Teaching reading vs. teaching sex

I have met a lot of teenagers who don’t like reading, some of them outright hating it. They were forced to read a novel they considered boring or had too much reading homework for comfort or just didn’t understand the significance of Oedipus no matter how much their English teacher tried to explain, and so … Read more

I’m teaching English this fall.

Today’s my first day teaching English at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, MN. I have three courses this semester, two composition and one English for academic purposes. That means I get to build on skills I’ve been using and honing the last two years plus diving into some new experiences and seeing what happens, too. … Read more

Analyzing a Short Story: Ryan Harty (Part II)

My presentation last night went well, and it lead into a discussion on using the components of genre to one’s advantage when writing, particularly science fiction. This quickly evolved into a great, multi-faceted discussion sprawling into all sorts of speculative talk on writing, creativity, and entertainment. Our instructor, Diana Joseph, tossed out the question of … Read more

Elmore Leonard on “said.”

The latest blog post over at ElmoreLeonard.com made by his assistant, Gregg Sutter, points readers to an audio interview with Leonard by Kendra Nordin about his Ten Rules of Writing, now in book form, plus a brief accompanying article by Elizabeth A. Brown. The article’s funny, and the interview is one of those rare instances … Read more

Entering my final semester.

I travel to Mankato in five hours to begin the final semester of my MFA in Creative Writing program. This semester sees me put my thesis to bed, take my final fiction workshop, and take a gigantic test in which I analyze six works of prose and poetry with the rigorous vigor they’ve always hoped … Read more