Story Street Writers
The Akutagawa Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in Japanese literature. It is given to ‘new or rising’ authors writing in Japanese. The award is presented to two works each year – usually. Some years there’s only one winner; some years there are three; some years they don’t award a prize at all; some years they give out four.…
Do literary prizes matter?
Yes. And no. And… sort of?
Do literary prizes matter?
No. They are silly popularity contests. There is probably politics involved. If you define importance based on prizes, following their recommendations meticulously, then you are a silly and politically pointless and popularity-obsessed person.…
Modern English writing trends enforce a Hemingway dogma that is far out of step with human experience. Fortunately, we are leaving all that behind. I hope. I think we are. Aren’t we?
All of us amateur writers have heard things like:
These modern English writing trends result in manicured gardens.…
I like the intimacy of first person. The direct connection with a character, the lack of any barriers between us – this tends to be what sucks me into a book. (It’s even better when the lines between reader and protagonist blur entirely, as in Ulysses or Liu Yichang’s The Drunkard.)…
Make every word defend its presence.
Read some haiku – study how carefully Basho or Issa select words.
Choose words that evoke. (When a word makes the reader think of other words, you’re expanding your word allotment for free!)
Zoom in – show us the most vivid detail.…
Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Kappa is a wonderland journey through Kappa Land narrated by Patient No 23, who has found himself in an insane asylum following his adventures. (My copy is translated by Allison Markin Powell & Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda.)
I have wunderworld projects on my mind these days – stories about adventures Elsewhere, in downstairs underworlds peopled by the dead or next-door wonderlands inhabited by curious characters.…
Stand-up comedian Maria Bamford’s Audible original You Are (A Comedy) Special: A Simple 15-Step Self-Help Guide to Forcibly Force Yourself to Write and Perform a Full Hour of Stand-up Comedy is – well, pretty self-explanatory. The fifteen steps are all very funny and very helpful – check them out (if you have an Audible account, it’s free).…
I had the feeling I was in a dream, part nightmare, part comedy…
– Ijon Tichy (Stanisław Lem, Peace on Earth)
Stories are fossils, Stephen King says, pre-existing things authors are granted the right to excavate. (You’ll find this on pg 188 of On Writing.)…