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Monthly Archives: October 2010
The Seven-Hour Story
On Thursday, I took a break from thinking about my big thing to write a small thing. Huffington Post‘s “Seven Rings: A Game of Artists’ Telephone” is a new media blog/art project curated by poet Nicole Walker and artist Rebecca … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching
Tagged 7 Rings, Angelo Sosa, Carole DeSanti, Huffington Post, James Wood, Nicole Walker, Rebecca Campbell, Robin Hemley, Virginia Woolf, woman writer
4 Comments
My Blogroll, My Students
Just so you know: I’ve been thinking about this idea–THE BIG THING–for ten years now. Ask my students. How many have worked with me on a Big Thing? Oh my. Hundreds. This is the statement that goes in the syllabus … Continue reading
NaNoDraMo?
On the first day of my Advanced Fiction course, I dropped the bomb. “Everyone in this class is going to participate in National Novel Writing Month. Even me.” You should know this: not a single student dropped. In fact, many … Continue reading
You need visual (and aural and tactile) aids
When I was young, I obsessed about craft as a writer and teacher, because I thought craft alone could save me and save my students. I learned (and then taught) the methods of characterization, effective use of dialogue, how to … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching
Tagged craft vs creativity, Madison Smartt Bell, NaNoWriMo, notecards, writing process
3 Comments
Writer’s Center of Indiana @ Marian University
I’ll be in Indianapolis tomorrow, Saturday, October 23, to talk more about making big things at the Gathering of Writers. If you’re in Indy or there bouts, please drop by. http://www.indianawriters.org/gathering.html If the technology gods are shining down on me, … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching
Tagged Big Thing, Gathering of Writers, I, Powerpoint, Writer's Center of Indiana
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It’s not a story. It’s a manuscript.
I know someone who took a Novel Workshop in college. This is how it went down. First, they studied the first sentences of a bunch of novels and wrote one of their own, then workshopped it. Then they studied first … Continue reading
Maybe it’s not a bad story. Maybe it’s a big thing.
The title of this blog comes from an old mentor of mine, John Keeble. He referred to our books in progress not as novels or short story collections or books-and certainly not as MFA theses-but simply as “big things.” It … Continue reading
Origin Story
These questions have been on my mind for quite a while: Why did I spend twenty years working on short stories as opposed to novels? Is it nature or nurture? Am I really predisposed to write short stories, or do … Continue reading
