I’d like to blame the heat for my malaise, but I know that’s not really it. After approaching the halfway mark, I stalled out. I hadn’t expected it since I have a pretty good idea where everything is going, but there it was. I was having a hard time pressing forward. Some of it could …
I’ve only recently begun exploring the world of Jorge Luis Borges. What I’ve encountered so far has been wonderful. I went in search of Borges interviews on YouTube and found the one posted below. I’ve excerpted a few passages from the video that touched me: The task of art is to transform what is continuously …
[tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] Responding to a comment here on the blog this morning (Thanks to Sarah Wedgbrow over at Folding Fields for jogging my memory), I was reminded of John Connolly‘s novel The Black Angel, the novel I was reading when I decided to write in earnest. Connolly’s story was dark and contained supernatural …
Coffee Break No. 11 – John Connolly and The Seed of a Story Read More »
[tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] I just checked my post history and today marks a year to the day of my first blog post here at Words and Coffee. I’m not sure what I thought when I launched W&C beyond that I was entering a bit of flash fiction in Ken Scholes’s contest and I needed …
[tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] Paolo Bacigalupi reveals the secrets of his success: Voodoo and liquor. Just kidding, but he does provide insights into where he gets his story ideas and what he wants his stories to do. Bacigalupi also reads from two of his short stories. It’s about an hour, but it’s well worth the …
Coffee Break No. 10 – Paolo Bacigalupi on AuthorsatGoogle Read More »
I’ve been making my way through Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer at a leisurely pace. The author, Peter Turchi, juxtaposes the idea that maps need be accurate with the idea that a map reveals only that which is germane to its purpose (e.g., you won’t find mineral deposits on a U.S. road …
I’ve been working on developing a concise blurb for the novel I’m writing. I’ve gone through no less than four iterations of a back-of-the novel blurb in hopes of distilling the story in my mind. And as of last night, I reduced it further to a one sentence blurb that I’m not embarrassed to put …
We can always stand to hear how successful writers write, no? Well, top off your coffee and hear what Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, Makers and For the Win has to offer on the craft. [tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] [googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6906862465345251715#] Sure, Mr. Doctorow reveals nothing earth-shattering in this interview. Still, it’s comforting to be …
[tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly] A conversation between a subject and an artist about how the artist works: I said, “It’s difficult for me to imagine how things must appear to you.” “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do,” he said, “to show how things appear to me.” “But what,” I asked, “is the relation between …
Wrap your hands around a warm mug of coffee and then wrap your mind around this: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2mId99XQYg] [tweetmeme source=”jjdanz” only_single=false service=ht.ly]