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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Need more input! I need suggestions for games/reading/comics/music etc. [more inside]
posted by longbaugh on Mar 18, 2006 - 21 answers

I went to a first meeting of a book club tonight, and it was an utter failure. We need, at the very least, a great book with broad appeal to discuss at our next meeting. [more inside]
posted by divka on Oct 24, 2005 - 31 answers

I have a number of favourite authors - who I would buy books from - on spec - so I'm keen to know when their next work is coming out. Is there a site that tracks 'forthcoming' books...so I can plan ahead?
posted by mattr on Apr 10, 2005 - 5 answers

I recall reading an article critizing some of today's popular writers (Clancy and King were two I recall) for being bland or suffering from too much Strunk and White. What then are some modern writers who gush with their own, unique style? [more inside]
posted by grefo on Nov 29, 2004 - 36 answers

Having just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which has a fictional autistic narrator, I'm keen to know if anyone can recommend me some novels (not necessarily about autism) whose authors are autistic.
posted by creeky on May 7, 2004 - 8 answers