Author: Shannon Turlington
-
Recommended Reading: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
This month I am recommending The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. When Harry August dies, he is reborn as himself at the same time and to the same parents, but with the memories of his previous lives intact. When he learns that another person like him is manipulating history for his own selfish ends…
-
Stop. Using. Periods. Period. – The Washington Post
Stories like this are, to me, omens of the apocalypse: Stop. Using. Periods. Period. – The Washington Post
-
Should You Self-Publish or Traditionally Publish? | Jane Friedman
Jane Friedman gives really great advice on whether to self-publish or go the traditional route. Here’s a key point: I see some writers self-publish mainly because they lack patience with the querying and submissions process of traditional publishing. Or they want the instant gratification of getting their work on the market. But again, this is one of the worst…
-
Present vs. past tense: Which to use in your writing
Over the past few years, I have noticed that more and more writers are using the present tense rather than the past tense to tell their stories. I think this trend started in young adult fiction, but now writers of all genres are employing the technique. Some readers don’t like this and will refuse to…
-
Quality of self-published books, revisited…
Recently, I wrote about the issue of quality in self-published books when compared to traditionally published books. I’m not the first or only person to have written about this (see here and here and here and here). I have also written about it on this blog many times. On my latest post on this subject, a commenter wrote:…
-
More is less…
I am currently taking a course in editing, and I thought this gem shared by the professor was worth saving: “More is less.” Cut as much as you can without losing meaning and you may have it. If you don’t need the words for the poetry of the language and you don’t need the words…
-
Recommended Reading: Ceremony
Ceremony by Leslie Silko is a 1970s classic of Native American literature, a slow but powerful read. Tayo returns home to the Laguna Pueblo reservation from World War II suffering from PTSD and attempts to cure himself by reconnecting with the traditional ceremonies of his people. This lovely cover is for the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.
-
Experiments in book discovery… (part 1 of many, I hope)
Yesterday, I wrote about self-published books and quality, and I lamented that it is very difficult for the ordinary reader to find the quality reads in the gigantic pool of self-published books. Most self-published authors, especially authors who haven’t established an audience, generally don’t have access to the various means of book discovery that traditionally…
Shannon Turlington 