Naomi Alderman’s novel The Power is just out in the US, giving it another round of reviews. I’m interested in Alderman as a novelist and writer for games, a graduate of the UEA creative writing MA, and one of the subjects of my (endlessly in progress) PhD.
In the middle of my Skype interview with Naomi Alderman she disappears momentarily to answer her doorbell and returns into view, beaming. “That’s a backpack for me!” she says. “Tomorrow morning, I’m off to the Highlands of Scotland to teach a writing course, and then I go to Italy for a week!” Parsing out her time for new adventures is nothing new for Alderman, a multidextrous British writer …
Naomi Alderman Taps Into the Deeper Powers of Women
Source: Literary Hub - Published on 2017-10-11
Are you readying yourself for NaNoWriMo? I found even more prep pieces this week. Roz Morris produces excellent writing resources so this reposted link list is worth your time (to save you a click, the links here will jump you straight to the 2016 original). As for my plans, I’m not sure. I’m moving house, studying, deep in day job tasks, wrapping up one novel, beginning edits on the next. But I do have this idea…
Originally posted on Nail Your Novel:
I can’t believe it’s already October. And that means it’s just a month until NaNoWriMo. For the uninitiated, it’s a worldwide writing lockdown where scribblers of all levels undertake to write a 50,000-word draft in just 30 days. So here’s a list of NaNoWriMo resources I’ve written on this…
Doing NaNoWriMo? Nail it with this resource kit Source: Nail Your Novel - Published on 2017-10-08
Science fiction and fantasy seem to be embracing diversity right now. This is as it should be for genres whose mission it is, in part, to question insular perspectives. It is exhilarating to watch it happen.
Science fiction and fantasy, long dominated by Western mythology, are growing more diverse, with novels that draw on African mythology and legends.
Nnedi Okorafor and the Fantasy Genre She Is Helping Redefine
Source: NYT Books</span> - Published on 2017-10-06
And from new voices in SF and fantasy to an old take on the relationship between the two. And also.. wait.. there’s a course called Science Fiction and Philosophy? I want in – right now.
I’m reading Lord Dunsany, The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924). I’m also preparing to lecture on fantasy and fairy tales in my Science Fiction and Philosophy module (fun!) So I am pleased to find the following passage about the forging of the hero Alveric’s blade. The sword is made from thunderbolts, you see, dug up from a witch’s cabbage patch. (She lives in an espe…
Lord Dunsany On The Relationship Between SF and Fantasy
Source: Crooked TimberPublished on 2017-10-07
Crime writer Sara Paretsky created an organisation called ‘Sisters in Crime’ which now boasts over 3,800 members. Here’s how it came about.
Sara Paretsky is often given credit for breaking new ground in the mystery genre with the introduction of her female private-eye protagonist, V.I. Warshawski, in 1982’s Indemnity Only. Serious Paretsky fans were rewarded just last year with the eighteenth in the series, Fallout.
But the casual reader may not know that Paretsky is also credited with transforming mystery writi…
How Sara Paretsky Created ‘Sisters in Crime’
Source: Chicago Review of BooksPublished on 2017-10-06
As a coder I love toys like this one. That said, I hate those headlines. I’m sure they’re super-optimised for clicks and maybe that’s the problem. They all have that shiny mass-produced vibe. I suggest trying it out with rude words
Now this is really neat: Hubspot’s blog idea generator uses three nouns you input to generate a week’s worth of blog post titles. I fed it the words writing/novel/plot and got these:
- 5 Tools Everyone In The Novel Industry Should Be Using
2. 10 Quick Tips About Writing
3. Why We Love Plot (And You Should, Too!)
4. How To Solve The Biggest Problems With Novel
5. 7 Things…
Oh Cool
Source: Paperback WriterPublished on 2017-10-06
Don’t miss this fine Twitter thread on short story writing by Thomas Morris – another UEA Creative Writing MA graduate
30 Thoughts That Might Be Useful If You’re Writing Short Stories pic.twitter.com/GG6A2sw8DW
— Thomas Morris (@tolmorris) October 11, 2017
Ever since Denis Johnson died recently I’ve been meaning to cover one ofhis stories for my occasional (once weekly but that’s the way it goes) 52 Stories series- inevitably something from the collection Jesus’ Son. Here’s an interview with his editor.
The editor of Johnson’s forthcoming story collection, ‘The Largesse of the Sea Maiden,’ on his relationship with the author and editing a master.
Denis Johnson: An Editor’s Love Story
Source: Publishers WeeklyPublished on 2017-10-06
I might even dust off some of my borderline literary SF tales for this list.
It’s getting dark earlier, and there’s a nip in the air. October is the month when creepy crawlies come out to play, things go bump in the night, and readers find themselves in the mood for ghost stories, mysteries, thrillers, horrors, and the like. If you write in these ghoulish genres, you’ll love sinking your fangs into this list of lurid literary journals.
Eek! W…
13 Literary Journals That Publish Sci-Fi, Mystery, Horror, Suspense | Writer’s Relief
Source: Writer’s ReliefPublished on 2017-10-05
Whether I send off my SF stories or not, I’ll be in this state soon. I’m on almost absolutely definitely my last pass through my work in progress.
So you (or your agent) has sent your work out to … someone. A magazine, a competition, a publisher, a broadcaster, a film company, an agent you hope for, an author whose quote you desperately want for the cover, even a mentor or editor you’ve hired yourself. You are now officially in the condition known as Waiting To Hear.</p>
Welcome to a minor and largely unacknowledged room in Writer’…
Is Your Writing Out on Submission? Welcome to Hell
Source: This Itch of WritingPublished on 2017-10-04
I started this round up with Naomi Alderman at the happy nexus between tech and writing. I’m ending in the same kind of area – but much less happily. The LitReactor team are mourning their co-founder and tech head Kirk Clawes. Respect and sympathies.
A few kind words from the extended LitReactor family.
Column by Joshua Chaplinsky
AWP 2016, Los Angeles: Pictured left to right, top to bottom: Rob Hart, Bree Ogden, Joshua Chaplinsky, Renee Asher Pickup, Taylor Houston, Kirk Clawes, Dennis Widmyer LitReactor suffered a huge blow a few days ago when we learned our co-founder and technical lead, Kirk Clawes, had passed …
LitReactor Remembers Kirk Clawes
Source: LitReactorPublished on 2017-10-02
