The Wednesday Web Browser

After Deadline is back with another grab bag of items on grammar, usage, and style. (I always learn/relearn something from After Deadline, although it hasn't managed to sway me on the serial comma yet, as you can see.)

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The latest issue of The Atlantic contains an article about one of my guilty pleasures: soap operas. Which reminds me of a review (of a soap-focused book) that I wrote several years ago that you might enjoy.

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Congrats to Chloe' Yelena Miller, whose poem, "Estate Sale," is the current Narrative poem of the week!

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Anne Fernald tries to figure out what's wrong with that book?

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I'll be on vacation next week (more about that in a day or two--you have no idea how much I need a vacation!), so I'll share this job lead with you now instead of waiting for the usual Monday post: Princeton University (N.J.) is seeking Lecturers. "The Creative Writing Program at the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University is seeking distinguished writers for openings in fiction, poetry, and translation. These positions are one or two semester appointments. The positions begin September 2011 and/or February 2012."

Quotation of the Week: Maxwell Perkins

"If you are not discouraged about your writing on a regular basis, you may not be trying hard enough. Any challenging pursuit will encounter frequent patches of frustration. Writing is nothing if not challenging."

--Maxwell Perkins

Source: Chip Scanlan's "'And I Quote': A Collection of Advice, Inspiration and Other Words of Wisdom on the Craft of Writing."

Friday Find: Janet Fitch's 10 Rules for Writers

Over the past three weeks or so, I've seen Janet Fitch's 10 Rules for Writers touted on too many blogs and Twitter feeds to count. So it's about time for Practicing Writing to catch the wave and share these rules with you, too. Sound, sage advice to launch your weekend writing.

Speaking of the weekend, have a good one! We'll see you back here on Monday.

The Wednesday Web Browser

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) has posted its list of accepted panel proposals for the 2011 conference in Washington, D.C. I am so excited that both of my proposed teams will be participating! One session is in the "career advancement" category, and will focus on finding, creating, and succeeding in online teaching jobs. The other, within "the craft of fiction," will discuss issues in 21st-century Jewish-American fiction.

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If I needed another reason to want to read Anthony Doerr's new story collection, this interview on The Forward's Sisterhood blog, "Anthony Doerr's Fictional Journey Inside a Jewish Girls' Orphanage," gave it to me. (Historical-fiction writers will particularly appreciate/relate.)

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"Operation Thriller" is bringing thriller writers to entertain members of the military.

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You should certainly read Dwight Garner's review of Tom Grimes's new book, Mentor, which "is ostensibly about Frank Conroy, the gifted memoirist (“Stop-Time”) and novelist (“Body and Soul”) who was the longtime director of the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa." But as Garner writes, reading the actual book "might make [an aspiring writer] climb a tall tree and leap from it."

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If you're a blogger, or want to be one, you may appreciate this ProBlogger post: "Crazy Stuff I've Done as a Blogger, and What I've Learned from It All."

Quotation of the Week: Allegra Goodman

As I mentioned on my other blog awhile back, I've been looking forward to reading Allegra Goodman's new novel, The Cookbook Collector. I pre-ordered a copy and finally began reading on Sunday evening. So far, so great!

Last week, my mom and I attended a terrific literary event here in New York that featured Allegra and novelist Cathleen Schine in conversation with Sandee Brawarsky, book critic for the New York Jewish Week. At one point, Allegra offered the following comment about something that she sees as a real plus of novel-writing:

"Your work can be intensely personal without being autobiographical."

So true! So important! So under-appreciated!

The degree of interest readers show in the autobiographical elements of fiction never fails to amaze me. Admittedly, I've been guilty of this interest as a reader, too. But I hope that my crimes are fewer and further between now that I have some experience as a fiction writer myself.

In truth, there are pieces of "me" in all of my fiction, even if I may be the only one who can pinpoint each of them. And the characters that might outwardly resemble "me"--one example comes to mind from a story workshopped long ago; several classmates told me they were convinced that one character in that story was, in fact, me, thinly disguised--can be the ones furthest from my own experience.

