Go Out and Watch: Observation as a Tool of the Writer

Go Out and Watch: Observation as a Tool of the Writer

Let’s start with the end. Francine Prose, pulling us back along with her class, tells us, “Forget observation, consciousness, clear-sightedness . . . Admit that you understand nothing of life, nothing of what you see. Then go out and look at the world.” Writing is a...
The True Work of Writing

The True Work of Writing

There’s a movement, maybe just a few but loud voices, propelled by the advent of easy self-publishing, that argue that writing should be fast and easy if you’re good. One of these proponents has argued that his mediocre writing isn’t so mediocre that it won’t sell:...