Category Archives: Uncategorized

Do The Right Thing Even If You Look Like An Idiot

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Lynne • 4 Comments

Have you ever tried to do what you were pretty sure was the right thing only to have it explode? Even have two other seemingly sane and intelligent people tell you yes, you should do it before you went ahead and did that thing that exploded? So here’s the story. It was Saturday’s chilly dusk and I was driving home. I’d reached my own quiet… Continue Reading

On Zusak, Gadhafi and Surprise

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Lynne • 4 Comments

An unexpected ludicrous moment, a twist into tragedy, a flash of tenderness: surprise by a character is a crucial element of a riveting story. Speaking yesterday at the College of Mount Saint Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio, Marcus Zusak discussed this as well as describing how he wrote multiple drafts of The Book Thief, trying out different narrators as he worked to understand… Continue Reading

On Craft: Scene or Narration?

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Lynne • 3 Comments

Would you think for a moment about your favorite novels? What about them do you remember most? My memories are of tense or revelatory scenes that came alive as strongly as if a staged play were in front of me. (For our purpose, let’s define a scene as a a unit of enacted drama that takes place… Continue Reading

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Category Archives: Uncategorized

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