Amy Tan has a number of bestsellers to her name, including The Joy Luck Club (adapted into a film), The Hundred Secret Senses, and The Bonesetter’s Daughter. Her entertaining 2008 TED address deals with all the ups and downs of the creative process. A great talk for writers who might need a little boost of confidence when it comes to believing in their own methods.
If you haven’t seen it yet, Broadsheet press has posted a very cool video as part of a contest to win tickets to their fundraiser on June 30. How many Canadian authors can you pick out of the video?
Jonathan Franzen talks about his controversial novel “Freedom” and the post 9/11 family. He also talks about his feelings on doing author vidoes. Interesting fact: this video took home the 2011 Moby award for the worst author video. In fairness, he does express his “profound discomfort at having to make videos like this” right at the beginning. On a certain level, the award actually validates the point he’s trying to make.
The Trillium Award shortlist has been announced and it’s no surprise to see Emma Donohue’s name on the list for her novel ROOM that has garnered much praise this year. Michael Winter is on the list for his book THE DEATH OF DONNA WHALEN, which he describes as “documentary fiction”. Both books were also nominated for the Roger’s Writer’s Trust prize, which Donohue took home.
They share the shortlist for the $20,000 prize with:
Donoghue and Winter face four rivals for the English language version of this fiction prize, worth $20,000:
* What Disturbs Our Blood, by James FitzGerald.
* The Amazing Absorbing Boy, by Rabindranath Maharaj.
* Book, by Ken Sparling.
* The Reinvention of the Human Hand, by Paul Vermeersch.
Here’s a charming video of Emma talking about ROOM:
In the spirit of competition, here’s a video of Michael talking about the writing process. It does appear that the Winter children are having a very good literary year (his sister Kathleen was nominated for the Giller Prize for her book Annabel). I love his commentary about dialogue and his comments on why we write. I have to say though, the camoflauge jacket and background scenery are distracting. LOL!
A delightful and funny video of David Mitchell discussing his thoughts on writing (from Ticklescratch Productions). When do you start to think of yourself as a writer? How much do you think of the reader when writing? He has some interesting thoughts. Enjoy!
Another insightful (and funny) talk from Margaret Atwood via the Tools For Change publishing conference. She has some very compelling thoughts on what the digital age means to the publishing industry in general…and the possible impact to authors.
To be a great writer, you first need to be a great reader. There is an amazing process that happens when you consume books. It’s a passive form of learning how to write. If you read enough, you’ll absorb the basics of what works in fiction and what doesn’t. I can’t imagine anyone becoming a writer who is not first and foremost, a reader.
What’s the first rule of writing? Get your bum into the seat and actually WRITE something! So that’s what I’ve been up to lately. I’ve been ‘bum-in-seat’ daily (minimum of 90 minutes and 500 words) and it’s finally becoming a habit. Ok, ok…I know it sounds small, but 500 words written every day is over 90,000 words or almost 400 pages in 6 months. I don’t know about you, but I like goals that are achievable.
Here’s a quick video from Neil Gaimen with advice to young writers…what do you think he mentions in the video? Get life experience, figure out what you have to say and…wait for it…write!
Random musings about writing fiction, reading fiction and living (in reality).
"The older we get, the more...you realize there's a whole range of things you will never do, of things and people you will never be. As life becomes more and more limiting, there is something wonderful about being able to get inside the skin of people unlike yourself." ~Lee Smith