The Wednesday Web Browser

I subscribe to several "poem-a-day" services, and a few days ago I received a poem from one of them (Poem-A-Day) that I found simply extraordinary: Charles Harper Webb's "Prayer for the Man Who Mugged My Father, 72."
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Over on Twitter, Janice Harayda is using a #bkrev hashtag to discuss book reviewing. Yesterday's focus: negative reviews.
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Here's a fun list: the 25 Greatest Fictional Lawyers (Who Are Not Atticus Finch). (via AboveTheLaw.com)
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The wonderful Sage Cohen has a new article out on "Top 10 Productivity Pitfalls for Writers to Avoid." (I've already pre-ordered Sage's forthcoming book, The Productive Writer.)

Friday Find: Sarah Manguso's Thirteen Sieves

You know how just the other day I alluded just the other day to my friend Deonne Kahler's recent participation in the Taos Summer Writers' Conference? Well, DK is now sharing revision tips that she gleaned directly from her workshop leader, Sarah Manguso (apparently, Ms. Manguso calls them "The Thirteen Sieves").

DK will be sharing one tip per post. She began yesterday with this one. And it's good.

Follow along, won't you? I know that I will!

Have a great weekend, and see you back here on Monday!

Quotation of the Week: Robert Frost

"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader."

~Robert Frost

via Heidi Mannan

The Wednesday Web Browser

If you've spent any time in the writerly Twitterverse in the past 24 hours or so, you've probably seen multiple mentions of I Write Like..., which will "analyze" a sample of your writing and tell you which famous writer you write like. Kinda fun (even if I don't really believe that my writing resembles the work of Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft, and even if it seems odd that so few [any?] female authors' names are turning up). (UPDATE, 7/18: READ THIS--seems we've all fallen for a con.)
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Additional notes on grammar, usage, and style, courtesy of After Deadline.
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Just posted this week on the Fiction Writers Review site: my review of Jacob Paul's debut novel, Sarah/Sara. (Those of you who thought that this post was interesting should definitely take a look.)
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Last week's compilation of Jewish literary links draws from the Association of Jewish Libraries, The Boston Bibliophile, Tablet magazine, the Forward's "Arty Semite" blog, and more.
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Looking for some writing prompts? Sign up to receive a prompt each day through August from Lisa Romeo (I have).

The Wednesday Web Browser

Honestly, sometimes these lists of imminent book releases overwhelm me. I already have a huge list of titles tbr. Now I have to add more! See what the latest batch of "Most Anticipated Summer Reading 2010 and Beyond", courtesy of The Millions, adds for you!
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Win a free spot in Linda Formichelli's Write for Magazines e-course.
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In case you missed the announcement late last week, W.S. Merwin is the new U.S. Poet Laureate.
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A columnist for The New York Times's Opinionator blog describes how she puts her columns together--and where she finds her ideas.
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My latest batch of Jewish literary links collects snippets by or about Michael Chabon, Allison Amend, Gary Shteyngart, Shalom Auslander, and Allegra Goodman.

Quotation of the Week: E.B. White

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.

--E.B. White

Source: @AdvicetoWriters

This one should be taped above my computers at work AND home!

Thursday's Pre-Publication Post: "Real-Life" Characters in Fiction

One of my favorite themes in writing-about-writing resurfaced this week: real-life characters in fiction. A big thank you goes to the Hayden's Ferry Review blog for leading me to Meg Rosoff's blog post for the Guardian's Books Blog, "Tackling real-life characters in fiction is fine - as long as you do it well."

Most of the writing on creating fictional characters from real-life personages focuses on recognizable people: historical figures, celebrities, and so on. (The tour guide who appears in my story "The Quiet American, Or How to Be a Good Guest," may well be based on an actual tour guide, but I did not give too much thought to the implications of creating a fictional döppelganger in that case.) And it's this traditional emphasis that continues in the Guardian post as well.

If that focus isn't necessarily relevant in the context of the tour guide character, it's much more applicable when viewed in the context of some other stories in Quiet Americans. "For Services Rendered," which opens the book, includes as key characters Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and his second wife, Emmy. (For some background on what inspired this story, and the research that went into it, you can read the essay I wrote for the Scribblers on the Roof website awhile back.)

