A Writer's Moment: 'The difficult challenge of fiction'

A Writer's Moment: 'The difficult challenge of fiction':   “Truth is, every writer has to be a good editor, and you have to edit yourself. It's a skill every writer has to acquire.”  – Lisa Sco...

'The difficult challenge of fiction'

 

“Truth is, every writer has to be a good editor, and you have to edit yourself. It's a skill every writer has to acquire.” – Lisa Scottoline

 

Born in Philadelphia on this date in 1955, Scottoline grew up in Merion – site of many great pro golf tournaments – and earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.   On track toward a law firm partnership, she decided to try her hand at writing after the birth of her daughter and penned the award-winning crime mystery Final Appeal.  And, just like that, she switched careers.

 

Now the author of more than 30 books, her works have been translated into 30 languages and sold over 30 million copies.  Among her titles are Look Again and Don't Go, both reaching number 2 on the New York Times bestseller list.  Her most recent is 2024’s The Truth About The Devlins. 

 

An Edgar Award winner, Scottoline has served as President of the Mystery Writers of America and also has co-authored a number of bestselling non-fiction memoirs with her daughter (Francesca Serritella). 

 

“I love writing both fiction and memoir,” she said.  “Both have unique challenges; bottom line, fiction is hard because you have to come up with the credible, twisty plot, and memoir is hard because you have to say something true and profound, albeit in a funny way.”

A Writer's Moment: Chronicling his times in words and images

A Writer's Moment: Chronicling his times in words and images:   “With a photograph, you are left with the same modes of interpretation as you are with a book. You ask: 'What do we know about the aut...

Chronicling his times in words and images

 

“With a photograph, you are left with the same modes of interpretation as you are with a book. You ask: 'What do we know about the author and their background? What do I know about the subject?'” – Joel Sternfeld

 

Born in Brooklyn, NY on this date in 1944, Sternfeld is noted for his large-format documentary pictures and for helping establish color photography as a respected artistic medium.  With many works in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Getty Center in Los Angeles, he has influenced generations of photographers.

 

His essays and writings alongside his photos also have made him an important chronicler of his life and times.  American Prospects, perhaps Sternfeld's most known book, explores the complexity and irony of human-altered landscapes in the United States, often leading to devastating results.  His book On This Site: Landscape in Memoriam depicts sites where tragedies occurred, supplemented by his thoughtful text about the events that happened there.

A longtime professor of photography at New York’s Sarah Lawrence University, his books of photos and essays on photography are part of the photographic teaching lexicon at colleges and universities worldwide.  His most recent book is 2024’s Our Loss reflecting on the climate crisis and nature’s resilience in the face of environmental harm.

 

“A photographer,” he said, “must choose a palette just as painters choose theirs.”   

A Writer's Moment: Taming those 'unruly' novels

A Writer's Moment: Taming those 'unruly' novels:   “I noticed, when I taught elementary school, how true the squeaky wheel thing is, and how endearing squeaky wheels can be! Because when yo...

Taming those 'unruly' novels

 

“I noticed, when I taught elementary school, how true the squeaky wheel thing is, and how endearing squeaky wheels can be! Because when you're being a squeaky wheel, you're also really letting people know who you are.” – Aimee Bender

 

Born in California on June 28, 1969 Bender is known for her surreal stories and characters.   She’s authored 6 books, led by her first collection of short stories The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.  Her numerous short stories have been published in magazines and journals ranging from Harper's, McSweeney's and The Paris to inclusion in a number of anthologies, and her story Faces was a 2009 Shirley Jackson Award finalist for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense.  

 

Also the winner of two Pushcart Prizes for her writing, her novels include The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and her most recent, The Butterfly Lampshade. 

 

“Novels are so much unrulier and more stressful to write,” she said in comparing her writings of short stories .  “A short story can last two pages and then it's over, and that's kind of a relief. I really like balancing the two.”

A Writer's Moment: 'It's how we become participants'

A Writer's Moment: 'It's how we become participants':   “We participate in the creation of the world by de-creating ourselves.”  – Anne Carson   Carson, born in Canada on June 21, 1950 is a ...