I always begin with a last sentence; then I work my way backwards, through the plot, to where the story should begin. – John Irving (source) When I first read this, I was taken aback. I’ve often started a story with the idea of one important line. Sometimes it’s somewhere in the middle and often it’s a snippet of… Continue reading Finding the Last Words First
Tag: plot
Oh, I Admit It. I’m Pretentious: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
If you were to judge my reading habits by the reviews on this blog, you would probably think I read mostly YA fiction. But I don’t review every book I read and choose to focus on YA lit here because of my professional interest. I’ve decided to try and be more balanced in both my… Continue reading Oh, I Admit It. I’m Pretentious: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Feel of Fact
“The imagination is in love with the feel of fact.” – John Bayley * In high school, I had an eccentric English teacher who often spoke in contradictory terms and used circular logic. She had this analogy for explaining paradox that goes like this. Pretend two ideas are socks. When you role them up, the… Continue reading Feel of Fact
Souvenirs from my Internet Travels: April 21-28
Here’s my collection of interesting posts from this week in my journeys around the web. ON WRITING Lauren Oliver posted a short, thoughtful piece on characters and how you have to be mean to them to sustain conflict. I’ve read Delirium, but not Before I Fall (I’m next on the hold list at the library,… Continue reading Souvenirs from my Internet Travels: April 21-28
wrapped up in books 