A Writer's Moment: 'Avoiding Tangles; Following the Rules'

A Writer's Moment: 'Avoiding Tangles; Following the Rules':   “So many people think that if you're writing fantasy, it means you can just make everything up as you go. Want to a...

'Avoiding Tangles; Following the Rules'

 

“So many people think that if you're writing fantasy, it means you can just make everything up as you go. Want to add a dragon? Add a dragon! Want some magic? Throw it in. But the thing is, regardless of whether you're dealing with realism or fantasy, every world has rules.” – V. E. Schwab

 

 Born in July of 1987, Victoria Elizabeth Schwab is best known for her novels – 2013’s Vicious and 2020’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, nominated for a Locus Award as Best Fantasy.  The daughter of a British mom and “Beverly Hills” dad, she grew up on both the West Coast and in the Deep South, a lover of fairytales, folklore “and books that make me wonder if the world is really as it seems.”

 

A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, she studied everything from Physics to Film to Art History and English and held a wide variety of jobs before turning to writing in the 20-teens. 

 

Her work has received critical acclaim, been translated into more than a dozen languages, and been optioned for TV and Film.  She said she loves working in many different genres and writing for all ages.   “I still get rejections - frequently - and my goal isn't to never fail, to never be turned down, but simply to succeed more often than I don't,” she said.   That having been said, her next novel Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil has been accepted for publication in 2025.

 

“I think a lot of writers are tempted to add complexity by over-complicating things, but always remember that most natural rules/laws are, at their core, simple. Start simple and build from there, or you risk getting yourself and your readers tangled.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Raising Questions; Finding Answers'

A Writer's Moment: 'Raising Questions; Finding Answers':   “You can have all the information you want in the world. If you don't have the people raising questions and looking...

'Raising Questions; Finding Answers'

 

“You can have all the information you want in the world. If you don't have the people raising questions and looking beneath the surface, and people being paid to do this, you're not going to find the answers."  – Lowell Bergman

 

Born in New York City on July 24, 1945 Bergman has had one of the most prestigious careers in American journalism, working nearly 6 decades in print and television news and teaching journalism while earning almost every major journalistic award. 

 

A native of New York City, Bergman studied at the University of Wisconsin and UC-San Diego and co-founded the San Diego Free Press.  After stints at the San Francisco Examiner and Rolling Stone, he moved over to TV as a producer, reporter and then executive in charge of investigative reporting at ABC News.  An original producer of 20/20, he joined CBS News as a producer for 60 Minutes, where over the course of 14 years he produced more than 50 stories, many Emmy winners.

 

His investigative story into the tobacco industry was chronicled in the film The Insider, a gripping tale of investigative journalism.   After leaving CBS he worked 10 years as an investigative correspondent for The New York Times, winning a Pulitzer Prize for the series “A Dangerous Business,” which detailed a record of worker safety violations coupled with the systematic violation of environmental laws in the cast-iron sewer and water pipe industry.

 

  Named by the Society of Professional Journalists for its James Madison Freedom of Information Award for Career Achievement, Bergman retired in 2019.

A Writer's Moment: Living up to 'an inner image of yourself'

A Writer's Moment: Living up to 'an inner image of yourself':   “Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner imag...

Living up to 'an inner image of yourself'

 

“Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won't cheat, then you know he never will.” – John D. MacDonald

Born on this date in 1916, crime/suspense novelist and short story writer MacDonald achieved the highest accolade in his genre, Grandmaster from the Mystery Writers of America shortly before his death in 1986.   A self-proclaimed “accidental writer,” he also was the winner of a National Book Award and is perhaps best known for his popular, critically acclaimed Travis McGee series. 

 

MacDonald began writing in 1945 while in the Army.  Waiting in the Pacific for his ship home, he wrote a short story and mailed it to his wife Dorothy.  She loved it and submitted it to Esquire – which promptly rejected it.  So, she sent it to Story magazine, which accepted it for $25, pretty good pay for the time.

 

MacDonald decided to give writing a further try and after hundreds of rejection slips he finally got an acceptance from Dime Detective, which paid him $40. Ultimately, he would sell more than 500 stories to detective, mystery and adventure magazines.                       

 

His 1957 novel The Executioners put him on the writing map, selling continuously ever since and being the basis of two successful movies.   His character McGee’s first appearance was in The Deep Blue Good-bye, starting a run of 21 bestsellers featuring him and with each title in the series including a color.   

 

“Every day, no matter how you fight it, you learn a little more about yourself,” MacDonald had his character say.  “And all most of it does is teach us humility.” 

A Writer's Moment: 'Anything you can imagine'

A Writer's Moment: 'Anything you can imagine':   “The one thing emphasized in any creative writing course is 'write what you know,' and that automatically drive...