Steve Almond Gives Writers Timeless Advice
There are two questions a reader asks unconsciously when they enter a story, according to Steve Almond. Who do I care about, and what do they care about? The faster an author can answer those questions for the reader, the more emotionally attached the reader becomes to the story. Almond will give tips such as these during two sessions for the Oxford Conference for the Book. First, at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 26 at Southside Gallery, he is on the “‘Flash!’: Micro-Memoirs and Flash Writing” panel with Ira Sukrungruang, author of This Jade World, and Beth Ann Fennelly, whose most recent book is The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs. Then at noon on Friday, March 27, he presents “Flash Class: Learn to Write Small While Lunching,” a flash-writing workshop and lunch, also with Fennelly, at the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library, located at 401 Bramlett Blvd. The lunch and workshop are free, though registration is encouraged.
Almond is the author of a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction, including All the Secrets of the World and the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His most recent book is Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories. His essays and reviews have been published in venues ranging from The New York Times Magazine to Ploughsharesto Poets & Writers, and his short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Mysteries, and Best American Erotica. Almond is the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and cohosted the Dear Sugars podcast with Cheryl Strayed for four years. He teaches at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, and lives outside Boston with his family, his debt, and his anxiety.
There are two questions a reader asks unconsciously when they enter a story, according to Steve Almond. Who do I care about, and what do they care about? The faster an author can answer those questions for the reader, the more emotionally attached the reader becomes to the story. Almond will give tips such as these during two sessions for the Oxford Conference for the Book. First, at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 26 at Southside Gallery, he is on the “‘Flash!’: Micro-Memoirs and Flash Writing” panel with Ira Sukrungruang, author of This Jade World, and Beth Ann Fennelly, whose most recent book is The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs. Then at noon on Friday, March 27, he presents “Flash Class: Learn to Write Small While Lunching,” a flash-writing workshop and lunch, also with Fennelly, at the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library, located at 401 Bramlett Blvd. The lunch and workshop are free, though registration is encouraged.
Almond is the author of a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction, including All the Secrets of the World and the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His most recent book is Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories. His essays and reviews have been published in venues ranging from The New York Times Magazine to Ploughsharesto Poets & Writers, and his short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Mysteries, and Best American Erotica. Almond is the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and cohosted the Dear Sugars podcast with Cheryl Strayed for four years. He teaches at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, and lives outside Boston with his family, his debt, and his anxiety.
Artwork by Charlie Buckley, Soybean Neon
