Water For Elephants: Worth the Hype?
If you want escapism, a step above a beach read, Water for Elephants is a viable choice. I read the book in two days. While I enjoyed immersing myself in Sara Gruen’s rich descriptions of...
View ArticleRighties, Lefties & Social Consciousness in the Novelist
by Martin Barkley For five years I’ve been doing research on the history of political and corporate corruption in America for a novel I’m writing. Not just the bare historical facts, but how corruption...
View ArticleHands Off My Books
Patina can be beautiful. I love copper roofs that have turned turquoise, and weathered wooden beach chairs (though I’m wary of splinters). But I hate, hate, hate wear and tear in my books. In my...
View ArticleSomewhere In Here is a Story …
(Editor’s Note: In February we ran a three-part series from Leah Kaminsky on what to do with Post-MFA life. For the next three Wednesdays, we’ll be offering here a quasi-response from WBN compatriot...
View ArticleI Had An Interview
(Editor’s Note: Last week we ran Part I of Mike Britt’s three-post series on trying to land work after earning a creative writing M.F.A. Look for Part III next Wednesday. Unless Britt lands this job …...
View ArticleWhat Keeps You Awake at Night
(Editor’s Note: Here is the final entry in Mike Britt’s three-part series on trying to find a job with an M.F.A. in Writing. Read Parts One and Two. And check back next week, because he might just keep...
View ArticleJames Franco And The Green-Eyed Monster
By Brent Canle In the spring of 2014 Graywolf Press will publish James Franco’s first collection of poetry, Directing Herbert White. This isn’t Franco’s first publication: He did a chapbook in 2010 and...
View ArticleBook Blurbs: Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em?
A couple years back our pal Nico Vreeland wrote a piece about why the jacket copy of books almost always pisses him off. In particular he doesn’t care for book blurbs using the words “’dazzling’ or...
View ArticleLiterary Valentines: The 10 Worst Lovers in Literature
So today is Valentine’s Day, and as you all know, we here at WriteByNight love February 14th so much that we take the day off from all obligations, including blogging. And in honor of this wonderful,...
View ArticleThe View From the Underground: Is Poetry Dead, or Are Poets Just Scared?
For those of you not plugged in, Alexandra Petri wrote an article recently for the Washington Post entitled “Is Poetry Dead?” I will not link to it here. It has already gotten too much attention and...
View ArticleWriting is Like …
What are writers searching for online? Presenting (yet) an(other) A-to-Z experiment in Google autocomplete. “Writing is like … A puzzle: The first link is to a quote ostensibly from Stephanie...
View ArticleA Mid-Month Defense Of NaNoWriMo By A Novelist Too Busy To Write One
National Novel Writing Month, the frenzied writing of a 50,000-word novel in November, inspires thousands to write together, and some to post advice. It also inspires criticism from a few who have done...
View ArticleWorst. Advice. Ever.
About 25 years ago, I decided I wanted to be a writer. I’d just read the Little House on the Prairie books and realized–thanks to my fantastic school librarian–that they were written by a person, a...
View ArticleGrammar: One Step Forward, Too Steppes Bak
By Danielle White Instant Messenger taught me how to type. Maybe not entirely–fundamentally, Type to Learn taught me how to type, but nowhere near as efficiently as when I started chatting with my...
View ArticleWater For Elephants: Worth the Hype?
If you want escapism, a step above a beach read, Water for Elephants is a viable choice. I read the book in two days. While I enjoyed immersing myself in Sara Gruen’s rich descriptions of...
View ArticleColor My Words
Here are some labels I never want associated with my name, or with my writing: minority, black, African-American. Not because I’m not happy to be those things, but because I’m so much more. When I...
View ArticleNo, I Don’t Want to Be Paid in Ad Space
by Martin Barkley I’ve been writing and submitting pieces for a few years now, so I thought it might be time to take stock of what I’ve gleaned about submitting work on-line. If you open a website...
View ArticleWorst. Advice. Ever.
About 25 years ago, I decided I wanted to be a writer. I’d just read the Little House on the Prairie books and realized–thanks to my fantastic school librarian–that they were written by a person, a...
View ArticleGrammar: One Step Forward, Too Steppes Bak
By Danielle White Instant Messenger taught me how to type. Maybe not entirely–fundamentally, Type to Learn taught me how to type, but nowhere near as efficiently as when I started chatting with my...
View ArticleWater For Elephants: Worth the Hype?
If you want escapism, a step above a beach read, Water for Elephants is a viable choice. I read the book in two days. While I enjoyed immersing myself in Sara Gruen’s rich descriptions of...
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