“Good writing, in my opinion, is writing that looks really easy, so easy that a person who has never written more than a grocery list might convince themself that they could also write a book. That being said, it's always a lot of work, as you know. And then there's this: you have no idea how many failed stories and novels I've attempted. I have files full of stories that didn't work for whatever reason.” KnowsWritingLooksPersonsSaidBookIdeasReasonStoriesMightEasyOpinionNovelWrittenListsNo IdeaConvinceNow And ThenFilesGroceriesGood WritingGrocery Lists Author:Mary J. Miller
“A story works when there's momentum, life behind the words. Some stories have this and others don't, and it's difficult to say why this is. If all stories "worked," though, writing wouldn't be much of a challenge; it wouldn't be art.” IfsWritingArtStoriesDifficultChallengesBehindsMomentum Author:Mary J. Miller
“There are many stories I've wanted to write that I'm simply not able to - sometimes I haven't found the way in yet, and it doesn't matter how hard I try.” WayWritingTryingSometimesMatterHardStoriesAbleWantedFoundHavens Author:Mary J. Miller
“There's definitely a magical quality to writing that can't be explained. I can write something I love in two days, or I can work on a story every day for months and it never comes together.” WritingI CanTwoStoriesTogetherQualityMonthsTwo Days Author:Mary J. Miller
“I don't revise a lot when writing short stories. As far as the novel, I definitely thought more about plot. Honestly, I'm still pretty confused about what "plot" means. I've been reading some of my Goodreads reviews and one reader noted that the The Last Days of California "reads like a short story stretched to the breaking point, padded and brought into novel range..." I don't know what people want, really.” PeopleKnowsWantWritingMeanStillsStoriesLastsReadingNovelReaderHonestlyRangeCaliforniaConfusedPlotReviewsShort StoryLast DayGoodreadsPoint BreakWriting ShortWriting Short Stories Author:Mary J. Miller
“There were definitely scenes I struggled with more than others: the car accident and the thunderstorm are two that come to mind. It's difficult to write about a thunderstorm. There are only so many ways to describe it and our vocabulary is so limited. And the car accident scene required a tense, manic quality that had to be conveyed in the language, as well as the character's dialogue and actions. I was editing these scenes long after I thought I was finished with them.” WayWritingMindWellsLongTwoCharacterActionLanguageDifficultQualityCarSceneFinishedAccidentsDialogueEditingVocabularyTenseManicCar AccidentThunderstorm Author:Mary J. Miller
“It's something that's difficult to explain but I think all writers work this way to some extent, whether we're aware of it or not. For me, writing has little to do with thinking. I don't want to control the narrative. I listen to the rhythm of the words and dialogue and try to give the characters the space in which to say and do what they want without intervening too much.” ThinkingWayWantGivingWritingTryingLittlesCharacterDifficultSpaceToo MuchDialogueRhythmNarrativeIntervening Author:Mary J. Miller
“It's definitely about the rhythm of the words and how they sound together, writing one sentence and then another and another and cutting something immediately if it doesn't feel true. I come from a family of musicians and - while I have no musical abilities of my own - I think I inherited a good ear.” IfsThinkingFeelsWritingTogetherSoundMy OwnAbilityCuttingMusicianEarsMusicalSentencesRhythmOne SentenceMusical Ability Author:Mary J. Miller
“I haven't taught creative writing all that much (my CW teaching consists of a few summer workshops for elementary school children and an eight-week class for older adults), and I don't really know what my teaching style is yet.” KnowsWritingChildrenSchoolClassCreativeWeekTeachingStyleHavensTaughtSummerAdultsEightCreative WritingWorkshopsElementary SchoolOlder Adults Author:Mary J. Miller
“To be quite honest, along with thinking and such when it comes to writing, I'm not into words like "theory." I'm a PhD dropout. No matter how many twenty-five-page papers I wrote, I never felt like I was saying much. I didn't feel like the writer of the book, whose work I was analyzing, would have been impressed. It didn't matter how much time or effort I put in.” ThinkingFeelsWritingHas BeensBookMatterFeltEffortFiveHonestTheoryPaperPagesTwentiesImpressedPapersTwenty FiveAnalyzingPhdsDropouts Author:Mary J. Miller
“"There is no analysis here," the most brutal of them wrote. Now I wonder if my papers lacked critical thought, or if it was really more about my inability/refusal to write in the convoluted style that they wanted me to. I remember the initial shock upon reading my peers' papers. I seriously could not understand them, and I couldn't understand why the writing had to be so unclear in order to be considered smart.” IfsWritingWantedRememberOrderReadingWonderStylePaperSmartCriticalAnalysisShockBrutalPeersPapersInabilityInitialsRefusalUnclearConvoluted Author:Mary J. Miller
“I think training your instinct comes from writing and reading. There's no big secret. And reading slush helps, as well; I'd recommend everyone edit a literary magazine at some point. It's time-consuming, but there's a lot to learn from other writers who are also learning. The patterns (twelve stories about whales in this batch?) are also interesting.” ThinkingWritingWellsHelpingStoriesBigsReadingInterestingSecretTrainingInstinctPatternsMagazinesTwelveConsumingEditsWhalesTime ConsumingWriting And ReadingSlush Author:Mary J. Miller
“I've learned a lot about language from reading slush. You can immediately tell if a writer is in control of the narrative. This writer will avoid using too many words like "possibly," "probably," "maybe," "perhaps," etc. He/she will avoid using clichés, as well as a lot of metaphors, and won't take four sentences to say what they could in one (or write a great sentence and follow it up with a bunch of stuff that just weakens it).” IfsWritingWellsReadingLanguageStuffFourMetaphorSentencesBunchNarrativeI've LearnedEtcSlush Author:Mary J. Miller
“I also liked it when professors assigned us stories that they love. In general, I liked workshops more when they were more than just a workshop, when the professor took the time to actually guide us as young writers and teach us things it took them a long time to figure out on their own. I could probably write ten pages on this question.” WritingLongStoriesYoungTeachFiguresTenPagesLong TimeGuidesProfessorsWorkshopsYoung Writers Author:Mary J. Miller