Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with books and writers

Perhaps a chair coated with glue?

BitterOldPunk — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:09:03 -0800

With NaNoWriMo looming ever nearer, I would like to hear your best tips, tricks, habits, and techniques for staying chained to the keyboard. Realizing that the point is to get 50,000 words written, I've jettisoned all illusions of producing quality, publishable prose. My only goal is to finish without having to copypaste "All work and no play makes BOP a dull boy" five thousand times. I have a (rather vague) outline, I have some preliminary character sketches, and I have every expectation that the first ten thousand words will flow fairly quickly. But. I suck at follow-through. I have the attention span of the common housefly. So, writers: how do I stick with it, fight through discouragment and ennui, and produce 50,000 reasonably coherent words?

Note: I'm not looking for tips like "prepare moar" or "work your plan". I'm looking for how to stay motivated when the fun stuff stops and the hard work begins.

21st Century Fiction

netbros — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:32:58 -0800

Who are the new exciting, young novelists of the 21st century? I suddenly find myself with a lot more time on my hands for reading. A couple months ago you gave me a good list of biographies. Now I'm looking for new writing talent that has appeared since the turn of the century. I like historical fiction and action/adventure, but generally just like a good read. Thanks, as always, for your assistance.

Wrapped Up in Books

troika — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:25:55 -0800

I need some new favourite writers! Please recommend some ones that I'll love as much as Mark Kurlansky and Italo Calvino, etc. I've read everything that Mark Kurlansky, Michael Pollan, Jared Diamond, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Italo Calvino have ever put on paper (that I know of. I tend to get absorbed in writers). Recently I've enjoyed Boris Akunin, Umberto Eco, and Haruki Murakami. Thomas Pynchon, Simon Winchester, and Mark Monmonier are also beloved. What have you liked that are similar to any of those guys?

I really like single-item histories (like Kurlansky's Salt, Cod, etc) and geography/geology-related nonfiction.

What amazing books am I overlooking or unaware of? I need something new for my long train commute!

Thank you.

Are there successful multi-genre authors?

wackybrit — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:31:28 -0800

Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre? It's very easy to find authors whose writing is predominantly in a single genre - horror (King, Koontz), fantasy (Tolkien, Rowling), crime (Crumley, Christie), romance, and the like. But are there any famous (or at least semi-known) authors who jump between genres regularly?

Variety doesn't seem to be a remarkable attribute in musicians (Sting, for example), but while I can think of writers who straddle or work with two distinct genres (Ballard, Dahl), I cannot think of any who have produced significant works in, say, all of horror, crime, romance, and sci-fi - and I would like to look into the works of any who have.

Women writers like Neal Stephenson, are there any?

exceptinsects — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:24:03 -0800

Women writers like Neal Stephenson, are there any? I love the way his books seem to be such a reflection of what he is interested in and wants to write about, and how he is perfectly willing to take 900 pages to explore whatever he feels like. Like, a lot of other writers would take out that section in Anathem about the folding chairs, or in Cryptonomicon about the cereal, etc. but those are some of my favorite parts.

Infinite Jest has a lot of this kind of thing too, (plus footnotes, yay).

However, lately I just feel like reading more women authors. No special reason, I guess.

So: long, digressive, complicated, somewhat humorous, fun novels that teach you stuff you didn't know about...but written by women?

Women writing SciFi: Your Picks?

taz — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:52:55 -0800

In your opinion, who are the best female science fiction authors? What are the best scifi books written by women? Interpret the genre as broadly as you wish - "Hard" SciFi, Space Opera, Fantasy, Time Travel, Alternate History/Universe - it matters not! I especially love Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and New Weird, and am probably least interested in romances that just seem to have an incidental scifi setting and extremely politicized writing, but the most important criterion is overall quality - as long as the work is superior, I'm interested. I am asking for women writers because while I've read a fair amount of scifi, I realize I've only read a handful by women writers (most of which I've liked very, very much), and would like to read more.

I understand that I can go to any anthology of female scifi writers to get a list of names, but I'm asking for Mefites' personal recommendations for excellent women writers in this genre as well as specific books that stand out to you. I don't care if the author is not well-known or widely recognized - or, on the other hand, if the name is so obvious that everyone knows it.

Best book publication methods?

jdroth — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:56:35 -0800

I have a web site. I want to write a book based on the topic. I have publishers/agents asking to talk to me, but I don't know if I'm ready. For one thing, I'm not convinced traditional publication is best — I'm intrigued by self-publishing and e-books. I'm looking for general advice: What are the pros and cons of each method? It seems that unless I'm lucky, traditional publishing offers the lowest dollar return. But are there other, intangible benefits I'm missing? Exposure? Having somebody who knows what they're doing guide me along? And how do I approach a discussion with agents/publishers so as to get the best deal? I'd love some hard numbers from real e-books. Have you published one? How many did you sell? How much did you make? Would you do it again? Same with self-publishing. John Reed has a great book with detailed information about the economics of self-publishing, but I'd like to know more.

