On the Art of Fiction One is sometimes asked about the “obstacles” that confront young writers who are trying to do good work. I should say the greatest obstacles that writers today have to get over, are the dazzling journalistic successes of twenty years ago, stories that surprised and delighted by their sharp photographic detail and that were really nothing more than lively … [Read more...] about Essay On the Art of Fiction by Willa Cather
Classic Articles on Writing
Fenimore Cooper Sucks at Writing by Mark Twain
Fenimore Cooper Sucks at Writing by Mark Twain It seems to me that it was far from right for the Professor of English Literature in Yale, the Professor of English Literature in Columbia, and Wilkie Collins to deliver opinions on Cooper's literature without having read some of it. It would have been much more decorous to keep silent and let persons talk who have read … [Read more...] about Fenimore Cooper Sucks at Writing by Mark Twain
THE POETIC PRINCIPLE by Edgar Allan Poe
THE POETIC PRINCIPLE BY EDGAR ALLAN POE INTRODUCTORY NOTE Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) was born in Boston, the child of actors who died while he was very young. He was adopted by a Virginian gentleman, Mr. John Allan, who put him to school in England for five years, then in Richmond, and finally sent him to the University of Virginia. He remained there only a short time, and … [Read more...] about THE POETIC PRINCIPLE by Edgar Allan Poe
I Am Not An Animal Expert! by Jack London
I Am Not An Animal Expert! by Jack London This is one of our historical articles from writers that we just had to publish. Jack London, one of our most beloved American writer's seems to have shared the modern day views of the media. Apparently news people of his day mixed London up with either a Zookeeper or Veterinarian. London was not thrilled will the assumptions, so he … [Read more...] about I Am Not An Animal Expert! by Jack London
Shakespeare Sucks! by Leo Tolstoy
Shakespeare Sucks! (or Shakespeare not a Great Genius)I remember the astonishment I felt when I first read Shakespeare. I expected to receive a powerful esthetic pleasure, but having read, one after the other, works regarded as his best: "King Lear," "Romeo and Juliet," "Hamlet" and "Macbeth," not only did I feel no delight, but I felt an irresistible repulsion … [Read more...] about Shakespeare Sucks! by Leo Tolstoy