Writers are always taught to show, not tell. A good example of this is at the beginning of The Night Circus, the wonderful debut novel by Erin Morgenstern.
Early in the book, Prospero the Enchanter is called into his theater manager’s office, because a five-year old girl has been left for him, brought in by a lawyer along with her mother’s suicide note. Other than being told
Tag Archives: A truth more real than reality
On the release of the author’s first novel
I waited a long time for my first book to be published and wondered how that moment would feel. Would it be like shipping the initial release of the flagship product from my first software company? Or more like the birth of my sons? Would it be that “Rocky” moment, when Sylvester Stallone, after defeating Apollo Creed, cries out: “This is the greatest night in the history of my life…YO, ADRIAN! I DID
Pixels, words and the eye of the beholder
Recently, my wife was helping me by doctoring an image of a young girl in Photoshop. She zoomed in on the image until all we could see were blurred patches of color. Then she lightened the color of three pixels. At that instant, the image was unrecognizable. But when she zoomed back out and we compared the new version with the original, the expression on the girl’s face had changed entirely.
Details, details…A storm inside the room
We're told today's twittering reader has a short attention span, is easily bored. Stories need to be fast paced and not bog down in details. No Jane Austen ruminations or Melville's descriptions of the whaling industry.
I recently read a book called Reading Like a Writer, by Francine Prose. The book was unusual as books for writers go because it's basic premise is that rules are made to be broken.
A strange and mightily obsessed book
I just finished rereading To a God Unknown, John Steinbeck’s second novel. I first read it many years ago when I was fifteen and it made a huge impression--not quite the book that started me writing, but close. I decided to reread it to find out why it had such an influence on me.It’s not regarded as one of Steinbeck’s best or even a particularly good novel.
Criticism ranged from lukewarm to
First draft frustrations
It's been suggested that we write first drafts with our hearts and subsequent drafts with our heads. It's also been said that first drafts are crap. Likely, both are true.
When I start a new book, I try to keep that in mind. I usually know the beginning and end, but the impetus to write the book is nothing more than a series of images. A long
