by Jamie Chavez | Apr 25, 2013 | The Writing Craft
When I was a much younger reader, Kurt Vonnegut changed my life. That is, I read Slaughterhouse-Five. I read it again and again. Whoa. I read others (Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, Jailbird), then eventually moved on to other books and other authors. I haven’t...
by Jamie Chavez | Feb 25, 2013 | Authors & Other Writers, Books You Might Like
My mother was a reader, and she loved the novels of William Faulkner. When I got to an age (around eleven) that I was choosing to read classic fiction, she suggested I try Faulkner. Start with As I Lay Dying, she said. She wasn’t the sort who’d tell you the whole...
by Jamie Chavez | Feb 21, 2013 | Guest Posts, The Writing Craft
While I’m working on an urgent deadline, here’s a lovely post from my friend, author Christa Allan.* It originally ran on her own blog, and I’m pleased to republish it here. Connecting the Dots Last night we ate one of my pedestrian suppers of spaghetti and meat...
by Jamie Chavez | Feb 16, 2013 | The Arts & Media
I sometimes write marketing copy for publishers—copy for the book jacket or the back of the book, of course, but also 150 words for the wholesale catalogue, 50 words for a print ad, 25 words for a retail direct-mail blurb, 10 for a web banner. I often tell writers to...
by Jamie Chavez | Jan 17, 2013 | Miscellany, The Arts & Media
As I was writing my recent post on the words and phrases and concepts William Shakespeare contributed to Western culture, I started considering how interesting life is when one knows such things. I mean, do you smile when I write “I’d rather be right than be...