What are the advantages of traditional publication? How much can a first-time author expect to earn, both in advance and in sales? Is my web site large enough to give me negotiating leverage? (42,000 subscribers, close to 750k monthly pageviews)

My current thought is that self-publishing in some fashion (probably an e-book) would grant me complete control over the design, layout, and content of the book. If that did well, I could still promote it to a traditional publisher. Is this an acceptable approach?

Basically, I'm looking for anecdotes and advice from people who have done this sort of thing before.

I'm sure I'll have more "how do I write a book?" questions in the next few months.

How do I find authors the same age as me?

aclevername — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:33:08 -0800

Is there any resource online that lists fiction (and possibly non-fiction) authors by age? I'm looking to find and read books by authors of a similar age to me (I'm 29). Similar to the idea that Douglas Coupland, being of Generation X, had a age-based cultural type of writing, I'm curious to read any of "my" generation (whatever that may be).

Really what I'd like is some way to search a list of authors by age or birthdate. Nothing turns up on google. Nothing I want, anyway. My searches have only turned up listings of authors by historical "age" (e.g. Elizabethan, etc).

Short of looking up individual biographies of authors, is there any way to do this?

One-sitting reads?

jbickers — Fri, 04 May 2007 21:50:37 -0800

What are some great books that aren't hideously long? I'm in the throes of a major book lust phase, but find that most of the things I'm drawn to are 600+ pages long. Which just kinda wears me out. So I'm looking for really great, amazing, get-out-your-highlighter-oh-my-god-this-is-incredible works of fiction that are less than 200 pages. 100 pages or thereabouts would be ideal, as that represents a "one-sitting reading."

I'm a big fan of Paul Auster, Steve Erickson, David Mitchell, that kind of thing. I've recently purchased "The Crying of Lot 49" by Pynchon and "The Body Artist" by Don Delilo, and a bunch of older stuff by Auster, who has always been good about word economy. But what next? What are some great novels that don't meander about, something that can be absorbed in a day or two rather than a month or two?

Non Fiction Women No Longer

Xurando — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:39:58 -0800

Help me to let go of my bias against women's fiction. What fiction books written by women would a "real" man like? A friend of mine recently suggested a thriller written by a woman and actually took it out of the library for me. I read the first page and got no further, the bias had set in.
I can't describe it, but I find offsetting, something in general about how women write fiction. This does not necessarily apply to non-fiction though it does apply to memoirs as well. One exception to this was Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan.

If pushed to describe it, I would say that women's fiction wanders from outside narrative to the interior feeling state far too easily. I like the story line to be present throughout despite being eclectic, whimsical, funny, or what have you. I like thrillers, travel writing, current life.

My friend now calls me the misogynist. Is there hope for me? Any suggestions for authors I might like?

Books on Writers and Alcohol?

Gnostic Novelist — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:39:08 -0800

I'm looking for books dealing with writers and alcohol, or writers writing about alcohol. I own four books on the subject: The Thirsty Muse: Alcohol and the American Writer Alcohol and the Writer A Drinking Companion: Alcohol and Writers' Lives The Muse in the Bottle: Great Writers on the Joy of Drinking

Good Swedish novels?

fire&wings — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:01:57 -0800

What are some good Swedish novels? Specifically modern novels that are set in, or deal with life in Sweden. Written in English. What are the Swedish classics? Leading modern authors in Sweden? Any info that I can put towards compiling a reading list is appreciated. Realised recently that I need more Swedish literature in my life and though I would ask for some personal recommendations here before heading off to google or whatever...

What Are Some Modern Authors With Their Own Unique Writing Style

grefo — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:15:02 -0800

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? That second sentence should be "Who then..."

Good English translations?

casarkos — Sun, 14 Nov 2004 20:37:23 -0800

What/who are some good translations/translators of books into English?

What is the professional life of a travel writer really like?

Irontom — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 15:00:54 -0800

Do we have any travel writers in the house? Is it really the life of glamour and ease that thetravelwriterslife.com claims?

Since I suspect it's not as easy as one might suppose after digesting that page, I have more questions: Can you tell me what it's like? How you got started? What kind of money you pull in? Any advice for a day-dreaming prisoner of "the man" who thinks he can write and wouldnt mind travelling more often than he does? Anything?

Jump-start my writing process!

klaatu — Wed, 14 Apr 2004 04:58:05 -0800

OK, I'm trying to write my latest masterpiece, and I'm doing everything but... Any tips on writing routines? Not blocked, as such. Plain lazy is a definite possibility. But seriously, anybody have a fail-safe way to get up in the morning and get going?