Recently I had an unsettling experience: A reader of one of my novel manuscripts told me that at one point, she found my story so depressing, she had to put it down for three days before continuing. I was stunned. Although I try not to sugarcoat the difficulties of life, driving readers to psychiatrists is […]
Staring Into the Eyes of the Kraken: Can Writing Be Too Dark? Read More »
When I was eight, I got into my first heated creative dispute. My opponent was a neighborhood friend named Darla. When Darla came over, she only wanted to play house. She would bring a pouty-looking baby doll and, at her prompting, we would pretend that it needed a bottle-feeding or a diaper change. Darla never
To Be Creative, Let the Absurdity In Read More »
How do writers and other artists live with the knowledge that despite their best efforts, they might fail? A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a book that “sells” an answer that question – Big Magic, written by mega-bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert. Anyone who read my blog knows I did not think much of
The Awesome Privilege of Artistic Failure Read More »
When I write short stories, I love experimenting with fantasy tropes such as dragons, trolls, and prophesies. Though they may seem trite, I like to see if I can do anything with them that has not been done before: play with them; flip them upside down; personalize them; use them as metaphors that represent psychological
What Is Up With Fantasy Writers and Riddles? Read More »
Years ago I stopped reading books that gave writing advice. Too often, instead of helping, they confused or even discouraged me. So last Christmas someone who knew I shunned books on writing decided that maybe I would enjoy a book on the more general topic of creativity. The book was Big Magic by best-selling author
