How do we define a style that many see as elitist, pretentious, and irrelevant?
What does the term “literary fiction” mean? What makes a story or essay or novel literary instead of … something else?
That’s a question I’ve been pondering for some time now. Lately, a series of pieces appearing online have attempted to get at an answer.
Continue reading “What makes fiction literary?”Why verisimilitude matters in all forms of fiction (with examples)
Note: If you don’t want to wade through this entire post, feel free to go directly to the examples near the end of this post. – AC
I was reviewing some early chapters of a work in progress recently when I discovered a problem with the text that–while perhaps insignificant to the overarching plot–could ruin the story’s credibility and my credibility as a writer if I didn’t fix it.
The novel is set in the early 1980s, and music plays a significant role in it. In one early chapter, I reference a song that, when I was writing the chapter, I was certain was ubiquitous on FM radio during the time frame of this portion of the novel. But as often happens when I rely on my increasingly foggy memory, I did not remember correctly.
Continue reading “A boring realist’s thoughts on keeping it real”‘Write first, edit later’ is common advice. But how does it work in the real world?
I have a confession: Try as I might to follow the writer’s maxim to “write first, edit later,” I just can’t seem to stick with it.
“Write first, edit later” is one of the more common ground rules for writers. If you want to be a great writer, you’ve got to create that first draft without inhibition. Just vomit those ideas out on the page. Don’t even think about editing, fixing grammatical errors or problems with syntax, or other stylistic issues. Just write. Just “give your creativity free rein” as you create your first draft, knowing you can go back and fix it later.
Continue reading “On ‘wrediting’”Reading for pleasure is down. What’s a writer to do?
As a kid growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, I remember public service announcements interrupting my Saturday-morning cartoon time to tell me about an organization called Reading Is Fundamental. RIF is still around, and still working to promote literary among children in the U.S., but judging from a recent study of American’s reading habits, fewer people in this country are reading for pleasure than they were two decades ago.
According to this study, “reading for pleasure in the United States has declined by more than 40% over the last 20 years–raising urgent questions about the cultural, educational and health consequences of a nation reading less.”
Continue reading “How do we make reading fun again?”Happy Friday, readers! Here are five things that have captured my attention lately:
Have a good weekend, and try to enjoy these waning days of summer.
Top image: Me poolside with my copy of Agnes Vojta’s latest collection of poems, Love Song to Gravity.
