Please help me remember the title and author of a short story I read maybe 15 years ago. A handicapped woman, living with her sister and her sister's family, sees a man in church she feels quite sure is the devil. In order to get away from him, she struggles to regain the physical independence she had given up. (She had gone into a wheelchair because walking was possible, but too painful.) She does manage to become self-sufficient enough to move out on her own--and then wonders if it was worth it, after all. I am almost sure the author was Italian. Can anyone help?
posted by uans on Nov 16, 2009 - 0 answers

With NaNoWriMo looming ever nearer, I would like to hear your best tips, tricks, habits, and techniques for staying chained to the keyboard. [more inside]
posted by BitterOldPunk on Oct 22, 2009 - 26 answers

Which author comes closest to Cormac McCarthy? [more inside]
posted by Bacillus on Oct 21, 2009 - 19 answers

In search of short passages of especially strong or weak nonfiction prose! [more inside]
posted by cymru_j on Oct 17, 2009 - 8 answers

Please recommend authors who use fiction to convey religious beliefs, a la C. S. Lewis. [more inside]
posted by SLC Mom on Sep 28, 2009 - 37 answers

I'm looking for examples of creative works which seem to have come from a place outside the artist's deliberate, conscious effort (be it the collective unconscious, drug-induced, the subconscious of the author finally culminating, whatever). [more inside]
posted by lhall on Sep 25, 2009 - 29 answers

In writing a research book, how far along should I be before approaching publishers, agents, etc? Help needed to get my nonfiction pop culture centric book into bookstores [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 3, 2009 - 7 answers

My uncle recently mentioned to me that he's never read any book written by a woman. Apparently this is because he doesn't think they'll be any good - he seems to think women can only write romance novels. I find this both horrific and hard to believe, but he seemed serious. So, Hive Mind, I need your help in drafting a list of the very best books written by female authors. Help me teach him the error of his ways! [more inside]
posted by badmoonrising on Jul 29, 2009 - 92 answers

How often are the stories of a comic, novel, play, TV series, movie, or song conceived by the writer's friend, relative, acquaintance, neighbor, mailman, dog, etc? [more inside]
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing on May 28, 2009 - 14 answers

Say I'm writing a story and I want to emulate the old practice of referring to proper nouns by initials: i.e. Dr. M— from the town of S—. Where and when did this start? Why did they do this? (It hides the person's name, but from the author's perspective, is it to give his story an air of veracity, as with Defoe and Cervantes's works?) Would some names remain hidden and others not? Do I hide the last name only? If a man came from Monte Cristo, would I write M— C— or simply M—? I want as much information on this as possible. The name of this practice, if there is one, might be useful.
posted by Busoni on Apr 7, 2009 - 13 answers

What is the best author interview you have found? [more inside]
posted by Dumsnill on Mar 28, 2009 - 19 answers

OK, I've posted on this subject before. Each time, I'm a little further along. Here is where I am right now. I've been working on a book since March. The idea upon which the book is based has been getting a lot of attention recently and has consistently been in the news for about four years. [more inside]
posted by CollectiveMind on Dec 8, 2008 - 5 answers

I need some new favourite writers! Please recommend some ones that I'll love as much as Mark Kurlansky and Italo Calvino, etc. [more inside]
posted by troika on Nov 17, 2008 - 30 answers

Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre? [more inside]
posted by wackybrit on Nov 10, 2008 - 54 answers

Women writers like Neal Stephenson, are there any? [more inside]
posted by exceptinsects on Oct 5, 2008 - 18 answers

ProseFilter: Nabokov's Lolita was once hailed as "a love letter to the English language." I'm looking for modern and contemporary authors with similar aspirations. [more inside]
posted by zoomorphic on Sep 12, 2008 - 43 answers

Years ago I saw a website that displayed authors' names in a rotatable 3D space, with genre, style, and theme indicated by proximity. [more inside]
posted by BitterOldPunk on Aug 27, 2008 - 4 answers

BookFilter: My reading list is getting very short and I'm looking to the hivemind to help me queue up a few more books to get me by. [more inside]
posted by wavering on Aug 27, 2008 - 32 answers

I am trying to get a better understanding of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" **Spoiler Alert** [more inside]
posted by madmamasmith on Jul 28, 2008 - 13 answers

Is there an equivalent of IMDB or Allmusic for books? i.e. A site that lists all books written by a particular author with ratings, reviews, comments etc? English language based.
posted by mairuzu on Jul 3, 2008 - 13 answers

What are your favorite short stories or short story collections, anthologies etc. [more inside]
posted by Salvatorparadise on May 28, 2008 - 54 answers

What literature is written about Spain or the experience of living in Spain by American authors? [more inside]
posted by mizrachi on Apr 6, 2008 - 17 answers

How do I pronounce some of my favorite authors' names? (Names inside.) [more inside]
posted by Darth Fedor on Mar 26, 2008 - 26 answers

My brother is being tormented by being unable to identify a mental image of a photograph of a man who he believes to be an author. He can't recall a lot of details, but here's what he has; I told him if anyone could help, it would be you guys, so don't let me down. :) - Male, relatively young, dark hair, beard - Probably an author, or if not, at least someone well-known - Possibly German or Russian, maybe of Jewish descent - Name may be Joseph or something similar, but not Stalin - Pretty sure it's a black & white photograph, which probably places him in the early 20th century I know this isn't a lot of information, but I figured it was worth a try.... Thanks!
posted by greenmagnet on Mar 17, 2008 - 27 answers

