Tag Archives: Writing

The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Jonathan Franzen’s “10 rules for novelists”: The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator. Fiction that isn’t an author’s personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn’t worth writing for anything but money. Never use the … Continue reading →

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“Essentials of Spontaneous Prose”

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

In 1957, Jack Kerouac published an article in Black Mountain Review  in response to a request from Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs to explain to readers his method for writing The Subterraneans in three days time. You can read Kerouac’s … Continue reading →

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“There is a great deal of art to creating something that seems artless.”

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

There is writing which resembles the mosaics of glass you see in stained-glass windows. Such windows are beautiful in themselves and let in the light in colored fragments, but you can’t expect to see through them. In the same way, … Continue reading →

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“Tell all the truth but tell it slant”

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

“Tell all the truth but tell it slant” -Emily Dickinson  

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It’s all Greek to me

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I have to admit that I geeked-out on this fascinating website devoted entirely to global writing systems. During my life I’ve actually learned four writing systems, but in my old age I’m only fluent in one of them. World Writing … Continue reading →

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Philadelphia Stories

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

About three years ago I did a post on the introduction of Short Édition short story dispensing machines in France. These brilliant kiosks provide users with one, three, or five minute reads on slim receipt-like paper strips for free. Last week, the Free … Continue reading →

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Travel Writers, Are You Up For The IFWTWA Challenge ?

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Time is running out for your entry to the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association annual writing contest. This year’s contest winner will be awarded a one-year IFWTWA membership, a subscription to Press Pass, publication of a featured article … Continue reading →

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