"Real-life characters" (not to mention events) appear elsewhere in Quiet Americans. For instance, Golda Meir makes a cameo in a story titled "Homecomings." (Admittedly, one of the MFA classmates who critiqued an early version thought I'd invented Mrs. Meir. But the first female prime minister of Israel was, in fact, a "real-life" person.)

And anyone who reads "Floating" and recalls the brouhaha concerning a certain state poet laureate and a 9/11 poem will be able to identify the real-life inspiration behind a certain sub-plot, even without the use of the poet's name. I'm still not certain why I chose not to name the poet in that story. One may be this major difference between the other characters and the poet: The poet is still alive.

As I continued to think about my stories this week in the context of the Guardian article, I realized something else: In a way that's quite different from the situation with "For Services Rendered," where everything that Hermann and Emmy Göring say and do has major repercussions on the rest of the story, the real-life characters within "Homecomings" and "Floating" are minor players, presences that help illuminate aspects other, major characters and events in each piece.

Or at least, that's what I think. Come January, we'll see if you agree.

The Wednesday Web Browser

Philip Graham shares writing lessons learned from his cab-driving days.
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Over on my other blog, My Machberet ("machberet" is the Hebrew word for "notebook"), Barbara Krasner provides a generous guest post/conference dispatch re: writing Jewish-themed children's books.
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Here's a peek into the archives of John Updike (made me nostalgic for doing research in Houghton Library).
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According to the editor whom Lisa Romeo cites, I must be an "old writer," indeed. What about you?

Quotation of the Week: Rick Moody

"I'm against schedules. Write when you feel excited by the prospect. Otherwise, don't bother."
--Rick Moody

Source: The Paris Review

What do you think of this one, practicing writers? Kind of goes against a lot of what we've been taught, doesn't it? On the other hand, it does sound wonderfully liberating!

The Wednesday Web Browser

Some translation-related material to share with you this week. First: The literary journal Image recently asked contributing translators to address their craft; the resulting quotations are here. And from Hayden's Ferry Review: two poems by Yiddish writer Avrom Sutzkever, translated and introduced by Miri Koral.
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Looking for some writing exercises? This post on the Rutgers-Newark MFA blog will point you to several.
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To use the word "tweet" or not to use it? That is a question.
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I really wish someone had shown me something like I.J. Schecter's article, "How to Break Into Corporate Writing," before I launched a freelance writing practice. Said practice might have lasted longer had I sought to include corporate writing within it.
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I'm on Goodreads! Are you? Please "friend" me! And if you have any tips on how to make the most of the site (as a reader or as an author), please share!

The Wednesday Web Browser

Join the Madame Bovary read-a-long that is being planned for the fall, using the new translation by Lydia Davis to ground discussion! (Thanks to The Boston Bibliophile for the tip!)
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Over on The Writer magazine's staff blog, one of the wonderful editors I've had the good fortune to work with pretty frequently, Sarah Lange, talks about freelancing with Kelly James-Enger. I've admired James-Enger's work for a long time, so even if her words here brought forth a pang or two for my own former freelance/self-employed life, I was able to focus on and enjoy the Q&A nonetheless. (You'll find James-Enger's new blog, Dollars and Deadlines, linked on our sidebar now, too.)
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Another newcomer to our sidebar list: author Allegra Goodman's blog. I had the privilege of meeting Allegra my first semester in college, when I had a small role in a play she'd written. Twenty-something years later, I'm enjoying the updates preceding the early July publication of her next novel, The Cookbook Collector, which is receiving stellar pre-pub reviews. (I've already pre-ordered my copy.)
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On my "other" blog, My Machberet ("machberet" is the Hebrew word for "notebook"), I seem to be settling into a habit of rounding up links relating to Jewish authors and books on Jewish themes each Friday (just in time for the Sabbath/Shabbat). Last week's collection featured two of my favorite authors (Ludwig Lewisohn and Patrick Modiano), The Forward's summer books section, the transcript from the most recent Jewish Book Council Twitter Book Club, and more.

Quotation of the Week: Maya Angelou

"When the language lends itself to me, when it comes and submits, when it says 'I am yours darling,'—that's the best part."

- Maya Angelou, via The Paris Review (on Twitter)

Quotation of the Week: H.L. Mencken

"There are no dull subjects. There are only dull writers."

