A Reader's Advice to Writers

Laura Miller wrote an interesting article about her advice (as a reader) to novelists. The article appears in Salon.com. I don't necessarily agree with everything she said--  particularly the bit about humor-- but overall her points are valid and good ones to mull over. She also references  the recent lists of suggestions from authors that appears in The Guardian. I particularly enjoyed these lists by other writers.

HWA 2009 BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEES

HWA 2009 BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEES
Superior Achievement in a Novel
  •  AUDREY'S DOOR by Sarah Langan (Harper)
  •  PATIENT ZERO by Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin's Griffin)
  •  QUARANTINED by Joe McKinney (Lachesis Publishing)
  •  CURSED by Jeremy Shipp (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel
  •  BREATHERS by S. G. Browne (Broadway Books)
  •  SOLOMON'S GRAVE by Daniel G. Keohane (Dragon Moon Press)
  •  DAMNABLE by Hank Schwaeble (Jove)
  •  THE LITTLE SLEEP by Paul Tremblay (Henry Holt)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
  •  DREAMING ROBOT MONSTER by Mort Castle (MIGHTY UNCLEAN)
  •  THE HUNGER OF EMPTY VESSELS by Scott Edelman (Bad Moon Books)
  •  THE LUCID DREAMING by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
  •  DOC GOOD'S TRAVELING SHOW by Gene O'Neill (Bad Moon Books)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
  •  KEEPING WATCH by Nate Kenyon (MONSTROUS: 20 TALES OF GIANT CREATURE TERROR)
  •  THE CROSSING OF ALDO RAY by Weston Ochse (THE DEAD THAT WALK)
  •  IN THE PORCHES OF MY EARS by Norman Prentiss (PS Publishing)
  •  THE NIGHT NURSE by Harry Shannon (Horror Drive-in)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology
  •  HE IS LEGEND: AN ANTHOLOGY CELEBRATING RICHARD MATHESON edited by Christopher Conlon (Gauntlet Press)
  •  LOVECRAFT UNBOUND edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse Books)
  •  POE edited by Ellen Datlow (Solaris)
  •  MIDNIGHT WALK edited by Lisa Morton (Dark House)

Superior Achievement in a Collection
  •  MARTYRS AND MONSTERS by Robert Dunbar (DarkHart Press)
  •  GOT TO KILL THEM ALL AND OTHER STORIES by Dennis Etchison (Cemetery Dance)
  •  A TASTE OF TENDERLOIN by Gene O'Neill (Apex Book Company)
  •  IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED by Lee Thomas (Dark Scribe Press)

Superior Achievement in Non-fiction
  •  WRITERS WORKSHOP OF HORROR by Michael Knost (Woodland Press)
  •  CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT by L. L. Soares and Michael Arruda (Fearzone)
  •  THE STEPHEN KING ILLUSTRATED COMPANION by Bev Vincent (Fall River Press)
  •  STEPHEN KING: THE NON-FICTION by Rocky Wood and Justin Brook (Cemetery Dance)

Superior Achievement in Poetry
  •  DOUBLE VISIONS by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions)
  •  NORTH LEFT OF EARTH by Bruce Boston (Sam's Dot)
  •  BARFODDER by Rain Graves (Cemetery Dance)
  •  CHIMERIC MACHINES by Lucy A. Snyder (Creative Guy Publishing)

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm enjoying a day of Peruvian Lilies, Belgian chocolates, red wine...and zombie poems? Yep, that's right. What can I say, I'm complicated that way.

Lucille Clifton

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Lucille Clifton, a National Book Award-winning poet and Pulitzer finalist, has died. She was 73. To watch a reading of her work on video, visit here.


cutting greens  
 by Lucille Clifton 

curling them around
i hold their bodies in obscene embrace
thinking of everything but kinship.
collards and kale
strain against each strange other
away from my kissmaking hand and
the iron bedpot.
the pot is black.
the cutting board is black,
my hand,
and just for a minute
the greens roll black under the knife,
and the kitchen twists dark on its spine
and i taste in my natural appetite
the bond of live things everywhere.

Teachers

Teachers have always played an important role in my life. I had an unusual early education because of my disability. During the mid-60s, when I was a child, children with disabilities were only beginning to be included in mainstream classes, at least in the rural areas of  the South where I grew up. For the first six years of my formal education, I had a homebound instructor, Dora Shiflett. She, more than anyone, inspired my love of books. She also assisted in the writing of my first poem. Although she is no longer living, I think she would be proud to know that I had become a novelist and poet.  She is the Dora to whom I dedicated Tomato Girl.

This article is a tribute to one wonderful teacher. She sounds a lot like Dora...

Writing blogs and Succour Day

I found a couple of lists on the blog, Practicing Writing, that contain a number of good resources for writers. Check them out!

Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs

Top 100 Blogs to Improve Your Writing in 2010

And...Don't forget that this is Succour Day! The terms are:

Condition 1: All submissions should be written on Saturday February 6th, 2010.
Condition 2: What you write should not be an attempt to execute an idea – for a story, for a poem, etc – that has previously occurred to you. Rather, write whatever happens to come into your head at that particular time.

More info here.