Writing and Reading Links
Sounds good to me!
This bookshop in Fort Collins is paying people to sit down and read quietly :: The Colorado Sun
I often feel at loose ends once a project is done. And publishing can be a real let down. Solid advice for a very real experience.
How to deal with writing milestone hangovers :: Nathan Bransford
I’m having a Flannery O’Connor moment, which means Claire’s post really spoke to me. (I also loved her book she references, The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County): “Christians’ attempts to sanitize art, to wipe it clean of any smudge or dirt so that it passes some kind of purity test will be at our peril.”
Me and Flannery O’Connor :: The Catholic Feminist
This is so delightful! “How do you become a writer? Answer: you write. It’s amazing how much resentment and disgust and evasion this answer can arouse. Even among writers, believe me. It is one of those Horrible Truths one would rather not face.”
Ursula K. LeGuin on How to Become a Writer :: Lit Hub
I was surprised and so honored when I saw this list of Penguin Random House Award-Winning Middle Grade Historical Fiction that includes books I grew up with, books I admired as a young writer, newer books with staying power — and May B. (!!)
Award Winners: Children’s Middle Grade Historical Fiction :: Penguin Random House
This is exactly why I love my annual writing retreat (and “ultra productivity” is what I struggle with [though less and less!] each and every year).
An Ode to Unproductivity :: Kate McKean
I always love your round ups of reading and writing links, Caroline! That post by Claire is one I think about a lot, months after first reading it… and I would very much like my local bookstore to consider taking me on as a reader-in-residence. :)
I think a lot about that post too, Faith, and I’ve read it a number of times. I’ve gotten some similar comments about some of my books — the general disapproval that I would, as a Christian, write about “distasteful” situations that exist in the world. I return often to this Flannery quote (with my own little addition): “Fiction is about everything human and we are made out of dust, and if you scorn getting yourself dusty, then you shouldn’t try to write [or read!] fiction.”