Chris Abouzeid's Blog, page 14

What’s In A Name?

By Charles Garabedian Maybe it’s my age, but I can’t seem to remember first names easily anymore. I even have trouble after a second exchange of introductions, and it’s most embarrassing when this happens in my apartment building. It typically takes the third round of handshakes and name exchanges in ...

Muscle Memory: On Quantum Writing

by Bethanne Patrick Two years ago I fell down my front steps and sustained a triple ankle fracture (I actually wrote about this is my first BTM post). Two surgeries, one fixator, one steel plate, eight metal screws, three casts, a “knee scooter,” several boots and braces, and nearly four ...

6 Reasons to Love James Patterson Grants to Booksellers: The Country Bookseller, A Case Study

By Randy Susan Meyers Last Friday, Henriette Lazaridis Power and I spoke about writing, lying, rowing, Greece, shoplifting, being a chicken, infidelity, domestic violence, adoption and cookies in front of what seemed to be over 150 ardent readers. (I won’t say which topics were Henriette’s and which were mine. Sealed ...

Writing Workshops: Tough Love, Indulgence, or Shark Tanks?

By Javed Jahangir  Often, when I am talking to writers, especially writers of the published variety, I will often ask a trifling question of them: “Have you workshopped your work?” Some will look at me a little funny, most however, will nod vigorously and delve into a story involving Yaddo ...

Occupational Hazards for Writers

              By Kathy Crowley The idea of writing about the occupational hazards of writers first crossed my mind as a joke. A friend who’s a writer recently sustained a concussion and has been advised by her doctor to undertake a course of “brain rest” ...

Deep Appreciation and a Little Advice for Young Writers

By Juliette Fay I recently had the immense pleasure to be the keynote speaker at a writing conference for middle and high school students, who were more serious about their work than many adults! Their questions were wonderful and numerous, and I left feeling so inspired. The following is an ...

Cultivate This. How a Fast-Food Chain Teamed up With a Famous Writer and Left Behind the Workers

By Becky Tuch Perhaps you’ve already heard: Chipotle, the nation’s leading purveyor of Tex-Mex fast food, has begun a new venture. They will now feature writing from some of today’s most celebrated authors (Toni Morrison, George Saunders, Malcolm Gladwell, etc.)  on its cups and bags. The project, known as “Cultivating ...

Writing Prompts 1000% Guaranteed to Stir Up…Something

By Nichole Bernier A picture may be worth a thousand words, but so’s a good writing prompt. I’m using these next time my writing boot camp reconvenes. Shhh, don’t tell.   A rusted car at the bottom of a steep hill at the edge of a river. How it got ...

Ask Margie: The Eternal Mystery of The Goodreads Haters

  Dear Margie, I am a first-time author. My novel came out two months ago. I worked on it for years and I was so excited to have it accepted and to hold it in my hands. I swore I wouldn’t let bad reviews make me less happy and I’ve ...

Friday Faves: A Week of Women Mourned, Defended, Celebrated

by Chris Abouzeid The Isla Vista Shootings Nothing made the horrors of misogyny and our nation’s never-ending NRA-fueled gun orgy clearer than Elliot Rodger’s bitter woman-hating rants and murderous rampage this week. The media responded with its usual “How could this have happened?”—as if it’s some great mystery how hatred ...