I've been reading 'New Kings of Nonfiction' by Ira Glass and love it. I want to read more articles and books in this vein. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Feb 27, 2008 - 7 answers

In your opinion, who are the best female science fiction authors? What are the best scifi books written by women? [more inside]
posted by taz on Feb 8, 2008 - 106 answers

Is there any resource online that lists fiction (and possibly non-fiction) authors by age? [more inside]
posted by aclevername on Dec 29, 2007 - 5 answers

What'sThatBookFilter: A not-recent, nonfiction book by a female editor in which she, among other things, writes letters to her authors? [more inside]
posted by Drohan on Dec 21, 2007 - 3 answers

Lit-crit/what the hell is the word I'm looking for? [more inside]
posted by jonmc on Dec 2, 2007 - 23 answers

Smallish bunch of creative writer-types (who've met up in person a couple of times) would like somewhere to hang out online: please suggest what kind of website might suit us best. [more inside]
posted by freston on Nov 28, 2007 - 5 answers

Need female russian authors with two syllable names. To name a dog. [more inside]
posted by mrzarquon on Nov 11, 2007 - 13 answers

Is Iain Banks' new book, The Steep Approach to Garbadale worth buying? [more inside]
posted by Surfyournut on Sep 19, 2007 - 33 answers

Who are some literary figures who either 1) had a knack for words or 2) who analyzed other people's words?
posted by Java_Man on Aug 7, 2007 - 24 answers

Help me find novelists that are similar to Tom Robbins. [more inside]
posted by sunimplodes on Jun 20, 2007 - 24 answers

Our group blog (WordPress 2.1.1) confuses our IDs, and so sends email notifications to the wrong author. Also, this screws up loads of other stuff too. [more inside]
posted by dash_slot- on May 21, 2007 - 10 answers

I just found out that the dystopian/futuristic movie Children of Men is based on a novel by P.D. James. It made me think of the excellent short story The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster. It made me wonder: are other examples of mainstream authors experimenting with speculative fiction? [more inside]
posted by nanojath on Apr 22, 2007 - 36 answers

As I get older (and possibly more cantankerous) I'm becoming less willing to spend good money on potentially bad books (well, maybe not bad per se, but books I don't enjoy). Once upon a time, in the increasingly dim past, I used to purchase many books on the assumption that some would prove worth reading. Now, books are becoming increasingly expensive in Australia, and I'm consequently becoming more and more demanding that the book be worth reading before I part with my cash. [more inside]
posted by planetthoughtful on Apr 15, 2007 - 41 answers

The author of THE PRINCESS BRIDE and BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID doesn't have a website or any other presence on the web. I'd like to write to him. It's not so easy as simply writing to his publisher, as he isn't releasing novels or nonfiction these days, so I'm not sure who his publisher would be. Apparently he's spending his twilight years touching up screenplays for other writers. At any rate, I'd like to send him a letter. He lives in New York. Sadly, "William Goldman" is a fairly common name in NYC, so my search isn't getting very far.
posted by jackypaper on Mar 1, 2007 - 31 answers

Help me to let go of my bias against women's fiction. What fiction books written by women would a "real" man like? [more inside]
posted by Xurando on Feb 13, 2007 - 77 answers

Looking for inspiration in two kinds of books. Perhaps you've got some recommendations? 1) Novels with very short "chapters" or fragments or pieces, that combine to make a whole; 2) Books boldly written, whether that be a writer being bold with timelines, punctuation, language, etc. (examples of both types of books inside). [more inside]
posted by dobbs on Dec 6, 2006 - 54 answers

A notable saying by an author. I would like to find out who the author is. [more inside]
posted by Postroad on Nov 8, 2006 - 4 answers

Who are scholars and/or popular authors writing on the impact of the Internet as a communications medium, specifically those talking about how the Internet removes previous time and/or space biases that are inevitably present in other forms of communication technology (telephone, television, radio, etc.)? [more inside]
posted by Jaybo on Nov 1, 2006 - 10 answers

Can a woman write a novel like a man? [more inside]
posted by gummo on Oct 25, 2006 - 103 answers

What do you like about your literary agent? [more inside]
posted by clairezulkey on Sep 12, 2006 - 9 answers

I'm looking for books by famous people that they wrote early in their career or under a nom de plume. [more inside]
posted by clairezulkey on Jul 26, 2006 - 25 answers

How to (tactfully and successfully) get some major names to look at some of my writing? Of course there is [more inside]
posted by exlotuseater on Jul 18, 2006 - 18 answers

Why do some authors cross out their own printed name when they sign their books? [more inside]
posted by Ritchie on Jun 25, 2006 - 23 answers

I've forgotten the name of an author I used to read as a child. His last name ended in "aard", I think, and maybe started with a K or an L? He wrote a number of books about dogs... [more inside]
posted by vorfeed on May 25, 2006 - 14 answers

Song ideas for a mix tape themed around writers and/or literature, please. [more inside]
posted by ifjuly on Apr 30, 2006 - 63 answers

Which famous sci-fi author bet another author that if he wrote the worst book he could, it would become a hit? [more inside]
posted by pornucopia on Mar 21, 2006 - 25 answers