Writing

Apr. 20, 2011

Why do writers like working in coffee shops?

Why would a bustling Starbucks be conducive to writing? It may be an antidote to procrastination.

Tags:   · · ·

Apr. 3, 2011

Austin Kleon’s 10 Tips for Writers

Austin Kleon, of Newspaper Blackout, shares ten great tips for writers and other artists. (link)

Tags:   ·

Mar. 29, 2011

What Creativity Means

Creativity is not about making something out of nothing. It is about making something new out of old things. To create, you must remix.

Tags:   ·

Mar. 21, 2011

The Five Commandments

A few rules for a novelist (or any artist, presumably) struggling to get a new project started.

Tags:   · ·

Mar. 7, 2011

Reading vs. Writing

Sometimes I think a writer should make up his mind whether he’s going to be a writer or a reader. There isn’t time for both. — Jessamyn West (via The Paris Review). That is exactly how I feel: can’t read when I’m writing, can’t write when I’m reading.

Tags:   ·

Feb. 11, 2011

Creating Billy Bathgate

E. L. Doctorow says that his character Billy Bathgate was *born in that first sentence, in the rhythm of it, in the syntax.* (quote)

Tags:   · ·

Feb. 7, 2011

What to Write

“Write about the thing that frightens you the most.”

Tags:  

Jan. 23, 2011

Don’t Do It For Anyone Else

A letter from Keith Haring to an aspiring artist, circa 1987: *Whatever you do, the only secret is to believe in it and satisfy yourself. Don’t do it for anyone else.*

Tags:   ·

Jan. 18, 2011

How To Become a Writer

A cartoon by Grant Snider.

Tags:  

Jan. 13, 2011

Malamud: “work in uncertainty”

A quote from Bernard Malamud: *Teach yourself to work in uncertainty…*

Tags:   ·