"I saw that book you wrote, and I almost bought it." "I walked past the bookstore and saw a poster for the book you wrote, but I didn't go inside and buy it." True quotes. People have actually said these things to authors. Maybe they genuinely couldn't afford to buy the book. Maybe they view … Continue reading Support your author friends
The End is near
During a workshop at Glen West, when someone asked Larry Woiwode how he begins a novel. He said, "Most often lately, I tend to see the ending, so I find the beginning and get to the end from there." I sighed. I'd never had that experience. In fact, most of the time I come up … Continue reading The End is near
Creator, creation, and creativity
Glen West 2013 perfectly blended creativity and community with work and worship. The tag line for Image Journal proclaims: Art, Faith, Mystery. At Glen West, those theoretical concepts became experiential realities. The high desert plateau setting of Santa Fe was new to me and played a crucial role in the entire experience. If I were talking about a novel, … Continue reading Creator, creation, and creativity
Pragmatism, inspiration, and redemption
During the fiction workshop at Glen West, the first and most frequent question instructor Larry Woiwode asked was: "Does it work?" That's the primary consideration. Either a piece of writing works or it doesn't. This may seem a rather pragmatic view, but it's crucial to establish a work's viability before going on to other important questions, … Continue reading Pragmatism, inspiration, and redemption
Telling the story eclipses intention and audience
Compressing everything I learned during my intensive Glen West workshop into brief blog posts seems impossible. But I can give you a taste through small samples. Last Friday, I focused on the first day and wrote about beginning to write by writing. Two of the many literary terms we discussed on subsequent workshop days were intention … Continue reading Telling the story eclipses intention and audience
Begin to write by writing
The post-it note centered above my computer monitor daily reminds me, "Begin to write by writing." It's a phrase that struck me during a writing course years ago. Anyone can think about writing, but you have to put your fingers on the keyboard and actually write if you want to be a writer. Readers of … Continue reading Begin to write by writing
The Glen West experience
How would you like to spend several days participating in a productive workshop and living within a creative community? Attend Glen West! Many years ago, Gideon Strauss and I chatted about Christianity and culture. I was writing a series of articles for Christian Renewal on Christians in the arts, and he's passionate about promoting art and leadership … Continue reading The Glen West experience
Post-Glen West
Glen West is an amazing, exhilarating, creative experience. Monday afternoon I returned home after spending several days as a participant in its fiction workshop under the instruction of Larry Woiwode. Remember how I recently reflected on the Place of Place? That post quoted from Woiwode and concluded: Wouldn’t you love to learn more about place … Continue reading Post-Glen West
The place of place
On this Fiction Friday, I'm thinking about the place of place. In 1956 Eudora Welty wrote a well-known essay, "Place in Fiction," that appears on pages 116-133 in the collection of her essays and reviews published as The Eye of the Story (Vintage International, 1990). The same essay is found on pages 249-264 of Critical Approaches to Fiction (McGraw-Hill, … Continue reading The place of place
Living Echoes ending
Last night, driving home after a very long day, I was praying for wisdom and guidance on a lot of things. As I prayed, the beauty of a crescent moon and its reflection on a smooth lake made my heart ache. And I suddenly realized that, in the prayer and the beauty, God had given … Continue reading Living Echoes ending
Glenda Faye Mathes 