I recently paid $40+ for a used paperback book. I wasn't required to buy it for any reason. And no, it wasn't a college textbook. (That'd be a steal!) It was a book I was very much interested in reading, that was not available through my library, and that was out of print. So I… Continue reading The Value of a Book
When I started seriously studying the craft of writing fiction, the way I understood story evolved. Grad school and all of the amazing professors I had and the amazing things I read rewired my brain to read in a technical way: as a writer, not a reader. It feels a little like x-ray vision. I… Continue reading Is The Lord of the Rings Really That Great?
The more times you've gone around the sun on this crazy bio-spaceship of ours, the harder it gets to remember all those en-route events, especially since we're not "going anywhere" technically; mostly in a big loop. No destination in sight. What I'm saying is, it's hard to remember stuff. The older you get, the worse… Continue reading 2018 in Books: Year-End Reflections, part 2
Confession: I've been dealing with some artistic jealousy lately. I started watching the Netflix series Chef's Table, which provides documentary-like looks into the lives and philosophies of the world's most successful chefs. The culinary arts are fascinating to me. They're also always in high demand. Because, well, we all have to eat. Between jobs, I've… Continue reading the value of story
The writing life is often an isolated one. Writing groups are few and far between. The internet alleviates this somewhat, but is an imperfect replacement for real fellowship. All of us live with and through books. That's part of the reason we got into this writing business in the first place. So why not look… Continue reading 3 Books to Inspire Your Writing Life
Allison Wall 