Posts Tagged ‘The Bright Forever’
People Come and People Go: Narratives of Arrivals and Departures
Cathy and I were having breakfast this morning at one of our favorite local restaurants when a little boy’s head popped up above the partition separating our table from a booth on the other side. He was, as we would soon learn, “not three,” which we understood to mean he was two. He and Cathy…
Read MoreStrategies for Finding Empathy for Our Characters
Last week, I posted about the importance of having empathy for our characters even those who are less that admirable. This week, I want to continue thinking about exactly how we can find that empathy. Here are a few strategies: Be a matchmaker. When I was just beginning to work on my novel, River of…
Read MoreBookstores, a New Novel, and the Heartland
My first experience as a book buyer came in grade school when I eagerly attended my school’s Scholastic Book Fair where I spent my allowance on paperbacks. In those days, I was interested in sports novels, especially ones that featured underdogs overcoming great odds. Looking back now, I imagine my connection to those underdog stories…
Read MoreHidden Blessings: The Novel I Never Published and the One I Did
Many years ago, when I was first starting out in this writing game—I’d published stories in some pretty good places and I’d even been able to publish a collection with a new independent publisher—my agent was sending around my first novel. One day, she called with the good news that a very senior editor at…
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