Category: Role of the Writer

  • Working and Waiting

    Here they are, the two central tasks of the craftsman - working and waiting. These actions, one active and the other passive, are inseparable. No…

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  • Simon Says Avoid Teleology

    In the preface to his book Jerusalem, Simon Sebag Montefiore states, "I have tried to avoid teleology – writing history as if every event were…

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  • A Writer Looking for a Story

    Ian McEwan recently told The Guardian his motivation for writing novels. "Ah, the dopamine moment is finishing them. It's, you know, when you're thinking you've…

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  • Alignment, Not Agreement

    What are we trying to do as writers of story, especially long-form story? I recently read an interview Joyce Cary gave to The Paris Review…

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  • About the Blurred Line

    I'm going to get a bit academic on you here. Bear with me. The post is only 433 words (including the footnotes and the title),…

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