by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Mar 27, 2009 | craft of writing, novels, reviews |
Before and After by Rosellen Brown was published in 1992. I read it in August of 2006 and gave it to everyone I knew for Christmas. It’s about a marriage and a family. It’s narrated in alternating chapters primarily by the husband and wife, Ben and...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Feb 24, 2009 | craft of writing, details, novels, reading |
Here is the first sentence from Richard Russo’s novel, Empire Falls, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002: “The Empire Grill was long and low-slung, with windows that ran its entire length, and since the building next door, a Rexall drugstore, had...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jan 31, 2009 | craft of writing, details, novels, reading |
Dirt Music by Tim Winton is a character-rich, character-driven novel, with lots of plot and an equally strong sense of place. What a read! It’s written in short little unmarked sections–little moments that patch together the characters of Georgie Jutland...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jan 8, 2009 | craft of writing, details, novels, the day |
More from John Steinbeck… March 6, 1951, Tuesday. “No sleep last night but I feel fine. And I don’t even know why I didn’t sleep. I was perfectly comfortable. Just couldn’t let go of consciousness. Funny thing.” Journal of a...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Dec 3, 2008 | first novels, reviews |
How do you tell a story? First sentence: “The man arrived after morning prayers.” The first paragraph goes on to paint the scene of that morning. “The man waited, and the boys watched…” The second paragraph drops back to explain: ...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Nov 15, 2008 | craft of writing, details, novels, reading |
Just as Home, a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award in Fiction, has been called a companion to Gilead, this post is a companion to yesterday’s. Prompted by comments, I wanted to add that if you enjoyed Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson’s first novel,...
