Better Writer Blog — Live Your Literary Life

Live Your Literary Life

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Set-Pieces and Plot Points & Boo Radley, Ewell, Atticus and Scout

Heart of Writing, StructureJames BuchananJuly 28, 2015Cheryl Strayed, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Bob Ewell, Atticus Finch, Scout Finch, Wild, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, plot points, set pieces, story structure, five act outlineComment

Hot Club of Cowtown: Reunion

MusicJames BuchananJuly 28, 2015Hot Club of Cowtown, ReunionComment

Louis Armstrong can Jam

MusicJames BuchananJuly 28, 2015Louis ArmstrongComment

Is Kindness A Forbidden Pleasure?

LifeJames BuchananJuly 20, 2015Kindness, brain pickings, on kindness, Adam Phillips, Barbara TaylorComment

Berkeley Breathed & Opus

Good Writing and Writers, My StuffJames BuchananJuly 15, 2015Berkeley Breathed, Opus, Bloom County, cartoonComment

Palahniuk: Let Yourself Not Know

Structure, GuidanceJames BuchananJuly 15, 2015Chuck Palahniuk, advice for writers, writing, fight clubComment

My Son the Flying Nut

My StuffJames BuchananJuly 13, 2015Quincy Buchanan, Great EscapeComment

Five Act Outline: The Place to Begin

StructureJames BuchananJuly 13, 2015structure, five act outlineComment

Review: Luxi Xu's Vulnerability

ReviewsJames BuchananJuly 2, 2015Lucy Xu, Vulnerability, book, poems, proseComment

Cheryl Strayed: The Universal Voice

QuotesJames BuchananJune 30, 2015Cheryl Strayed, quote, Wild, writing, memoir, narrative nonfictionComment

Memoir and Storytelling

Good Writing and Writers, Heart of WritingJames BuchananJune 30, 2015Vivien Gornick, Maria Popova, memoir, narrative nonfiction, storytelling, The Situation and The Story, personal narrativeComment

Love is Now a Universal Right in the U.S.

LifeJames BuchananJune 26, 2015gay marriage, supreme court, love, love is a human rightComment

Our Little Bull Durham

True ExperiencesJames BuchananJune 26, 2015Minor League Baseball, baseball, minor league, true experienceComment

Oh Dear God, A Peanuts CGI Movie!

My StuffJames BuchananJune 26, 2015Peanuts, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, movie, horribleComment

Royal de Luxe Marionette

Art, LifeJames BuchananJune 22, 2015Royal de Luxe, marionettesComment

Publishing and the Damn Platform

Finding a Publisher, GuidanceJames BuchananJune 22, 2015Publishing, writing, platform, problem, mid-level publishers, how to get publishedComment

Heart of Writing, Quotes, Good Writing and WritersJames BuchananJune 22, 2015Oliver Sacks, Brain Pickings, Maria Popova, Thom Gunn, writing, publishingComment

A Nice Joyce Carol Oates Quote

QuotesJames BuchananJune 16, 2015Joyce Carol Oates, quote, on writing, birthdayComment

Know When to Stop

GuidanceJames BuchananJune 15, 2015John Steinbeck, write but don't finish, let the spring fill the well, Ernest Hemingway, Mary Karr, when to stop writing, writing adviceComment

Sarah Jarosz: Ring Them Bells & Annabelle Lee

MusicJames BuchananJune 12, 2015Sarah Jarosz, Ring Them Bells, Annabelle Lee, music, writing, music for writing, Paul KrugmanComment