November 29, 2018
In Defense of Walter Scott
In E.M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel, a book made up of a series of lectures the author gave at Cambridge in 1927 and which I’ve discussed on this blog […]
September 17, 2018
On Accessibility in Historical Fiction
I’ve generally enjoyed Graywolf Press’s “Art of” series, a group of books focusing on different topics pertaining to writing (The Art of Subtext, The Art of Perspective, The Art of […]
May 14, 2018
On Historical Accuracy in Historical Fiction
In his Postscript to The Name of the Rose, when he describes how he came to determine the specific setting for his novel—the particular time period (the fourteenth century), the […]
May 17, 2016
The Power of Ritual and Routine?
What power does ritual and routine hold in a writer’s life? It obviously depends on the writer. “Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition,” wrote W.H. Auden […]