Source: H.L. Mencken (1880 – 1956), via Quotes4Writers

A Review of Carol Sklenicka's "Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life"

WHAT WE WRITE ABOUT WHEN WE WRITE ABOUT RAYMOND CARVER

Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life by Carol Sklenicka. Scribner, 592 pages. Hardcover or digital, $35.00 (paperback to be released in November).

By Erika Dreifus

For me (and, I suspect, for many of you), delving into a biography of a famous author must resemble what non-writers experience when they sit down with a celebrity profile. What an incredible opportunity to know the person behind the reputation. What a way to gain an intimate and comprehensive view into a life we may have perceived mainly through the individual’s professional output and public persona (perhaps mixed with some apocryphal stories and gossipy hearsay). And for writers—especially short story writers who came of artistic age in the last quarter of the 20th century, few contemporary authors have proved more influential than Raymond Carver.

Carol Sklenicka’s recent biography, Raymond Carver: A Writer’s Life, possesses an exceedingly apt subtitle. The book provides an absorbing and meticulously documented account of how Carver, born in 1938 in Clatskanie, Ore., to a millworker and his wife, developed into a world-famous author.

As Sklenicka notes in the Introduction, by the time of Carver’s early death (from lung cancer, in 1988), “Where I’m Calling From, a selection of his short stories that the New York Times named a favorite book of the late twentieth century, had just been published; he had just completed his third collection of poetry in five years. His work appeared in twenty-two languages and the Times of London called him ‘the American Chekhov.’ He was a full-time writer, acclaimed by the press and supported by royalties from his books and a generous five-year grant from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.”

But this road to literary success was far from smooth. Sklenicka not only demonstrates the struggles, sacrifices and sufferings that Carver’s achievements demanded —particularly from his first wife, Maryann Burk Carver—but she also reveals the extent of Carver’s own single-minded dedication to his writing and the incremental steps, decisions, encounters and experiences that combined to shape the history of his career.

The biography thus recounts well-known staples of Carver’s life story, such as his undergraduate creative writing studies with a then-unknown John Gardner at Chico State College (now California State University, Chico); the dynamics of his relationship with editor Gordon Lish; the alcohol-soaked times he shared with John Cheever when both were visiting professors at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop; the reputation he earned (and disliked) for literary “minimalism”; and the second marriage, to poet Tess Gallagher. But readers are guaranteed to glean new insights and discoveries in this book, too.

For example, there’s the correspondence course that introduced to the 15-year-old Carver the “Essential Elements of a Short Story and How To Develop Them.” The first short story publications, in the spring of 1961: “Furious Seasons,” which appeared in Selection, a Chico State literary magazine for which Carver served as an editor, and “The Father,” which was published in the Humboldt State College (now University) student magazine, Toyon. The first book publication: Near Klamath, a poetry collection published by the English Club of Sacramento State College in 1967. The promises and efforts to produce a novel that was never completed. The reactions of his two children when they saw their lives rendered on the page. The genuine friendships with a staggering array of writers familiar to us all. The messiness and disputes surrounding his estate and the rights to his work after his death.

If you are put off initially by the sheer size of this book—the quintessential “doorstop” tome—I have two words of advice: Don’t be. I guarantee that you will find Sklenicka a talented writer in her own right, and, again, there is something simply captivating about reading such a detailed account of an admired author’s life and literary career.

Beyond that, you will discover that nearly 90 of the book’s pages are devoted to extra-narrative material: acknowledgments and sources, an inventory of Carver’s works, endnotes and an index. You will leave this book with an infinitely expanded understanding of Carver as a gifted author - and, just like the rest of us, an imperfect human being.

(A version of this interview appeared in The Writer magazine.)

The Wednesday Web Browser

Happy 50th Birthday to To Kill A Mockingbird.
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Philip Graham writes about French memoirist Jacques Lusseyran and the power of the spoken voice.
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Linda Formichelli offers 7 tips for freelancing at Starbucks (and similar locations).
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Creating Van Gogh reaches its 100th post (and gives us a nice shout-out--thanks!). Especially if you're interested in historical fiction, Creating Van Gogh is a blog to follow.
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You still have a few days to win free short story collections! Check out the list of the Collection Giveaway Project's participating bloggers at the end of this post.