Welcome to The Time Is Now. Don't miss Writers Recommend, our online feature in which writers reveal the habits that keep them writing. And if you're interested in finding writerly destinations in your area or elsewhere, visit our Literary Places database, which includes reading venues, indie bookstores, archives, writing centers, and more.
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On June 25, 1857, French poet Charles Baudelaire published his book Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil), which led to his conviction on charges of blasphemy and obscenity. Here's a sample: "Huddled, teeming, like gut-worms by the million, a clutch of Demons make whoopee in our brain and, when we breath, Death floods our lungs, an invisible torrent, muffled in groans." Get good and dark: Read a bit from Flowers of Evil then write a short poem. Unleash the gut-worms!
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Depending on one's point of view, long sentences are either a writing hazard or a literary virtue. From Joyce to Faulkner to Lowry, authors have long been showing off their prowess at stringing together clauses in seemingly endless narration. Try writing a scene, in which one character says goodbye to another, using sentences as long as you can muster.
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Creative Nonfiction Prompt
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In You Can't Make This Stuff Up: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction--From Memoir to Literary Journalism and Everything in Between (Da Capo Press, 2012), Lee Gutkind writes that there are two sides to creative nonfiction: the personal, as found in memoirs and personal essays, and the "big idea"--a public topic, the kind often tackled in literary journalism--each of which tends to attract a different audience. The ideal piece, Gutkind writes, is one that offers both, one that explores a big idea from an intimate perspective. "Writers who can choose a public subject and give it a personal treatment are establishing a 'universal chord': reaching out and embracing a large umbrella of readership." This, he writes, is the creative nonfiction writer's mission. Choose a "big idea" that interests you--a certain kind of food, a style of music, a political issue, a specific sport--and write down everything you know about the subject. Do further research and record everything you find. Then write an essay, including anecdotes about why the subject interests you, and try to strike that universal chord.
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The Best Books for Writers
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Each week we recommend a book--a newly published title or an invaluable classic--that will help you on your writing journey. This week's pick...
Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch: Let Verbs Power Your Writing (W. W. Norton, 2012) by Constantine Hale
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