And Now for Something Completely Obvious...

... I appear to be failing as a blogger. Most recent post was in November? Pitiful. So much for that particular New Year's resolution.

The best blogger I know is Betsy Lerner. Every day, five days a week, she posts something that will make you laugh or frown or smile or cringe. She's not always (make that, rarely) politically correct and she often uses languages or describes situations that make the repressed altar boy in me trip over my cassock. But she never fails to entertain or force you to think. Kind of what I should be trying to do with this blasted site.

So check her blog out here. Today's post is especially good for writers afflicted with beautiful-writing-ho-hum plot syndrome. And if you love to write (or hate to write but must write), get her book, The Forest for the Trees.

(Unnecessary Disclaimer: Betsy Lerner is not my agent. I do not know her. There is no financial remuneration involved in this post. I happily acknowledge, however, that I sent her my first-ever fan letter to an author about nine years ago, and she was gracious enough to reply!)

Start Sweating: The Poetry of Prose

This past weekend I attended of poetry reading at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. The poet I went to hear was my friend and poetry mentor Kevin Pilkington. During his remarks, Kevin said that when he writes he sweats over every sentence, every phrase, every word, every comma, and every period. In poetry, that's what you have to do. Each word must work. If it doesn't, it must be replaced or deleted.

Certainly the same applies to prose. When editing my fiction or nonfiction, I sometimes find myself keeping certain words or phrases that I personally think are brilliant -- poetic, almost. Yet while I try to justify the retention, my internal editor's voice is screaming at me: Doesn't belong here! Not working! Delete! Delete! Delete!

All writers -- poets, journalists, fiction writers -- need to listen carefully to that internal editor. And we all need to do what Kevin does: Sweat it out until you get it right.

To read more about Kevin's views on the writing life and process, check out this interview. To enjoy the results of his process, check out one of his collections. Here's my favorite, so far.

Looking for a Definition of Literary Fiction?

Just found out that Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her most recent book, Olive Kitteridge.

I had the pleasure of taking a week-long workshop she taught two summers ago. At the time, she was reviewing the galleys for Olive. I read it when it was released, and think it's a helluva book.

Read it.