Avi's Blog, page 27

(Updated) How the Pandemic Changed Publishing

The pandemic has touched everyone in 2020, and that includes writers and publishing. In my own writing life, I have been touched, influenced, and hampered in almost all the ways cited. 

How the Pandemic Changed Publishing

The pandemic has touched everyone in 2020, and that includes writers and publishing.    In my own writing life, I have been touched, influenced, and hampered in almost all the ways cited below.  The world of writing and publishing is one that has traditionally been highly collegial.  Much of that is gone. It may be ... Read more

A Christmas Letter

Every year around Christmas time— “this rolling time of the year”—I re-read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.   Part of this comes about because the reading has become my tradition, and traditions, I think, help measure one’s life. I also read it because I feel it’s a lesson to me, a lesson I should heed ... Read more

Finding a Gem of Information

I’m often asked about the research I do for my historical-fiction novels. That is determined, first, by the nature of the book I am writing. If I am trying to set a story within the context of real events, real people, in real places, that requires rather deep research. If I am only using a ... Read more

Is It Perfect?

I once read that the occupational disease of writers is depression. It’s not difficult to know why. Shall I suggest some reasons? The sheer all-but-impossibility of writing a perfect piece of work. The isolation. Low (if any) income. (The trend these days is ever lower,) Negative response to one’s work, which these days includes dismissive ... Read more

Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving tradition in my household is to go around the table and allow everyone to say what they are thankful for. There will be no such table at my home this year (thanks, Covid) though if the weather is decent, we shall share some outdoor dinner with my jobless (thanks, Covid) son and his ... Read more

Ideas from Real Life?

One of the questions I am often asked is, “Do you get your characters and stories from real life?” The answer is partly. An early book, No More Magic, had its inception at my oldest son’s fifth grade birthday party. It was a super hero costume party, and we held it in a park. One ... Read more

First sentence, last sentence

Dear Loyal Reader: I have written about the opening sentence of a story. It can be (should be) like a key that opens a box of treasures. But the last sentence of a book is equally important. If the first sentence opens things, the last sentence should close things—like a lock—with a satisfying click. So, ... Read more

Inventing Words

POLONIUS: What do you read, My Lord? HAMLET: Words, words, words. It is often claimed that the English language has the largest vocabulary, in part because it has taken in words from other languages. (Thus SKIPPER, the person in charge of a boat, comes from the Dutch language. CAPTAIN, from old French.)  It has also ... Read more

Your Reading Recommendations

Dear Reader, If you subscribe to my newsletter, you received a request today to help me add to my to-be-read pile as we approach this long winter. Please enter your recommendation in the comments below. If you don’t yet receive my occasional newsletter, you can sign up for it here. There’s always news of what ... Read more