122 posts tagged with writers.
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How to start _actually_ making music?
I am a perfectly adequate musician--I've played guitar for 20+ years, bass for maybe 7, have dabbled in electronic music production, and have been teaching myself piano during lockdown. I have a fine ear. However, I never actually do much more than plonk along with my favorite recordings--I never write a complete song or record anything. If you've been like me, how did you pivot to doing more? [more inside]
When I say lyrical sci-fi, you say...
I'm looking for novels that fall firmly into the category of literary fiction, but which contain some recognizable element from the sci-fi genre. A shining example of this is Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go, about the emotional lives of clones. What are some others? [more inside]
Want an apolitical Crime/Detective writer
Does anyone know of a writer of crime fiction who is modern, nonleftist (or even obviously conservative), and good? I've already read John D. MacDonald, Ross Macdonald, Connelly, Westlake/Stark, Rob't Parker, and am now reading John Sandford but he's becoming too liberal for me. I'd like to go with someone well-known but need to know whom to avoid. I also like horror, but Stephen King's "Under the Dome" I had to drop. Have also already done the Dan Simmons trilogy... Thanks.
"Umberto Eco ain't doin' this."
This is a deep cut, but can you identify a Southern woman writer/storyteller who had a very telling anecdote on Prairie Home Companion years ago? (Yes, I know, but he always had good guests.) [more inside]
A good source to hire great writers with deep technology experience?
I need to find alternatives to Upwork and similar sites to hire writers with good technology credentials. [more inside]
I want to love Wendell Berry. What should I read by him?
I'd like to familiarize myself with Wendell Berry's work but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed due to the sheer number of essays, books, short stories and poems he's written. There's a newish anthology of essays, but is he better known as a novelist? Would it be better to start with things he wrote earlier in his career, or later? Help! [more inside]
Books by folks with disabilites?
It’s been my mission lately to read books by non-cishetwhitedudes, but I realize I should change that to non-cishetwhitedudeswhoareablebodied. My tastes screw towards literary fiction and academic historical non-fiction. Also always down for a good memoir. But honestly, I’ll read most things happily and have no problem returning your recommendation to the library unfinished, or being pleasently surprised by something I never would have picked up. RAIN YOUR RECOMMENDSTIONS UPON ME! [more inside]
Horror stories about authors writing fiction about their mothers
I'm looking for cautionary tales about authors who wrote fiction with thinly-veiled or semi-autobiographical or explicitly acknowledged characters based on their real mothers. [more inside]
How to have/join a posse for Worldcon in Helsinki.
I'm going to be attending Worldcon in Helsinki in August 2017. I'm a writer of speculative fiction, with a handful of publishing credits but few connections in the literary world. I tagged along with a more established writer friend at a literary convention last year, and it showed me that it can be hard to fly solo in such a sprawling social environment. I would like to build some connections in advance with other writers who plan to attend so I can look forward to meeting some peers and networking with like-minded individuals. Where should I start? [more inside]
Mefites answering this question will be paid in exposure
How do artists' unions work? [more inside]
Horror Fiction by Authors of Color
Recommendations? I've got Sumiko Saulson's Black Women in Horror list/bios of 60 writers, which is an extensive and exciting resource. But I'm not looking exclusively for work by black women, so - who else brings the chills? [more inside]
One-phrase descriptions of writers
Can a writer's literary style or technique be summed up in one phrase? I am trying to compile such a list of descriptions. An example would be: "Ernest Hemingway: Simple, terse, unadorned, and uses few adjectives." George Bernard Shaw: "Energetic, witty, intellectual, aggressive, comedic, and socially critical." The more technical the description, the better.
What books seem to have been written to be re-read?
What books hold up so well to re-reading that it makes you suspect they were engineered that way? Are there examples of books that seem to be MUCH better on second reading? What kind of things did the author do to achieve that?
Journalists who are experts in their subject matter
I am looking for the journalists that are experts in what they write about. [more inside]
Help me identify this old New Yorker article?
I'm trying to find a vaguely-remembered New Yorker article from the 1990s about a young, struggling writer. [more inside]
How old is too old?
I am 29. He's 67. Do you think this will work out in the long run? [more inside]
Eccentric and Recluse Poets and Authors?
