"Reading is the creative center of a writer's life." — Stephen King
July 14, 2026
Unlike fiction writers, who create plots that keep their readers in suspense, memoirists have to stick to telling stories about things that already have happened. For example, author Debra Marquart grew up in North Dakota, … Read More
June 25, 2026
The poem “Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins continues: “the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of, as if, one by one, the … Read More
June 20, 2026
A retired judge writes his first novel, and he sells a million copies. Sound unlikely? What if we add this: he self-publishes it on Amazon until a big publisher distributes the book. It sounds like … Read More
June 11, 2026
Writers who would like to see how to structure a story that’s about the interplay between the past, present, and future could learn a lot by studying this novel. Its central tension is in the recollection of … Read More
May 29, 2026
A review of “The Things We Never Say” in 100 words by Catherine Stover
Of the four ways a story can convey information—action, dialogue, description, and commentary—Elizabeth Strout excels in the most difficult one: commentary. It’s the hottest spice, and calibrating the right amount is an … Read More
May 21, 2026
This collection of excerpts from memoirs by 35 American writers gave me a chance to discover the work of Frederick Buechner (1926-2022). He was a novelist and a Presbyterian minister who wrote several “spiritual autobiographies.”… Read More
May 14, 2026
As luck would have it, I saw the haunting painting “The Drop Sinister – What Shall We Do with It?” by Harry Wilson Watrous during the same week that I read the historical novel … Read More
April 29, 2026
Some memoirists hope that writing about a tough experience will help them get it out of their system so that they can move on. That was Sergeant Mauldin’s goal. But the odds were against him: … Read More
April 20, 2026
Let’s say you wanted to write a story about an American who watches an authoritarian regime crush democracy. What could you do to challenge as many readers’ expectations as possible? Well, you could decide the title … Read More
April 13, 2026
Hands down, hybrid memoirs are my favorite type of memoir. All hybrids have the same plot: “I’m going to explore this really important subject because I think it might transform my life.” The … Read More
March 29, 2026
When Diana Athill says she has no regrets at age 89, I tend to believe her, though it is, of course, an audacious thing to say. She says that she has more … Read More
March 21, 2026
Imagine that you saved a box of the printouts of all the emails that you wrote to your former fiancé in 1990s. Now, more than twenty years later, would you read them? This is … Read More
March 12, 2026
For a British novel that was published in 1950, the plot is surprising, and perhaps subversive: two unmarried sisters decline marriage proposals and live happily ever after. What! Why did they do that? Were … Read More
February 24, 2026
At first glance, it seems this novel is about a greedy rich guy who is dying, while being comforted by a simple angel who is interrupted by comic-relief angels. If that were the case, you’d expect a … Read More
February 17, 2026
When everyone reaches the same conclusion about a book, I’m apt to skip reading it. Instead, I look for novels that draw a range of responses and descriptions. Look at how these five summaries of … Read More