"Did that really happen?" It's a question every memoirist and personal essayist faces. Ideally the writer will answer "Yes." It gets awkward when you have to say, "Yes, but..." In the October 2005 debut episode of his influential TV show, Stephen Colbert gave the world the word truthiness. He said truthiness is when you're talking …
Continue reading Avoiding ‘Truthiness’ When Writing Your Life
Every artist on some level understands that the actions of an artist are dictated by technology. Before Gutenberg invented the printing press, writers were far more limited in page count with wound codexes. The sound amplification technology provided by a piano allowed compositions intended for far larger audiences than a harpsichord. We focus on Kindles …
I've returned from snowy Boston and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference. It was a mixed bag for me. There were a couple of sessions that were really solid, and I met a handful of interesting editors on the Bookfair floor that I may follow up with at some point. I also attended …
BOSTON -- In his book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell cites a scientific study that sought to determine if consumers equate more with better. They set up displays of various jams in a supermarket that customers could sample. When there were only six selections, a lot of people stopped. When there were two dozen, nearly everyone kept …
BOSTON -- The fireworks didn't come during the panel session, which is a good thing, because every square inch of the floor was covered by attendees. Pyrotechnics in rooms violating fire codes never end well. But the figurative fireworks came that night, assisted with alcohol. I refer here to the third rail of our modern …
Continue reading AWP Nugget: The Bubbling Debate over Self-Publishing
BOSTON -- If you're given an hour to sit down and listen to two Nobel-Prize-winning writers, you do so. I am still in my infancy when it comes to my understanding and appreciation of poetry and poets, but I made a point to attend the Thursday evening 8:30 pm keynote with Seamus Heaney and Derek …
Continue reading AWP Nugget: Takeaways from Nobel Laureates Seamus Heaney and Derek Walcott
BOSTON -- You love to write. You need to earn a living. Why not teach what you love? You're not the first person to think of that. Every person with an MFA has entertained that fantasy, and many more writers beyond that. Here at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs 2013 conference, four writing …
Continue reading AWP Nugget: Tips for Writers Looking for the Tenure-Track Teaching Job
BOSTON -- One emotion I have always felt at the AWP creative writers conference is jealousy. Jealousy of the talent and success of the panelists and readers. Jealousy of the way so many writer attendees approach literary editors on the Bookfair floor without fear. But, mostly, jealousy of how so many attendees have made the …
Continue reading AWP Nugget: Hey Writers, Let’s Meet Up in Person in Seattle in 2014!
The process of creating art fires neurons in the right side of our brains. Planning and organization processes in the left side. Planning the most creative use of one's time at North America's largest literary conference requires whole-brain thinking. Every artist I interviewed on my cross-country U.S. road trip understood the role of planning in …
Continue reading AWP Nugget: Left-Brain Planning for a Right-Brain Conference
The Artist's Road 