bookfour
Jun. 6, 2011
The creative cycle in a nutshell
A PowerPoint-esque chart by designer/illustrator Christoph Niemann perfectly captures the writing process.
Tags: bookfour · cartoons · creativity
Jun. 3, 2011
“And then I saw her…”
When I’m stuck — as I have been for some time now, trying to crack the plot of my next book, to “break” the story, as screenwriters say — I always look for older stories to use as templates. The writer David Lodge has a great term for this sort of literary model: “precursor texts” [...]
Tags: bookfour · film noir · Out of the Past · Robert Mitchum · video
Mar. 3, 2011
Good News, Bad News, Great News
An update: as Defending Jacob begins to create a buzz, Book 4 begins to take shape.
Tags: bookfour · Defending Jacob · publishing process
Jan. 10, 2011
Fast Fish and Loose Fish
What an ancient law of whaling teaches about story ideas.
Tags: bookfour · featured posts · Herman Melville · writing life
Jan. 6, 2011
Chinatown
Dec. 31, 2010
In Between Days
The doldrums between books is a dangerous, depressing time for a writer.
Tags: bookfour · writing life
Jul. 16, 2010
Starting Over
Finishing one book, starting another
Tags: bookfour · Defending Jacob · writing life
Feb. 24, 2010
Photographs of the Combat Zone
In Boston, an exhibit of photographs from the Combat Zone in its heyday, 1969-1978.
Tags: bookfour · Combat Zone
