by Joe Bunting |
I recently read a novel that, on the surface, was nearly perfect. It had an action packed plot, a love triangle, and a feel good ending.
However, as I read, I noticed that every time a major conflict in the story would come up, the author would back off. She would briefly show the conflict, but then skip on to the next scene, leaving you, the reader, to sort everything out. It was almost as if the author knew she needed conflict, but was so uncomfortable with it, she wanted to slip the conflict into the story and get out as soon as possible.
by Joe Bunting |
My family and I went to see Les Misérables the day after Christmas. My dad said, “It was probably the best film I’ve ever seen,” and while I may not go that far, it certainly had me (and three-quarters of the theater) dripping with tears more than once.
I want to write a story like Les Misérables. Not a musical, but a story so powerful, so captivating, that it could move people in the same way.
If you’d like to write a story as powerful as Les Misérables, I’ve put together this list of five observations about what made the story so powerful, and how writers can emulate it.
by Joe Bunting |
I’ve been in San Francisco with my family this weekend. Needless to say we’re having a great time.
While San Francisco is a relatively young city, it has a storied history regarding the arts. Notably for writers, it was the home of the literary movement known as the Beat Generation in the 1950s.
The Beats included writers like poets William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg and novelists Jack Keruoac and Neal Cassady. Their motto was liberty of expression and their style has influenced writers for the last 60 years.
by Joe Bunting |
Today, we’re talking to Stefanie Freele, a novelist, poet, and short story writer who lives in the Northwest. Stefanie is a Pushcart Prize Nominee and has published short fiction in Glimmer Train, PANK, Sou’wester, Word Riot, R.KV.R.Y Quarterly Literary Journal, Vestal Review, and many more. In the last eight years, she has published 99 short stories. Isn’t that remarkable?
Stefanie and I are going to be talking about the hunger for publication, how to know when your short story is finished, and the world’s need, or lack thereof, for more donut stories. You can find Stefanie’s work on her website, stefaniefreele.com, as well as her book of short stories, Feeding Strays, and her novel, Surrounded by Water.
Thanks so much for joining us Stefanie!
by Joe Bunting |
I recently heard Horatio Spaford’s great song, “It is Well With My Soul”. I was moved, as I have been many times before. How is it that a song, a really old song, hasn’t gotten musty and useless over the years? Why do the words of others have the ability to touch our hearts so deeply?
Have you ever wondered how an author seems to be inside your head?
I looked up the story behind the song hoping to find some answers. And it turns out Spaford’s writing didn’t come out of a vacuum, but out of his own suffering. His experience can teach you how to powerfully connect your own suffering to the larger, human experience.
by Joe Bunting |
The Pulitzer Prize for fiction, as you probably know, was not awarded this year. The fiction panel nominated three books from a reading list of 300. (Can you imagine reading 300 books in a year?)
However, the Pulitzer board didn’t pick any of them. And we don’t know why. Were they not good enough? Were they not American enough? We don’t know. All we know is the Pulitzer Prize for fiction wasn’t awarded this year.
However, Michael Cunningham’s article on how the three Pulitzer nominees were chosen is a fascinating guide for how to angle for the Pulitzer.
If you want to win the Pulitzer, here’s how in five (not-so) easy steps…
