I’ve wondered about whether to use the first or the third person voice in my own novel, and I’ve come to conclude that I personally cannot stand to read most first-person novels. More often than not, they’re a break from what John Gardener calls the fictive dream. [ Cont'd ]
Surviving The Workshop: Gauging Reactions
I recently had workshopped a piece that I had intended to be the ending chapter of the first arc in my novel. In it, the protagonist Mark ends up talking to a young fellow just a year or two younger than he is. The character’s name is Giovanni, and he is largely a mouthpiece for Eliot Rodger, may he rest in peace. Giovanni was going to see an escort. When his appointment was canceled, Mark chanced upon the young man and they began to have a conversation. [ Cont'd ]
‘Hatred’ and the Truth About Video Game Violence
There’s quite a hubbub surrounding the game Hatred. Lots of people decry its very existence, complaining that it’ll lead to more violence. Plenty of people don’t like the game, and they don’t think it should’ve been made. But the truth is that Hatred appears to be more honest about violence than most any other video game I’ve ever seen. [ Cont'd ]
5 Ways To Give Good Feedback In Peer Writing Workshops
I’ve come across many aspiring writers who are frustrated with the feedback that they receive from fellow writers in workshops. And when people show me what their peers are saying about their work, I am surprised that they are frustrated. I’m astonished that they aren’t downright furious. [ Cont'd ]
The Truth About Great Literature
In the most recent issue of Poets & Writers, Steve Almond writes about some interesting issues in his article, “The Problem of Entitlement: A Question of Respect.” In it, he attempted an amateur psychoanalysis of his students’ skepticism towards the actual greatness of the stories anthologised in Best American Short Stories. To this extent, I could agree with him that many students attack anthologised stories as a defense mechanism similar to that of sour grapes: “I most likely will not get published in that anthology, so it must not be very good,” goes their thinking. [ Cont'd ]
