The oddest thing happened this week. I was reading an essay on flash fiction in Rose Metal Press's Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction when I was hit with the sudden urge to write a poem about the smell of creosote. I resisted the urge at first--the time was getting on to midnight--but I quickly … Continue reading I’m Not a Poet & I Know It
Failed Novel, Anyone?
When I went to college to learn the craft of fiction, the prevailing attitude was that the short story was a stepping stone to the novel. The short story was where the young writer could serve out her clumsy apprenticeship in the sandbox making mud pies until sufficiently skilled to create the multi-tiered cake of … Continue reading Failed Novel, Anyone?
The Chet Arthur Five Play Jeffersonville: Some Thoughts on Verisimilitude
And here I thought I had this verisimilitude thing down. I even remember Tony Ardizzone's lecture on it from the first fiction workshop I took with him at Old Dominion University. (Never mind how long ago that was.) For straight realistic fiction to engage the reader, it needs to be like real life, to suggest … Continue reading The Chet Arthur Five Play Jeffersonville: Some Thoughts on Verisimilitude
Elizabeth Gauffreau 