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Category Archives: Lessons

The Way

Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Tsunetomo Yamamoto
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
“The proper manner of calligraphy is nothing other than not being careless, but in this way one’s writing will simply be sluggish and stiff. One should go beyond this and depart from the norm. This principle applies to all things.” — “Hagakure: [...]

Posted 15 July 2008 † gordon § Authors § Books § Links § Quotes § Work § Writing ‡ Comments (0)

Writing, Rejection, and Depression

I’m in the thirteenth month of trying to sell my short fiction collection with no buyer in sight, and I’m officially depressed. When I say depressed, I don’t mean clinically or medically depressed. I mean good, old-fashioned sad and upset.
I have to admit that I’ve been fairly lucky as a writer. From time to time, [...]

Posted 24 December 2007 † armand § Guest posts § Just a thought § Writing § Writing process ‡ Comments (23)

Whatever You Do, Stay in the Room

I just tore through a small but powerful writing book called “Ron Carlson Writes a Story” by (surprise!) Ron Carlson.
Carlson guides us through the writing of one of his stories, “The Governor’s Ball.” He describes where the initial idea came from and then walks us through the process of completing the first draft.
The book [...]

Posted 25 October 2007 † gordon § Authors § Books § Writing § Writing process ‡ Comments (3)