clues at the scene

clues at the scene

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Books About Writing Books

My new volume of _Tin House_ arrived today. That and _The Paris Review_ day are big deals here at toil central.

I couldn't resist ordering a set of writer's resources from an add in this month's volume. What I bought wasn't what they were selling. Hmmm. Sounds like a line from "Alice's Restaurant." [ No - that was way before my time. It was a very popular tune selection in the Katskeller one summer when I was hard at the books far from home. It was about fifteen years old by then.]

So, I bought this set : the-writers-series-print

I've also thought long and hard about Steve Almond's admonition that the reader must be apprised of the specific set of dramatic circumstances that surround the character in order to have any chance to empathize with his predicament. Simple, clear, and worth more than a little of my focus.

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