“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
For quite a while now I've wanted to write a post about Roland Barthes' The Death of The Author theory, but I've been conflicted on where I stand on the subject. While it is obvious that a writer's experiences, biases, and other factors greatly shape a writer's work, I also believe that it is essential… Continue reading Schrödinger’s Author: Is the Writer Dead or Not?
When I was a child I daydreamed all the time about talking to my favorite writers. While I was toiling for hours over my own horrible manuscripts, I would wonder to myself what wisdom they would impart onto me if I ever mustered up the courage to write to them. Writers back then were these… Continue reading Social Media Killed My Curiosity About Authors
A few years ago, my novel writing class had a high-profile guest speaker talk to us: the award-winning author of a YA book we had been assigned to read about a week prior. I was pretty jazzed about it considering how much I'd enjoyed the story. I've had predominately good experiences with meeting published authors… Continue reading When a Writer You Admire is a Jerk
A fair amount of people are giving JK Rowling grief about constantly making amendments to the Harry Potter series. While I can understand where they are coming from (and heartily disagree that Hermione and Harry should have gotten together), I can't entirely blame her for not wanting to leave the Wizarding World forever. I mean,… Continue reading JK Rowling and the Inability to Let Go of Harry Potter
We spent a day in London, which basically means we spent a day in the London Underground. Our professors told us to dress in layers since it was predicted to rain quite a bit that day.... So there we were, wearing long-sleeve shirts and rain coats in 75 degree weather (23 degrees celsius) and thick… Continue reading Bookish Culture On the London Underground
I'm not a purist like some readers when it comes to book-to-movie adaptations. I believe it's okay to change certain elements, or cut out scenes if the time constraints don't allow for them. However, Hollywood has a bad habit of fixing things that aren't broken. They make badass characters completely pointless (Annabeth in the Percy… Continue reading The Author Knows Best: Book-to-Movie Adaptations
The Crooked Pen 