Better Writer Blog — Live Your Literary Life

Live Your Literary Life

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Two Reviews of Two of My Ghosted Books

James BuchananDecember 8, 2015Comment

Revising for Show Don't Tell

Characterization, GuidanceJames BuchananNovember 25, 2015Revision, writing, fiction, nonfiction, narrative, narrative nonfiction, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, funny storyComment

How People Buy Books

GuidanceJames BuchananNovember 19, 2015book marketing, bookstore, library, online, self publishing, book cover, book titleComment

And Now for Something Completely Different: Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony

MusicJames BuchananNovember 19, 2015Beethoven, Pastoral, Symphony, No. 6, Pastorale, music to write toComment

Great Interview of Agents: How to Attract an Agent

Finding a Publisher, Finding an AgentJames BuchananNovember 19, 2015how to find an agent, Peanuts, Charlie Brown, publishing, publishers, interview, interview of top agents, Jodie Reamer, Kim Witherspoon, Robert Gottlieb, Sloan Harris, Eric Simonoff, Christy FletcherComment

On Publishing

Finding a PublisherJames BuchananNovember 19, 2015Publishing, agents, publishers, book titles, book coversComment

Sarah McLachlan: Your Love is Better than Chocolate

MusicJames BuchananNovember 12, 2015Sarah McLachlan, Your Love is Better than Chocolate, music, writing lifeComment

Very Good Dialogue Advice

Dialogue, GuidanceJames BuchananNovember 11, 2015dialogue, writing advice, How to Write Dazzling Dialogue, James Scott BellComment

Elephant Revival "The Pasture"

MusicJames BuchananNovember 9, 2015Paul Krugman, Elephant Revival, MusicComment

Dialogue and Cliche Dialogue Writing Advice

Dialogue, Characterization, GuidanceJames BuchananNovember 4, 2015Dialogue, writing dialogue, theory of the mind, cliche dialogue, advice, empathyComment

Anais Nin Audio Interview: Why I write

Good Writing and Writers, Heart of Writing, InterviewJames BuchananOctober 28, 2015Anais Nin, Why I Write, Delta of Venus, audioComment

Anthony Doerr and the Home MFA

Good Writing and Writers, Guidance, Heart of WritingJames BuchananOctober 27, 2015Anthony Doer, All The Light We Cannot See, writing advice, good writingComment

Dialogue: A Few Rules

DialogueJames BuchananOctober 20, 2015dialogue, tips, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, dos and don'tsComment

Artists at Work

Art, Heart of WritingJames BuchananOctober 10, 2015Adebanji Alade, Melissa Herrington, John Farrington, Sean McCann, Sona Mirzaei, Artists, working, in the studio, on creativityComment

Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond & Take Five

MusicJames BuchananOctober 2, 2015Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Take FiveComment

Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong: How Can You Say No

MusicJames BuchananSeptember 25, 2015Louis Armstrong, Danny Kaye, When the Saints Go Marching In, Five Pennies, Lionel HamptonComment

The Writer's Achilles Heel: Find it and Edit it Out

GuidanceJames BuchananSeptember 24, 2015Writer's Achille's Heel, writing advice, editing, self-editingComment

The Who: Sometimes You Just Have to Be LOUD

MusicJames BuchananSeptember 21, 2015The Who, Sparks, WoodstockComment

Jane Smiley on Writer's Discipline

GuidanceJames BuchananSeptember 21, 2015Jane Smiley, flow state, writing, disciplineComment

All Along The Watchtower

MusicJames BuchananSeptember 14, 2015Dave Matthews, All Along the Watchtower, Gary Clark Jr., Warren Haynes, Cortez the KillerComment