About this item
A targeted and insightful guide to the stages of writing fiction and memoir without falling into common traps, while wisely navigating the writing life, from an award-winning author and longtime teacherWriting well does not result from following rules and instructions, but from a blend of spontaneity, judgment, and a wise attitude toward the work - neither despairing nor defensive, but clear-eyed, courageous, and discerning. Writers must learn to tolerate the early stages, the dreamlike and irrational states of mind, and then to move from jottings and ideas to a messy first draft, and onward into the work of revision. Understanding these stages is key.The Kite and the String urges writers to let playfulness and spontaneity breathe life into the work - letting the kite move with the winds of feeling - while still holding on to the string that will keep it from flying away.
About the Author
Alice Mattison grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and now lives in New Haven, Connecticut. Her new novel, WHEN WE ARGUED ALL NIGHT--about a friendship between two Brooklyn Jews that lasts for many decades, about the tumultuous events of the twentieth century, and about a woman slowly discovering who she is and whom she loves--has just been published by Harper Perennial. Her earlier books include NOTHING IS QUITE FORGOTTEN IN BROOKLYN, IN CASE WE'RE SEPARATED: CONNECTED STORIES, and THE BOOK BORROWER. Twelve of her short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, and her stories, essays, and poems have been published in The New York Times, The Yale Review, The Pushcart Prize, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. She teaches fiction in the MFA program at Bennington College. Her website is www.alicemattison.com.
