Elizabeth Strout on the Discipline of Curiosity

Years ago, I heard Elizabeth Strout speak at a literary event and got a moment to talk with her while she was signing books after her presentation. Here’s how the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge distills her craft, drawn from her own words and my notes from that day.

Stick With It, No Matter What
Strout’s mantra is persistence. “I never stop writing,” she said, even when the words feel wrong, because “work gets done if you simply do it.” She urges writers to read voraciously, write daily, and push past rejection. Her own path—honing her craft through years of quiet effort before Olive Kitteridge’s success—proves that stubbornness can outlast doubt.

Build Stories Brick by Brick
Strout shuns linear outlines, favoring vivid scenes that pulse with emotion. “I never write anything from beginning to end. ”I learned to write in scenes. After a while the scenes with heartbeats begin to form a kind of story.” These fragments, born from what presses on her heart, coalesce into narratives over time, like puzzles solved in hindsight. Her linked stories in Olive Kitteridge reflect this mosaic-like craft.

Live in Someone Else’s Skin
Curiosity about others’ inner lives drives Strout’s characters. “I’m so interested in the fact that we really don’t know anybody." It allows the imagination to take over.

Empathy crafts characters so real they seem to breathe, from Olive’s gruff complexity to Lucy Barton’s quiet resilience. Strout channels her own experiences to inhabit their worlds, making them unforgettable.

To dive deeper into her world, check out her profile on The Booker Prizes site: https://thebookerprizes.com/author/elizabeth-strout.

Featured Poet at the Wilde Reading Series

Wilde Readings, also known as the Howard County Literary Reading Series, is a free monthly event that provides local writers — poets, fiction, non-fiction — a chance to share their work with the community. The format showcases featured authors, as well as an open mic for interested audience members.

Sponsored by HoCoPoLitSo and coordinated by Laura Shovan, Ann Bracken, and Linda Joy Burke, Wilde Readings are held the second Tuesdays of each month from September through early summer at the Columbia Association Art Center in the village of Long Reach. Readings start at 7 p.m.

Featured during the May event are Eric D. Goodman and Charles Rammelkamp.

Join us on May 14 at 7 p.m. for an evening of poetry. Learn more at https://hocopolitso.org/programs/wilde-readings/.

 

Shakespeare's Bad Side

 

Think form rejection letters are bad? Just be glad you don't have Shakespeare as a critic!

"Thou crusty botch of nature," he said. "(Thou hast) not so much brain as ear wax." He could be rather harsh. "(Thou) hath more hair than wit, and more faults than hairs, and more wealth than faults."

Check the link below, where Shakespeare will be happy to taunt you with lines like "There's no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune," "(Thou art) a wretch whose natural gifts were poor," and "(Your) brain is as dry as a remainder biscuit after a voyage."

"Methink'st thou art a general offence and every man should beat thee." More literary insults await!

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/index.html

Eleven Years of Writeful

It seems hard to believe, but it was 11 years ago that I launched Writeful: a weblog for writers and readers with these words:

Hello, and welcome to Writeful! It seems only writeful that I join my fellow writers and launch a weblog. We writers (and our readers) need to stick together, after all. In this exploding cyber-community, remember that every “weblog” begins with “we.” Since every “we” includes a “me,” perhaps an appropriate place to start is to tell you who I am.

How old-fashioned a weblog seems today. And yet, I like keeping the tradition alive and plan to keep Writeful going.

In the 11 years that followed, I’ve shared tips from established authors like Alice McDermott, Neil Gaiman, Tom Wolf, and John Irving as well as news about literary events and prizes. 

I’ve shared armchair travel stories and short stories published in journals, magazines, and online. I’ve promoted the books of friends and fellow authors and have kept readers abreast of my own publications and book releases.

At times, posts came daily or even more frequently than that. 

Now, with more connections made on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, updates are more like a few times a month, or as updates come.

All of the posts are still there, going all the way back to June 22, 2005. Take a stroll along the world wide web; visit the archives along the left side of the screen!

Interested in more up-to-date posts? Like my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/EricDGoodman.