If you want to read something that gives you chills, check out The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. No, this isn’t the script for the move about a surfer and sharks. It’s a book about the Internet and our brains – a different kind of thriller. I not sure how I missed reading the book when it […]
Writing
Ghosts and Other Invisible Writers
“I read invisible writers…” Their words are all around us. I detect them in press releases, blog posts and web pages, even in articles attributed to specific executives. Some of these words are written by ghosts — well, ghostwriters. They intentionally choose to disappear behind another purported author. Invisibility is part of their job or […]
The Five Phases of Book Research
My favorite part is of the writing process isn’t crafting the perfect sentence, making a brilliant point, or polishing words. No, it’s research. That’s a good thing, because as a nonfiction author, I spend a great deal of time actively researching, even when not at work on another book. Sometimes that work doesn’t look like […]
Metaphors in Nonfiction: Unexpected Truths
What does the gin represent in T. S. Eliot’s The Cocktail Party? How about the water? Questions like these torment students of literature. As an English major in college, I dedicated many brain cycles to analyzing figurative language in fiction: similes, metaphors, imagery, etc. Little did I know that the study of figurative language would […]
Books for Writers: Liminal Thinking
Understand Readers’ Beliefs – and Your Own We live in an increasingly divided world. Whether you’re gathering news and information from television, traditional newspapers, or online sources, chances are that you pay attention to people who share your beliefs. When we encounter people on the “other end” of our political or belief spectrum, we can […]
When Writing Is a Team Sport
When you think of a writer, what do you envision? Do you picture someone struggling alone in an attic, surrounded by crumpled papers, overflowing ashtrays and empty whiskey bottles? Papa Hemingway, perhaps? Or maybe you envision a cozy writing retreat, with scenic views and solitude. No matter what you imagine, it’s probably one person, working in […]