Greetings. I'm wondering if there are any notable or smaller scale poets and writers that were mainly hermits or eccentric? I'm not picky with the genre, country, or era. [more inside]
writing workshops: how do they work?
I'm about to travel out of town to attend a two-day writing workshop hosted by one of my favorite authors/idols, but I have no idea what writing workshops are like or what anyone actually does at them. Writers of MeFi, can you help me figure out what to expect? [more inside]
Literary writing about football
Are there any literary writers (i.e. not sportswriters) who've written about modern NFL football in the same way that Joyce Carol Oates has written about boxing / David Foster Wallace has written about tennis?
A Bay Area DIY writer's retreat on the cheap?
Help me discover a place in the greater Bay Area I can go for a few days to focus on a writing project. [more inside]
Help me level up as a writer
I am a 32 y/o creative writer (poetry, short fiction, essays) and arts journalist. I have an MFA and I have been very well-published in lit mags and on websites (but no book yet). I have two poetry manuscripts that I’ve circulated, and both have had some near-misses. I am very prolific and always have projects going, and I submit often. However, I feel a lack of professional traction, and I am hoping some of you have ways I can level up. [more inside]
MeFi Writers, Help Me With a Personal Writing Project
I'm taking next week off to do two things. The first is to develop some habits that are conducive to me writing continually, daily and with presentable results. The second is to actually have a product by the end of the week. I'm thinking one good and fairly polished short story.
Please give me advice and ideas about how to accomplish this.
Do you need a place to work that is for "writing only"? Do you have a daily routine? Did you have to develop self-discipline? Do you have rituals like meditation or having tea or writing by candle light? Do you listen to music? With an entire week to do whatever I want, how do I best use my time for writing? [more inside]
Who's writing about video games?
I'd like to learn more about video and digital games. I don't know where to start. I'm thinking--there must be bloggers, games writers, etc. who are writing about both classic video games and new releases? Who are they? [more inside]
Science for English Majors
I saw -- maybe here, maybe on the blue -- a link to a webpage with discussions of all sorts of future-science problems. I can't find it again. Help? [more inside]
Help out a writer with a severe case of writer's block!
I am working on a story where a character recalls several intense "Rashomon" type events with multiple perspectives and interesting differences in how intense events play out to different witnesses. I've thought of a couple but I'd love the germ of a few more ideas... [more inside]
Movies About Writers and Show the Story
Hey Everyone,
Can you think of any movies that are about a writer and also show the story that the writer is writing in the movie?
Thanks!
YANAmazon, but…
I stumbled across an older book, and I'd love to find others like it. Help? [more inside]
Help me educate myself in the philosophical side of environmentalism
I'm a grad student in conservation biology who has always had a strong interest in conservation issues. However, I feel like the technical side of my education is much stronger than the philosophical side, and I want to restore that balance. Who should I read, what resources should I look into, what organizations or publications are out there that will help me gain a deeper understanding of the philosophical, historical, and cultural components of environmentalism? [more inside]
MFT application: letter of reference & personal statement samples? Help!
Hi Mefi Community,
I would like to apply for an MFT grad program but feel a huge block when it comes to the personal statement, as well as the letter of reference(s). One of my recommenders has asked that I draft the letter of reference and he will approve it after review, but I've never actually even seen one of these before, so do not know where to begin! [more inside]
magical realism/surreal books by women
I love Kelly Link, Jeannette Winterson, Margaret Atwood, Karen Russell, and Aimee Bender. I would like to read more books like this. Women authors only please, and I'd also love to have more queer and of color authors in my library. Thanks !
Please Help Me Overcome My Programming Anxiety
I am paralyzed trying to work on code. Not sure how to proceed. [more inside]
Wanted: Erudite, epigrammatic writers of easily-digested essays.
Who are some erudite, epigrammatic essayists? I'm not just looking for "good" essayists: self-consciously "refined" diction is a must, as is the propensity for epigrams. Examples of who I'm looking for include G. K. Chesterton, Mark Twain, Pauline Kael, Christopher Hitchens, Will Self, and Theodore Dalrymple.
