We're all a little numb from the long weekend and the national strife called "politics." Take a two minute break and watch Judy Blume as she talks about her life as an author. You'll feel better and ready to get your write on!
Have you had a chance to listen to our last podcast with Maya Rodale? She shares her important research into women readers and writers as well as talks about her experience writing romantic fiction. If there's a feature that you think should be added to Women and Fiction, send us an email.
You can listen to the podcasts at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and Google Play. Catch up with us on our social media accounts -- (Facebook, Twitter, Google+)
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Early this week, we celebrated Dorothy Parker's birthday with five quotes about writing. Dorothy Parker was a fascinating person. She had a particular capacity to capture modern life in a quick, sharp comment. She was a founding member of the famous Algonquin Round Table. (People go to to the Algonquin today to try to absorb some of her brilliance.) She would have been 124 years old on Tuesday.
Ever feel like you've been excoriated by your reviews? The guardian put together what they felt were the five most scathing book reviews. The include books by Will Self about Julie Burchill's Unchosen calling it: "“repugnant gallimaufry of insults and half-baked nonsense”, which insists her enemies are “all pals together” – an egregious error that Self suggests is “wrong, deeply unhelpful and an attitude that, in my view, could lead ultimately to the destruction of Israel”" Yikes. The list includes a review made by Dorothy Parker and a scorching review of Wuthering Heights.
In her interview, Maya Rodale discussed writing about historic England. Here's a list of six women authors deserving of your attention. You'll meet Frances Burney, Aphra Behn, Delarivier Manley, Eliza Haywood, Maria Edgeworth, Mary Wollstonecraft. You should note that some female fiction authors (Willa Cather) had nothing good to say about these authors. But we're better than that, right?
Until next week! :) Follow us on Twitter or Facebook to get up to the minute information about Women and Fiction! If you have a minute, we'd love a review of the podcast at anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) was and American poet, short story writer, critic, and satirist. She was best known for her sharp tongue, smart wit, and prolific output. She had a particular eye for the odd and magnificent of the 20th century. She was a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table.
Dorothy Parker on writing:
1. "I hate writing, I love having written."
2. "If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy."
3. "I'd like to have money. And I'd like to be a good writer. These two can come together, and I hope they will, but if that's too adorable, I'd rather have money."
4. "To me, the most beautiful word in the English language is cellar-door. Isn’t it wonderful? The ones I like, though, are 'cheque' and 'enclosed.'"
5. "I'm never going to be famous. My name will never be writ large on the roster of Those Who Do Things. I don't do any thing. Not one single thing. I used to bite my nails, but I don't even do that any more."
Happy 124th birthday, Dorothy Parker!
Our latest podcast with Maya Rodale was released yesterday! She shares her important research into women readers and writers as well as talks about her experience writing romantic fiction. If there's a feature that you think should be added to Women and Fiction, send us an email.
You can listen to the podcasts at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and Google Play. Catch up with us on our social media accounts -- (Facebook, Twitter, Google+)
What we shared on social media this week:
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In preparation for the release of our conversation with Maya Rodale, we shared an article from the Washington Post -- Stop dissing romance novels! As Claudia talks about with Maya -- romance fiction is a billion dollar business and a full third of all fiction sold in the US. It caused the creation of the eBook. Let that sink in. Without romance fiction, we likely would not see the ongoing eBook revolution. This article covers a panel of fiction authors held in Washington.
Are you looking to for something interesting to read? (Who isn't? right?) Here's a great list of overlooked female authors you should be reading. Have you read them? Let us know what you think! (I recently read Octavia Butler for the first time -- wow!)
How do they do it? How do people become prolific authors? It is a simple as "Write a lot"? This article takes a look at a few authors who create a real living writing novels.
Look forward to seeing you around Twitter or Facebook next week! :)
The next podcast will released on August 15, 2017 with Maya Rodale. She shares her important research into women readers and writers as well as talks about her experience writing romantic fiction. If there's a feature that you think should be added to Women and Fiction, send us an email.
If you haven't had a chance to listen, Amanda Cochran Helstrom-White blows us away in the podcast. You can now listen her and all of the podcasts at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and Google Play. Catch up with us on our social media accounts -- (Facebook, Twitter, Google+)
We've started to release transcripts of the podcasts. This week, we shared the transcript of our first podcast with Jennifer Leeland. Check it out!
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On Monday, we embark on the question of "Why Women Bully Each Other?" The Atlantic article (link) focuses on women at work. As a female author, the world is our workplace. The Facebook conversation ranged from people who felt like they were never bullied to those who have had trouble with bullying. What's your take? Why do Women bully each other?
On Wednesday, we share a link that discusses pseudonyms. The question of pseudonyms comes up in almost every interview for Women and Fiction. Jenny Fallover shares a list of her favorite books written by women using male pseudonyms. Have you thought of using a male pseudonym?
Every author asks the question: should I go with a large publisher? Something smaller? Self-publish? There is another side to this. Every day, best-selling authors ditch their publishers for life as an independent. There are romance authors who have made millions from it.
Thanks for subscribing. We'll have a new podcast next week!
Women and Fiction continues to grow! The next podcast will released on August 15, 2017 with Maya Rodale discussing her important research into women readers and writers. If there's a feature that you think should be added to Women and Fiction, send us an email.
If you haven't had a chance to listen, Amanda Cochran Helstrom-White blows us away in the podcast. You can now listen her and all of the podcasts at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and Google Play. Catch up with us on our social media accounts -- (Facebook, Twitter, Google+)
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The New Yorker published a book review/commentary on the roles of statistics in fiction. It's a fascinating look at the "readability statistics” and the "Flesch-Kincaid" score. Most research shows that in modern times, people are so busy and distracted that the optimal Flesch-Kincaid score is 4. Of course, for this article, the score was 10.
Recently, a young friend of mine told me about how the simple act of writing by hand helped her get clear with her writing. She asked me: Do you write stories by hand? Computer? Combination? It turns out that she was right -- there may be some real benefits to writing by hand.
If you listened to Emma Newman's interview (Women and Fiction, S01E02), you have an idea of the challenges facing women who write science fiction. Did you know that only 18% of Airport bookstores carry women authors in their science fiction section? Bizarre stuff. And, yet, science fiction would be unrecognizable without women authors.
See something you think we should include? Send us an email and let us know.
Women and Fiction continues to grow! You can now listen to Women and Fiction on Google +. The next podcast will be released on August 15, 2017. If there's a feature that you think should be added to Women and Fiction, send us an email.
If you haven't had a chance to listen, Amanda Cochran Helstrom-White blows us away in the podcast. You can now listen her and all of the podcasts at iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, and Google Play. Catch up with us on our social media accounts -- (Facebook, Twitter, Google+)
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The Late Bloomer shares the story of how A Wrinkle in Time almost wasn't published. Madeleine L'Engle finished a Wrinkle in Time when she was 46 years old. She was in her 70s when it was banned. It's never too late to write a book that changed the world. This is an inspiring story about a fascinating woman.
Looking for inspiration? Here's 11 Nasty Women who are dominating fiction -- right now! :) Have you read any of them? Who would you add to your list? A few of the Nasty Women authors are going to join us a Women and Fiction in upcoming episodes.
There is inherent sexism at Wikipedia. This NY Times article was written in 2013, and there's been some progress -- but not much. Try it yourself -- go to Wikipedia and look up your favorite female author. Chances are that even your favorite best-selling female author is not there. This article is one of our inspirations for starting Women and Fiction.
Until next week!