Author Archives: Robert Pritchard
Literary Confusion
Abaddon’s Gate is Literary Space Opera at its Absolute Best by Andrew Liptak June 3, 2013 http://io9.com/abaddons-gate-is-literary-space-opera-at-its-absolute-511125015 Looks like somebody doesn’t know what “literary,” applied to a novel, means. Here’s the first page of Abaddon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey:
Annals of Superhuman Persistence, Vol. V: Chad Hodge
“Hodge was so enamored of Crouch’s books that he wrote the pilot script for Wayward Pines on spec, meaning he worked for several weeks without the guarantee that he’d ever get paid.” Oh shit. Several weeks? That is brutal. How ever did he maintain such superhuman persistence over such a lengthy time period with only the … Continue reading
How Much Persistence is Needed?
Answer: a little bit more than you showed.
Hierarchy of Quality
You are Katherine Heiny, and when you’re 24, you write a second-person short story for an MFA creative writing workshop at Columbia University¬ — “How to Give the Wrong Impression,” about a graduate student who is secretly in love with her male roommate — and you send it out to 31 literary journals, all of which … Continue reading
Persistence Notes
“I never would have continued as a writer if The Temple of Gold had not been taken by the first publisher I sent it to. I’m not that masochistic. There was no way I was going to write anymore. I didn’t know that then, but I know it now. There was no encouragement; no one ever said … Continue reading
Reading Material
Today marks the tenth anniversary of when I began keeping a record of every book that I read. Therefore, without further ado, I present the complete reading material of a decade.
“Miguel”
Miguel, ma belleThese are words that go together wellMy MiguelMiguel, ma belleSont les mots qui vont tres bien ensembleTres bien ensemble
Closing Windows
http://grantland.com/features/simmons-oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-championship/ Bill Simmons ‘meditation’ on the uncertainty of the future, the ephemerality of opportunity. The thing about sports is they tell you when it’s over. Everybody talks about giving 110% and never quitting, but only as long as the game is going on. When the final buzzer sounds, whether you’ve won or lost you know to … Continue reading
Brain Teasers
I’m a big white rectangle with sheets and blankets on top and people sleep on me. What am I? I’m invisible, yet you can know what I am by using a clock or watch or a sundial or in a pinch you can just guess what I am. What am I? What’s black and white … Continue reading
Non-Insane Proposals for Publishing Industry Professionals
What I don’t understand is why we writers believe that those on the other side of the transom act in such illogical ways, ways in which I definitely wouldn’t act if I were in their shoes. Agents. If I were an agent I wouldn’t read anybody’s stories or novels.