Noveldoctor

Category: The Writer’s Life

  • Listen

    —

    by

    Steve Parolini
    in ,

    A good writer is always listening. She listens to the voices of the long-dead, straining to hear writerly wisdom that only time and tide can reveal. She leans a little closer to Hemingway to discover the curious power of understatement and word economy. She plops down next to Dostoyevsky with her moral compass in hand…

  • Vivisection

    —

    by

    Steve Parolini
    in , ,

    If you watch a writer in a coffee shop, you won’t be particularly impressed by her work. You might not even notice that she’s working. The external act of writing is a mundane thing. It is quiet, often deathly so. ten fingers tapping long sighs and silent swearing insomnia cure You have to slice a…

  • The Definitive Post on Definitive Posts on Writing

    —

    by

    Steve Parolini
    in

    No, I didn’t stutter when I wrote that title. This is THE definitive post on definitive posts on writing. You won’t need to read any other posts about definitive posts on writing. Just this one. Because it’s definitive. If I write the word definitive a few more times, it will start to sound funny when…

  • DON’T PANIC

    —

    by

    Steve Parolini
    in , ,

    Writing fiction can make you crazy. Here’s how. Step One – Over the course of your next three lifetimes, visit a few thousand publishing-related blogs and read every nugget of writerly wisdom you can find. Pay particular attention to literary agents’ blogs. They’re jam-packed with practical tips, such as: “If your novel includes a prologue,…

  • Write Where You Are (But Don’t Stop Moving)

    —

    by

    Steve Parolini
    in

    I blame Winesburg, Ohio. Not the city; the short story cycle by Sherwood Anderson. Of course, that blame would be misplaced. It was my fault – my ignorance – not someone else’s brilliance that sent me down a wrong path. I had been writing (and editing) for years. Non-fiction, mostly, since fate and opportunity had…

  • Finding Stories

    —

    by

    Steve Parolini
    in , ,

    I don’t know where you find your stories, but I find mine everywhere. All I need is a little prompt – an object, a smell, a look from a stranger. Some of my favorite stories are inspired by listening to the words people don’t say. Here, I’ll show you what I mean. I’m sitting in…