Black turtlenecks, cigarettes, red wine, and Derrida
I'm defending my dissertation next week and the process has wrung all enthusiasm for academia right out of me. The whole enterprise has come to seem like nothing but an anxiety-ridden grind. In my small amount of free time before the defense and during the break I'm allowing myself afterwards, I'd like to read some novels that will delude me into thinking that being an intellectual is kind of, well, hot.
Examples and extended description below. [more inside]
Unsung Short Story Masters
I want to know about that favorite short story writer of yours that no one else has ever heard of. [more inside]
Does everyone in the world want to write, or is it only Americans?
Between the writers' conferences, workshops, organizations, academic degrees, web sites, online fora, regional groups, and how-to books that seem to fill this country, it appears that every third American more or less seriously wants to be a writer. (UK seems to have a bit of the fever as well.) Is the same obsession at play elsewhere, that is, in the non-English speaking world? [more inside]
Best Online Writing Groups/Workshops?
What are the best online writer's groups or workshops, especially for genre (scifi/fantasy) fiction? Active community of geeks wanted. Help a writer get serious about her stories. [more inside]
Why Write for x Hours Every Day? What Then?
A number of sources suggest that writers write for x number of minutes a day. I wrote for 30min/day for 2 months, but stopped because I could not determine a benefit. In addition, I was (and remain) totally unclear on what one is supposed to do with the writing afterward: read it (if yes, soon after writing, or later)? Edit it (if yes, again, soon after writing, or later)? And for what purposes?
I hope some established writers can direct me in the proper use of this tool, or debunk it in favor of another method.
If it helps, I am writing creative non-fiction, travel narrative, etc.
Havens for artists and writers
I was just reading about poet Mary Oliver, who lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts. I've also heard of arts communities in Santa Fe, New Mexico. What are some other small-ish towns that have strong communities of artists and writers (especially writers!)? [more inside]
Writers of Metafilter, please help me stay on track and keep going.
Writers, and novelists or fiction writers in particular, can you share your goals, processes and timelines for each of your drafts? [more inside]
Interest in writers and the writing process
What films and/or podcasts would you recommend for someone interested in writing (mainly fiction and/or screenwriting)? So far, I've really enjoyed watching "Bad Writing" and "Tales from the Script."
Find Ourselves a City to Live In
We're a family of two writers and a preschooler, looking for resources & advice on picking a place in the US to move to. [more inside]
Need help finding websites similar to Thought Catalog
Are there any blog/writing websites out there that are like Thought Catalog, but slightly more... mature I guess? Without the high-school/college drama or pop culture nonsense. Sometimes I feel just slightly too old for TC's target demographic. :/ But I do enjoy reading short blog posts from a variety of authors. Thanks in advance
Details, details, details...and then BAM!
As a reader of fiction (especially if you're a devotee of speculative fiction), how much do you like detailed descriptions and/or lists as part of the story? What if the story switches between detail and expediency? [more inside]
Gene W. Banks
What interesting writing has been done on the overlaps between Gene Wolfes "Book of the new sun and Iain M. Banks Culture novels? [more inside]
If someone says Tricorder....
Researchers, Writers, Grad Students, and Professors: Tell me about your technical setup (hardware and software). What do you use, and what couldn't you live without? [more inside]
Writer seeks not-office Toronto cafe place
Help me find a great writing spot in Toronto, with some very specific requirements. [more inside]
What are the best in-person experiences for aspiring writers to develop their skills?
Where are the good writers' retreats and workshops? How can I identify them? [more inside]
Flakey editors: the norm?
Are flakey editors and publishers the norm? [more inside]
The seed is the cage is the seed
Writers I like: Johan Huizenga, A. S. Neill, Christopher Alexander, Philippe Gaulier, James Paul Gee. Thoughts I'm interested in: the systemic formation of culture; how we interact with and are shaped by said systems; how those systems emerge as part of a "playful" procedure; how play is often used as a release from cultural standards. Who else will I like? What ideas will fascinate me further? [more inside]
How could I convince you that I'd make a great financial writer
I have a job interview for a junior/intermediate financial writer position with a financial services marketing company on Friday. This is a bit of a career jump for me as my background is mostly in legal editing with one stint at an educational publisher. Are there any MeFites with some sort of experience in financial writing who have some advice for me on how to ace the interview, or on what kind of research and prep I should be doing? [more inside]