When it comes to choosing character names, I have a terrible habit. It stems from the fact that I love names and spend far too much time thinking about them. Settling on only one causes me physical pain. To avoid the terror of choosing a name, I often use a placeholder when writing drafts. That… Continue reading Falling into a Character Name Rut
Writers are told time and time again that in the age of the internet we need to have a personal brand, put ourselves out there, sell our works. Sometimes all of this pressure to be a brand rather than a person can be a bit overwhelming, so I want to share a quick article that… Continue reading The Spiral of Personal Branding
A year ago today I published my first post on this little blog – it is about as terrible as you might expect a first post to be – and I can hardly believe that I’ve been blogging for 365 days. Since that initial post, I’ve published 328 other articles here, including an interview with… Continue reading Forever and Not Long at All: 365 Days in Book Blogging
It seems like all I’ve been able to write lately are titles. Strictly speaking, that isn’t true – I’ve written other things – but titles are the only pieces of writing that have come easily these last few days. I never thought that I would have this particular problem. I’ve certainly struggled with choosing titles… Continue reading The Trouble with Too Many Titles
I am an inveterate book thief. I don’t steal from bookshops or libraries – I’m not a complete monster – but if a family member or a friend leaves a book unattended, I’ll pick it up and begin to read it. When I was a child, this habit got me into all sorts of trouble.… Continue reading Life as a Book Thief
— — — “What was said to the rose that made it open was said to me here in my chest.” – Rumi — — — Though musicians Beyoncé and Jay-Z aren’t normal subjects for a blog about books and publishing, today they are the perfect entry… Continue reading Finding the Poet Rumi with Beyoncé
I occasionally joke that if a person reads enough, she will discover that all stories are the same story. She will be able to predict narrative beats, the presence of particular characters, and how the story will end. Of course all stories aren’t really the same. Human beings may repeatedly explore certain themes, but prose,… Continue reading Every Story Is The Same Story (Or At Least Is On This List)
The trouble with writing endings is that endings don’t actually exist. Not really. Instead there simply comes a moment when we stop telling the story. Knowing when to stop has always been hard for me. In my head, I can’t help but carry the narrative on. What happens to the hero after she defeats the… Continue reading The Trouble with Writing Endings
I’m an art nerd. If you ever want to see me get stupidly excited, start a conversation about Japanese prints or Near Eastern archaeology. Unfortunately for me, finding great books about art can be difficult. Oh, the books exist. Museum gift shops and college libraries are full of them after all. But they also tend… Continue reading 700 Free Art Books from the Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art
The women in my family always wrote. Journals, mostly. Many women fill their hope chests with clothing, linens, dishware. My mother filled hers with journals. They came in all sizes and types. Some were small enough that I could curl my palm around them. Others were large enough that they had to be held in… Continue reading The Women Always Wrote
Kristen Twardowski 