As publishing costs mount and industry pressures rise, many writers feel they need an over-the-top plot or a “high concept” to attract editors and be published. But concept, high or not, won’t make writing stellar; and the twistiest plot in the world (or out of it) won’t hold readers unless it’s grounded in the lovable, powerful mundane. You can’t always strike gold with a timely theme that catches public attention, but you can make sure you stay open to the every day, the taken-for-granted but essential stuff of life.
SOME TITLES THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN THE LECTURE: “Shoveling Snow with Buddha” by Billy Collins (Picnic,Lightning and Sailing Alone Around the Room); The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly; “Scraps of Moon” by Denise Levertov (The Great Unknowing); My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult; Wabi Sabi, by Mark Reibstein, illustrations by Ed Young; One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.