Finds for Writers
Each week (typically Fridays), the Practicing Writing blog offers writing and publishing resources, news, and reflections to peruse over the weekend.
- “Language Arts is a dedicated space for books coverage that’s free from the rules and regulations of the media machine.” I don’t know much more about it yet than what’s posted in the intro. (Hat tip: Publishers Weekly.)
- You may glean some good ideas to help you ask for (and offer) constructive feedback on your drafts in Andrew Noakes’s “What to Ask Your Beta Readers” over on Jane Friedman’s site.
- “[Emilio] Estevez seems wary and guarded, [Rob] Lowe seems perfectly happy and grateful for the experience in a very Chris Traeger way, and [Demi] Moore comes off so thoughtful and insightful, having done the emotional work on herself that [Andrew] McCarthy should have done decades ago. Also, it was delightful to see Sheedy again on camera after so long, looking so happy and at peace.” This paragraph by Rob Thomas is exactly how I perceived the new documentary Brats when I watched last weekend. (Maybe this isn’t exactly as “literarily” focused as what I usually include here, but I just really appreciated it, and I found it via the very bookish Kathleen Schmidt, so, here we are.)
- And maybe it’s because I’m of an age to have seen the films revisited in Brats when I was a teenager, but I think I’m going to bookmark Nancy Schnog’s “Keep, Burn, Curate, or Donate: What to Do With Your Old Journals” (Writer’s Digest), because I definitely need a plan for those volumes that I began keeping back in the 1980s, too.
- And among the latest Jewish literary links: an introduction to a new literary magazine, a conversation with a publisher, some necessary communication with the editor of a major literary-trade magazine, and more.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. And remember: Make sure you haven’t missed any of the still-open opportunities featured in our latest monthly newsletter and the most recent weekly supplements. Everything listed is fee-free and paying.
Erika, I totally agree about Brats and the way you characterize each of the people interviewed. Demi Moore was incredible. And while I agree about Emilio Estevez, I thought Andrew McCarthy talked more in that interview than Emilio did. It was disappointing that Molly Ringwald decided not to participate, but of course that was her choice. All in all, a really interesting documentary.
Just to be clear–I didn’t articulate that right-on characterization–I’m quoting another writer, with appreciation that HE could do it so well!