You’ve heard it said: Don’t talk about a work-in-progress to anyone. Of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s seven writing tips, this one came in at number three. Perhaps it should be number one, because the success or failure of a piece of writing may hinge on this idea alone. It’s why authors are vague when they’re asked what project they’re working on. …
An idyllic weekend at Weymouth
For North Carolina writers, Weymouth Center in Southern Pines is writer heaven. Nestled among long-leaf pines is the James Boyd house, a cultural center that’s home to a long-standing Writers-in-Residence program. Published authors who are residents of North Carolina may spend up to two weeks a year at the mansion to create new work or perfect old pieces. In mid-February …
The Last Storyteller
Here lately I’m become more aware that I’m the last storyteller. By that I mean the last one (the only one) in my family to dig into family history, sift through the facts. I’m the one who’s writing things down before they slip away like canaries from an open cage. Stories have always been an important part of my life. …
Looking back on 2012 reads
Every year I have a contest with myself. How many books will I read this year? In 2012 I read 61 books, the same number I read in 2011. According to Pew Research, I’m way ahead of average. Three-quarters of Americans finish just one book a year, an abysmal statistic for a literate society. Bookworms brought up the “average” to …
What I learned from NaNo Month
On Nov. 30, I crossed the finish line of National Novel in a Month, “NaNo,” as writers call it. What began as a project of a few writers in San Francisco has become a world-wide challenge to complete a 50,000-word manuscript in thirty days. On Nov. 1 I began by logging in and writing maybe 1,500 words. Somehow I missed …
Workshopping with Jill McCorkle
One of the thrills of living in the “writingest state” is being a member of the North Carolina Writers Network and attending their Fall Conference. This year’s gathering in Cary brought an array of outstanding sessions and speakers: Edith Perlman, Kay Stripling Byer, D. G. Martin, Sheri Castle, Alice Osborne and many more. I was one of the lucky souls …
Dishing up nibbles on WFAEats
When I heard last spring that Amy Rogers had launched a foodie website affiliated with the NPR station in Charlotte, I had to get in on the act. I remember Amy from Novello Press, when she compiled a delightful cookbook, Hungry for Home including snippets and recipes from writers across the South. I was honored to have two of my …
Braver’s ‘Misfit’ hits the target
Back in 2010 Adam Braver was drafting another novel of re-imagined fiction. Having published three times in the genre (Divine Sarah, Mr. Lincoln’s Wars, November 22, 1963) Braver told me he was busy researching the last weekend of Marilyn Monroe’s life, July 27-29, 1962, when she visited Lake Tahoe as a guest of Frank Sinatra. The book was due out …
Potato Peelings
I’ll admit it. I am probably the last person in America to have read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This 2008 blockbuster novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows has become the darling of book clubs everywhere for good reason. It’s a compelling historical novel (World War II era) in epistolary form. If you dislike novels …
Examining this life
July 16 marks one year since I received my MFA degree. I’m not sure what I thought this first post-graduate year would be like. I assumed I’d whip out another book, write tons of essays and give a lot of readings for my first story collection that came out last August. I was half right. The book launch and promotion …