAS OF REDS AND BLUES, CIRCA). I met Devi at a writing residency earlier in the year. Her presentation captivated me, and I couldn’t wait to dive into her books. THE ATLAS OF REDS AND BLUES was a Washington Post...
Aug 7, 2023 | Book Reviews, Craft
In The Art of Time in Fiction, Joan Silber states that where the narrator begins and ends her story decides how it gathers meaning. She writes, “All fiction has to contend with the experience of time passing. […] This parade of events is what distinguishes the...
Jul 3, 2023 | Book Reviews, Craft
I recently read Uwem Akpan’s MY PARENTS’ BEDROOM from his short story collection SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM (2009) again. It renders a child’s experience of witnessing the death of her mother. The voice stays closely connected to the nine-year old narrator. In...
Jun 11, 2023 | Book Reviews, Craft
In Elizabeth Gilbert’s book BIG MAGIC, I was drawn to the section about Trust and the notion of the Tormented Artist. The section opens with, “Does It Love You?” Gilbert dives into the question of art as suffering. Writing, or any art form need not be an...
