Over the summer, while immersing myself in Jess Walter's fiction in preparation for interviewing him in December (you can now watch his Word Works talk on time, and the Q & A, here on YouTube), I reread his story "Don't Eat Cat" and felt compelled to write my own zombie story. And, because it's me, it's a bit a fairy tale-ish. "Scrolling Through the Feed" went online this morning in Cascadia Magazine, a new publication focusing on the Pacific Northwest, from British Columbia to Oregon. I'm happy there's a new venue gathering long-form journalism, fiction, and poetry from the region, and one that that thinks beyond our borders.It feels somehow appropriate for the story to go up on the same day of the State of the Union, which I will not watch. Thankfully, I'm reading tonight at the Literary Happy Hour at Capitol Cider, alongside Bill Carty, Jarret Middleton, and Jekeva Philips, hosted by Josh Potter. It runs from 5-7 pm. In line with their "drafts and drafts" theme, I'll give a micro-craft talk on one of the earliest inspirations for Daughters of the Air. Speaking of which, this is your last chance (ever?) to enter to win a free copy of the novel on Goodreads. Go get it!
Whew, July was busy. I went to the Tin House Writer's Workshop for the first time, and I hope not the last. And I went to New York for a week after that (more in a subsequent post). There's still a ton of information from the conference sifting through the crevices of my mind, but here's a grab bag of favorites, with some bolded text and lots of links just for fun.
- I studied with Benjamin Percy, who advised our short story workshop to "Grab [readers] by the throat and drag 'em down the rabbit hole," which might be my favorite writing advice, second only to "Forget the reuben. Focus on the ninjas."
- In a panel on publishing and Tin House, Rob Spillman advised, "Don't send your work out when you're feeling creative. Send it out when you're feeling organized," which is a useful reminder, and at the agent panel he called debut author advances "Capitalism at its scariest," which is something that will lurk in a corner of my brain for a good long while.
- On character, Jodi Angel said, "We don't go to the page to make friends. We go to see something other and apart from who we are."
- Karen Russell gave a talk on the art of long sentences and how they can give an "occult sense of how another mind moves, from word to word."
- On place, Luis Urrea urged, "Don't use place. Inhabit it. [....] You are a place. As a place, you must be a shame-free zone [....] Writing prompt: go out and rub dirt on your face."
- On time, Jess Walter suggested: if you're stuck in a story, consider making the clock more specific.
- Anthony Doerr's talk on failure ended with this.
- Also, I fell in love with Dorothea Lasky. Her latest collection of poetry is Thunderbird.
Again and again, throughout the week, it seemed everyone suggested you should write the story that only you can write, that you should pay "ruthless and tender attention" (Steve Almond, there) to life. At least some of the talks will be available online sometime. In the meantime, here's a link to podcasts from previous conferences.
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