Chris Abouzeid's Blog, page 46

Looking Forward to Publication, Redux

  by Anita Hughes As I prepare for the release of my second novel, Market Street, I look back to see what I learned from the launch of my debut novel, Monarch Beach, last June. As for any new author, it was a tumultuous time. There were blog posts to ...

In Medias Res

By Bethanne Patrick Last October, I announced here that I’d be working full-time on a novel. In December, I put the work in progress in a drawer and started a new manuscript. The first few weeks of working on it flew by; I finished 15,000 words before I even blinked. ...

Saying Yes and Working for Free (Actually Worse Than Free)

By Matthew Dicks I have a policy to say yes as often as possible, even when it does not seem to make much sense. Part of this is the result of my constant fear of death (the byproduct of two near-death experiences and an armed robbery). I’m obsessed with the ...

The Absolutely True Diary of a Socially Challenged Author

By Chris Abouzeid By now, every writer and would-be writer on the internet knows what it takes to be successful. Not a great story. Not magnificent prose. Just a great public persona. You don’t just get up and read at your local bookstore anymore. You make everyone in the room ...

So You Want to Start a Literary Magazine…

By Becky Tuch Writers have a lot of reasons for wanting to create a literary magazine. Some writers say they want a community, that upon finishing an MFA program there is a feeling of rootlessness. Other writers feel that the kinds of things they like to write and read is ...

Friday Faves

By Nichole Bernier It’s Friday, which means it’s time for Beyond the Margins’ round-up of links that pertain to the literary world, more or less, but mostly have to do with being a thinking, sensible, curious person on a shared spinning orb. This week the longlist was announced for the ...

How I Almost Made Comfort-of-Lipstick and Other Novel Tales of Promotion

By Randy Susan Meyers In a perfect world, after writing a book, we’d sigh, sit back, and give thanks to our Muse. After cracking our tired knuckles a few times, we’d shake ‘em out, and then get back to the computer. Nah. In this brave new world (Got a hook? ...

The Museum of Imagination: Breathing Life Into Your Writing

Guest post by Hester Kaplan In the weeks before my new novel, The Tell, was published, I went to Istanbul.  Instead of reading guide books in preparation, I read The Museum of Innocence, by Orhan Pamuk, one of Turkey’s most celebrated and controversial authors.  The novel details a man’s obsession ...

Real, Consistent and Authentic: A Discussion of Voice

By Laura Harrington I am lucky enough to work at MIT where I teach an Introduction to Playwriting course which keeps me coming back to the empty page and to the basics we all need to know to write well. Working with students has enriched and sharpened my own skills.  ...

Friday Faves: AWP Edition

By Dell Smith Since we’re smack in the middle of the Associated Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, which this year has taken over the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, here are some helpful links to keep you moving and shaking through to the end of the conference Saturday night. For ...