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| Photo by me. I’m on Instagram here. |
This week! In the books!
First off, it’s hard to believe it but we recently passed the three year publication anniversary of my guide to writing a novel: How to Write a Novel: 47 Rules for Writing a Stupendously Awesome Novel You Will Love Forever. I really had no idea what to expect when I self-published it, and in fact I thought so little of its prospects I didn’t even have a print version out on publication day! But in the past three years it’s sold over 12,000 copies, (well over half of them in print I might add) and I’m psyched about the 104 reviews on Amazon. Thanks to everyone who has read and recommended it!
Now then. Lots of links to get to.
Emily St. John Mandel, author of the awesome Station Eleven, has a great article out on FiveThirtyEight about the rise of the word “Girl” in titles, what with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, and of course the best of which is Sarah McCarry’s About a Girl, the only one of the books in this list that is actually about a girl. Hope this becomes a running series with “Club” and “Code” up next.
Over at Books and Such, Janet Kobobel Grant has some advice for kicking a mid-career writing slump.
For all you picture book authors out there, Tracy Marchini has some advice on how to make sure your language is appropriate. (Appropriate for the picture book format anyway, not whether it’s appropriate for kids. You’re on your own there).
The BBC has an awesome article about Iraqi science fiction authors imagining what their country will be like in 100 years.
In NaNoWriMo advice news, here’s my roundup of posts, here are some bite-sized tips from Reedsy including one from yours truly, and here are 5 tips from Angela Ackerman on keeping the words flowing.
Carolyn Kellogg makes the case that Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize is the best thing that can happen to the book world.
And I stumbled on this article from 2013 in The Atlantic, about how to build a happier brain through dwelling on the positives.
Comment! of! the! week! goes to John Shea for pointing me to this amazing anecdote, in response to my bucket list item to see someone reading one of my novels in public (unconfirmed by me but still):
C. S. Lewis managed to be best seller for decades without ever seeing anyone reading one of his books in public. He thought it might be a lesson in humility!
There you have it.
And finally, Halloween is just around the corner. Dogs beware of roaming skeletons! (via Mashable)
(*Email subscribers, please click the “read more” button below to see this video, along with anything else I reference that you can’t see in these emails).
Have a good weekend!
I gotta admit, I can't get behind Dylan for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Yes, as the article noted, it perhaps makes the idea of literature more inclusive, but aren't we there already? It's not like they're recognizing some literary form that has previously been unrecognized. We're talking about music, which receives far more recognition, both cultural and critical (and fiscal), than traditional literature ever does. We're talking about a millionaire musician who has been hugely and endlessly recognized for his work for fifty years. There are already massive awards for musicians, but there are really only two awards for books that make their way into popular consciousness: the Nobel and the Pulitzer. If you're very bookish, you can add the Booker, the National Book Award, and maybe the Edgar, the Hugo, and the World Fantasy Award. I love Dylan, but what does this say when he wins? It seems, more than anything, to confirm the fact that people no longer need to read. Just stick in those headphones. Now we can just absorb literature by audio osmosis.
I tend to agree with you, despite being a Dylan fan myself. My husband argues that he inspired multiple generations of singer-songwriters but so could (and does) a great author by some small press we haven't met yet.
OMG that dog ain't taking shit, haha.
I think I'm one of the few people in the literary world in support of Dylan winning the Nobel prize. If I hadn't recently learned more about the process in which Nobel laureates are chosen I might disagree, but I think I can kind of understand the viewpoint of the committee who chose him.
Anyway, off to check out those links!
I can't find a link to the "girl" article. Is it there? Am I needing more coffee? I will google it. I am capable.
Oops, added.
I'm so proud to win comment of the week with my anecdote about humility. Oh, wait…C. S. Lewis would never approve!
Incidentally, Nathan added an 'O' to my surname, something people often do here in Ireland. My father (and namesake) was christened without the 'O', as were half his siblings. People were quite easy-going about such things in those days. My father sometimes used it and sometimes did not, fine unless one is dealing with a literal minded computer!
Dogs beware of roaming skeletons? The other way around. That dog is fearless!
Thanks for the link, Nathan! (And welcome back! 🙂 )
I just want to say that I'm so glad you're blogging again. This is one of my favourite corners of the internet.
For all you image book writers away there, Tracy Marchini has a few counsel on the most proficient method to ensure your dialect is fitting. Pay for custom essay Proper for the photo book design in any case, not whether it's suitable for children. You're all alone there.
Great to hear from you again Nathan. It's one of the corners on the internet I always look forward to and feed myself something digestible and worth reading. Thanks!