Category: Fiction
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Fiction: Pick a Chaos, Any Chaos
Every novel needs a little chaos in it. That’s what ignites the story. The novel begins with a character or two in their regular, everyday lives (that could be anything from a pimp drinking coffee at Starbucks, to an astronaut doing her daily orbit around Mars). Then something happens to them, an event or a…
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First Notes on the Novel
According to my journals, I wrote the first notes for my novel The Holy Spirit of My Uncle’s Cojones on August 2, 1996. “No title yet,” I wrote, “but it’s about the summer of 1978.” Oh, I remember that summer; it was illicit, a little risky, and it woke me up to life. Eighteen years…
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Fiction Writing: Getting Started
Walk down the “Writing” section of Barnes & Noble, you’ll find at least a dozen how-to books on writing fiction. I recommend three: The Art of Fiction by John Gardner; Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott; From Where You Dream by Robert Olen Butler. I’ve used all three in class. Gardner’s book is seen by…