Barbara Fradkin's Blog, page 180
October 31, 2017
Awards, love 'em or hate 'em?
Recently the Globe and Mail published an article about the plethora of literary awards springing up in Canada, often with a large amount of money attached. Large, that is, for writers, who often labour below the poverty line. Topping the list at $100,000 is the Scotiabank Giller Prize, but many of the lesser prizes also run into the five digits, and the Ottawa Book Award gives $10,000 to the
What is a novel’s most essential ingredient?
by Rick Blechta
Lately I’ve been starting crime fiction novels, reading around 50 pages and then putting them down. This is not usual for me, but having just attended Bouchercon, the books I’ve been putting down were handed out, and not necessarily ones I would have purchased. As well, I’ve never read any of the authors.
So what caused me to put these books down (4 out of 5)?
Quite frankly,
Lately I’ve been starting crime fiction novels, reading around 50 pages and then putting them down. This is not usual for me, but having just attended Bouchercon, the books I’ve been putting down were handed out, and not necessarily ones I would have purchased. As well, I’ve never read any of the authors.
So what caused me to put these books down (4 out of 5)?
Quite frankly,
October 29, 2017
CWA Daggers Dinner
I'm just back from the Daggers Dinner, the big event of the Crime Writers Association year when the celebrated Daggers are awarded for the best crime in a range of categories - historical, thriller, non-fiction, international, debut, short story - and then the Gold Dagger for the best crime book overall.
This year the winner was Jane Harper for The Dry, published by Little and Brown.
But the
This year the winner was Jane Harper for The Dry, published by Little and Brown.
But the
October 28, 2017
Generation NaNoWriMo
Lately I was invited to speak, along with two other local authors--Cheryl Carpinello and Jerry Fabyanic--about our experiences as professional writers to students at the Rocky Heights Middle School. My sons are in their thirties, and so I have little recent experience with young teenagers. I was curious about our audience and before the talk I shared my thoughts with Judi Hoist, their teacher and
October 26, 2017
Surprise!
Actually this meet the author poster from Poisoned Pen Press is the way I looked and felt by the time I finished my Kansas Tour this week. I gave five presentations and although the people are wonderful and easily some of the most attentive audiences anywhere--I always forget about the wind. The drive back to Colorado was just beastly.
It's been a whirlwind of a month. I went to Bouchercon
October 25, 2017
What’s My Back-Story?
John, here. On the heels of Donis’s insightful Oct. 19 post, I’m going to follow with a discussion of a technical aspect of fiction writing, one that took me years to grasp.
I was teaching a creative writing class, maybe a decade ago now, in Presque Isle, Maine, at the local community college. I had designed the course schedule to discuss characterization and dialogue early in the semester and
I was teaching a creative writing class, maybe a decade ago now, in Presque Isle, Maine, at the local community college. I had designed the course schedule to discuss characterization and dialogue early in the semester and
October 24, 2017
Halloween in My Neighborhood
I'm in the middle of writing a story set around Halloween in my fictional town of Vista Beach. (Aurora Anderson #4) Whenever I walk around my own beach city, I look for little things I can put in that add verisimilitude to my story. Recently, the husband and I took a tour of the neighborhood and looked at the Halloween decorations. Here are some of the ones we found.
The first thing I noticed:
The first thing I noticed:
October 23, 2017
Will the real writer stand up?
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I used to think that
ghost writers only wrote for people who were not writers, such as
footballers, reality TV stars, celebrity chefs and the like. But I
recently realised this was the understanding of the uninitiated.
James Patterson, for example, no longer writes his own novels. He
hands a plot outline and a bunch of character biographies to a
I used to think that
ghost writers only wrote for people who were not writers, such as
footballers, reality TV stars, celebrity chefs and the like. But I
recently realised this was the understanding of the uninitiated.
James Patterson, for example, no longer writes his own novels. He
hands a plot outline and a bunch of character biographies to a
October 20, 2017
Why We Write
On Tuesday evening, I was honored to be the guest author at the Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County Authors Night. This is an annual event when learners and tutors share the stories that they have written. I was asked to speak for 10-15 minutes before they came up one by one to read their true stories or poetry that had been collected in a small volume. My challenge was to come up with a
October 18, 2017
Then She Said...
ACTION!
Since mid-September, I, Donis, have been facilitating a creative writing workshop for emeritus professors at Arizona State University. This is the second time I’ve done this workshop, and it’s been an eye-opener for me. Professors know all about the rules of grammar and spelling and the like, but people who have spent their lives writing scientific treatises and keeping a
Since mid-September, I, Donis, have been facilitating a creative writing workshop for emeritus professors at Arizona State University. This is the second time I’ve done this workshop, and it’s been an eye-opener for me. Professors know all about the rules of grammar and spelling and the like, but people who have spent their lives writing scientific treatises and keeping a
