Genre: Fiction

Fixing to Forgive

The Time Is Now
6.28.17

Our willingness to forgive can be challenged by hurt feelings, guilt, and sometimes, our egos. It is not an easy task but in writing, we can explore different perspectives and outcomes. Write a story in which a character is trying to forgive someone. What are the circumstances that bring your character to this point of forgiveness? Is there an expectation that this act of forgiving will change their relationship for the better? To hear stories of people struggling to forgive others and themselves, listen to this episode of NPR’s TED Radio Hour.

The Beguiled

Caption: 

Based on the 1966 Southern gothic novel by Thomas Cullinan, The Beguiled takes place during the Civil War as a young, injured Union Army corporal is taken in at a Southern girls’ boarding school. This film adaptation is written and directed by Sofia Coppola and stars Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, and Colin Farrell.

Genre: 
Fiction
Tags: 
The Beguiled
film adaptation
movie trailer
Southern Gothic
Thomas Cullinan
1966
2017

Rakesh Satyal

Caption: 

“That’s the beauty of fiction...you can tell a really specific story and it has a way of connecting with people. And they can continue telling that story to other people.” Editor and author Rakesh Satyal speaks about his writing process and new novel, No One Can Pronounce My Name (Picador, 2017), on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

Genre: 
Fiction
Tags: 
Rakesh Satyal
No One Can Pronounce My Name
Picador
2017
Late Night With Seth Meyers

The Art of Fiction

The Time Is Now
6.21.17

Throughout his life, Henry James maintained friendships with and was influenced by painters such as John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler. In his 1884 essay, “The Art of Fiction,” he wrote: “The analogy between the art of the painter and the art of the novelist is, so far as I am able to see, complete. Their inspiration is the same.... They may learn from each other, they may explain and sustain each other. Their cause is the same, and the honour of one is the honour of another.” Write a short story that pays homage to a painting you particularly like. Perhaps there is a scene depicted or a statement made that sparks a narrative. Imagine the inspiration or cause for the painting, and then experiment with mirroring that to drive the writing forward.

Pages

Subscribe to Fiction