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We had such a rich and helpful conversation with the multitalented Janis Cooke Newman, author of memoir and novels, editor of the newly launched Technically Literate column of fictional short stories on CNET, and leader of LitCamp. We talked about the isolation of writing and ways to undercut that. We delved into the great origin stories of her books–where to find inspiration and what makes an idea a good one. We delved into craft, from the necessity of writing dialogue and the scenes in memoir to the differences between plotting a memoir and a novel to the way a character who really want something provides an unbeatable engine for your book. We talked about how she curates and edits the contributors to Technically Literate, and the intersection of technology and the literature in the bay area and Silicon Valley/San Francisco. Other topics include: the art and struggle of the letting go of pages that are no longer necessary to the work, the experience of being edited, letting your readers worry about your characters for longer to create tension and suspense and to raise the stakes, the need for clear objectives for your characters with measurable results, how to interweave multiple points of view in a book, the benefits of narrative distance, of the narrator having some perspective on the events being described, and more. So much inspiration!
Links:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Squaw Valley Writers Conference
Twitter: @Janice Newman
Janis Cooke Newman
Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival–everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.
The hosts:
Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.
Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.
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