Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
Meet the faculty, tour the campus and calculate the tuition of the University of Hard Knocks by Ruth Harris Scammers and con artists have been around publishing since writers were using chisels to carve words into stone tablets. They loot, cheat and steal. They’re the faculty of Hard Knocks U. and they are out […]
by Anne R. Allen “Think outside the box” has become a mindless cliché these days. So many people repeat it that the meaning has mostly been lost. In fact, most people are unaware they are in boxes, so they have no particular desire to think outside of one. But most of us are boxed […]
by Anne R. Allen The most dangerous concept in the universe is probably, “there is only one right way.” People who insist there is only one right way to live, think, behave, or believe are responsible for most of the world’s conflict and suffering. Merriam-Webster defines dogma as “a belief or set of beliefs […]
by Anne R. Allen “Show-Don’t-Tell” is one of the most sacred commandments in the writerly bible. As Susan Defreitas wrote at LitReactor, “If writing advice were classic rock, this would be ‘Stairway to Heaven’.” “Show, Don’t Tell” is sound advice—up to a point. Nobody wants to read a novel that’s a dry recitation of incidents. […]
FROM MIKE TYSON TO ALBERT EINSTEIN: Why Writers Need To Goof Off And Space Out by Ruth Harris “Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth,” observed philosopher-pugilist, Mike Tyson. Not just boxers, Mike. Ditto for writers. Whether you’re a plotter or pantser, you start out with some kind of plan. […]
by Anne R. Allen The Harvard Business School recently did a fascinating study of toxic employees and their effect on a company’s bottom line. The researchers discovered the most difficult and costly employees aren’t the lazy ones or the gossipy ones. It turns out the worst are the ones dead-set on following rules to the […]
By Melodie Campbell To the elderly man in the khaki sweater who lifted his reading glasses to stare open-mouthed… To the unknown person who gasped and knocked over a chair behind me… To the woman with the stroller who stared in horror, and then wheeled her toddler frantically away toward the exit… False […]
by Anne R. Allen I had what is known as a “good education.” I attended East Coast and European prep schools and Ivy League colleges. Both my parents were college professors with PhDs in literature. All of which left me uniquely unqualified for my chosen profession: writing novels. Why? Because I grew up knowing […]
by Ruth Harris With tongue firmly in cheek, Ruth Harris tells us what NOT to do in the coming year to further our writing careers. We both wish you the very best in 2016! If you’re a new commenter on the blog, you may have to wait for comment moderation. I apologize for that–we LOVE […]
by Tara Sparling Tara Sparling is an Irish blogger and humorist. I stumbled onto her award-winning blog, “Tara Sparling Writes: A Sideways Perspective on the Bonkers Business of Books” through a Tweet, and I’ve been an avid follower ever since. Her take on the writing life is uniquely quirky and hilarious… and oh, so Irish. Seriously, […]
by Ruth Harris It is a truth universally acknowledged that no writer ever knows when or where his/her next great idea will strike. Because of that inconvenient fact, notebooks are essential. Although the back of a grocery receipt or a dry cleaner’s ticket will do in an emergency, a notebook will help create order out […]
by Anne R. Allen Last week I wrote about five delusions that can keep a new writer from professional success. I admit to succumbing to most of them myself at one time or another. Writers need to be a little delusional to embark on a road that we know is fraught with obstacles. It’s the […]
by Anne R. Allen We writers tend to get a tad delusional about our own work. Most of us know the average writer doesn’t make great money, but we secretly believe our own efforts will bring us fabulous fame and fortune. When we start out, we can’t help visualizing our books leapfrogging over all the […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris