I hate to be a grammar snob, but this colloquial construction of “try and” irks me: I will try and do it. The team will try and get a touchdown on this next play. We will try and attend the party. It's bad grammar. According to alt-usage-english.org: "Some commentators maintain that there is no semantic difference whatever between try and and try to; certainly in many contexts they are … [Read more...]
Do Mindless Activities Help a Writer?
When do you get your best ideas? Frosting a cake, working out, jogging, taking a shower, washing dishes, folding clothes, doodling: these are essentially mindless activities. You're not focused on critical thinking or problem solving. Your mind wanders. This is good for writers. The reason why is that writers often carry their work with them. The poem or story that they're currently working on is … [Read more...]
Channeling Intense Emotions with Writer Cheri L. R. Taylor
Susannah Suffolk struggles to defend her most public court case while she returns to Walloon Lake to arrange a funeral for her mother, in Cheri L. R. Taylor's debut novel, Leaving Walloon. Susannah is foggy with memories of her mother's tirades, the sound of a pot being banged on the kitchen counter, watching her meals fly out the door at her mother's hand, and punishment that came with pain. … [Read more...]
The Mourning Hours: a Novel set in the Rural Midwest
In some novels, setting exists as a character of its own, exerting forces that move the story forward. One such book is The Mourning Hours, authored by Paula Treick DeBoard, which takes place in rural Wisconsin. The story pivots on the disappearance of a sixteen-year old girl, Stacey Lemke. Her boyfriend, Johnny, the narrator's older brother and high school wrestling star, is the last person to … [Read more...]
The Dickens of Detroit, Elmore Leonard
Detroit’s own Elmore Leonard is quoted as saying “There are cities that get by on their good looks. Detroit has to work for a living.” He was born in New Orleans but moved to Detroit as a boy, and he’s hung around since, often using the setting for stories, or featuring Detroit characters in his stories. He was dubbed the Dickens of Detroit . He passed away this morning at 7:15, … [Read more...]
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