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Feb29
Looking Behind The Pages: Janice Erlbaum Explains How To Build A Memoir Scene

"God, I was so happy, seeing them like that, hearing the laughs and screams, seeing their grins flapping in the wind as they tore around the track. I had to wipe a tear from my eye before they could get off the ride and meet me across the street. Samantha had a huge smile on her face, and her eyes were the size of saucers."

That’s a blog entry that Janice Erlbaum wrote in 2005 about her trip to Coney Island with a young runaway. Over the next few months, her troubled relationship with that teenager would change dramatically--an emotional process recorded in Erlbaum's new book, Have You Found Her.

Today Erlbaum explains how her stories move from diary to blog to final memoir shape, giving us a glimpse--just like that video--behind her pages. 

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:

On page 225, you have a great scene with Sam and your domestic partner at Coney Island--it's a gorgeous, kinetic scene. Could you just walk us through the process of writing that scene? How did you build it from memory and how did you edit it into this final shape?

Janice Erlbaum:
I originally wrote the Coney Island scene the day after it happened – it’s posted on my blog as an entry called “Coneyworld,” dated August 28, 2005. Continue reading...

Continue Reading
Feb29
How Writers Celebrate Leap Year
Happy Leap Year! We're sitting here with this extra day that we don't have every year. What are we supposed to do with it? Write. You have one extra day to finish your novel this year, so here are a... Continue Reading
Feb28
How To Negotiate A Book Deal: Janice Erlbaum Shares Her Experience
“That handwriting—careful, shaky, spiky, every letter distinct, straight up and down, like it took hours to etch, and that was with her good hand. The poem was about watching the stars fall from the back of a pickup truck, hitchhiking... Continue Reading
Feb27
Janice Erlbaum Shows You How To Become A Memoir Detective
"I was vindicated. I'd solved even more of the mystery--Nancy Drew and the Case of the Homeless Girl ... 'I'm glad I found out. Knowledge is power, right?' If I only knew what to do with all this power I... Continue Reading
Feb26
The Publishing Spot Library: Screenwriter Allen Rucker
We were on CBS News today, and not because they found out about the bank we robbed to finance our freelance writing careers.If you follow that link, you can see that The Early Show used some of our six-word memoir... Continue Reading
"One of the dirty little secrets of writing professionally" : Janice Erlbaum Talks About Surviving As A Freelance Writer
“I'm in Washington Square Park wishing I could write a poem, the poem that would help. Poetry doesn't help, money helps. I know I don't believe that. What to do. Observe, observe, observe. It is my new mission to lay... Continue Reading
Three Ways To Fine-Tune Your Writing Radar
Can you spot a bad memoir from 100-yards away? If you are going to be a writer, you need to recognize your bad writing just as quickly your best writing. With that in mind, John Coyne reflects on years of... Continue Reading
Feb25
"Write Like Nobody's Watching" : Janice Erlbaum Explains Why You Should Keep A Journal
I'm setting a bad example. Over the weekend, I went to a quiet, hilarious dinner party with some close friends. Unfortunately, I’ve been swamped with projects and I didn’t write a single word about this minor, yet entertaining episode from... Continue Reading
Feb22
"Knee Deep In A Love Affair" : Felicia Sullivan Teaches How To Work With An Editor
"The restaurant was reduced to a collection of inverted faces, of nudging and whispering as her laughter snowballed...she grabbed the bearded man's plate and smashed it over his head. Yolk slid down his face as he jumped out of the... Continue Reading
Publishing Spotted: Fake Journalists, Sneaky Writers and Bitty Screens
How simple is it to write you novel on the clock? Pete from PeteLit breaks it down. It might seem simple or obvious, but this is the kind of dedication you need to finish that novel burning a hole on... Continue Reading
Feb21
Felicia Sullivan Shows You How To Combat Writing Anxieties
That's author Felicia Sullivan reading from her new memoir, The Sky Isn't Visible from Here. While that spooky scene sounds perfectly rehearsed, Sullivan obsessed about the reading for days on her blog and in real life.  Most writers are... Continue Reading
Feb20
Publishing Spotted: 75-Words and Charles Baxter and Ultimate Blogs
Got a 75-word story to tell? I've got a writing contest for you. Over at LitPark, a McSweeney's writer reveals himself as the mysterious author who writes The Education of Oronte Churm. His interview features a short, short writing contest... Continue Reading
How Fellowships Help Writers: Advice from Felicia Sullivan
"SLS is premised on the not-so-novel idea that one's writing can greatly benefit from the keen sense of temporary displacement created by an immersion in a thoroughly foreign culture and street vernacular; that one's removing himself/herself from the routine context... Continue Reading
Feb19
How To Write Your Novel While Working Full-Time
 Stop telling yourself you can't write your novel because you have a dayjob.  That's a video of our special guest Felicia Sullivan, explaining how she managed to write her new memoir The Sky Isn't Visible from Here while working a full-time.... Continue Reading
Why Investigative Journalists Need To Learn How To Share
Sure the Internet makes news faster, but it can also make your journalism better. Over at Idea Lab, Paul Grabowicz (a journalism professor and investigative reporter) just wrote a fascinating essay about how traditional tools of investigative journalism--databases, collected information and... Continue Reading
Should You Get a Creative Writing MFA? : Felicia Sullivan Takes Us To School
Right now, thousands of fledgling writers are staring at their mailboxes. They'll be making one of the hardest decisions of their lives--should I get a creative writing MFA?There is no easy answer, but I've made a hobby of asking published... Continue Reading
The Publishing Spot Library: Smith Magazine Editors Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser
Everybody talks about how great social networking is for writers, but very few people actually know how to make it work. Last week, Larry Smith (founder of Smith Magazine) and Rachel Fershleiser (senior editor at Smith) were my special guests,... Continue Reading
Feb18
Anatomy of a Scene: Felicia Sullivan Explains How To Turn a Memory into a Memoir Scene
"Sweaters, acrylic blankets, T-shirts, and dirty socks covered the floral couch. Cobalt glasses with scarlet lipstick prints, overflowing ashtrays bowls of rocks and a deck of playing cards were strewn over the glass coffee table ... Against one wall stood... Continue Reading
Feb15
Larry Smith Explains How Microblogging and Mobile Technology Can Help Fledgling Writers
"[I went] begging my way into the homes, offices, favorite cafes, and bars of dozens of people who have been doing this for a while ... One of the many inspiring things about this business is that if you’re someone... Continue Reading
Mobile Journalism and Microblogging Links for Writers
Got a second? Why not publish your next story?Last weekend I took my Flip videocamera to a book party, and shot a little video project to make my interview feature more exciting. That little camera is changing the way I... Continue Reading
Feb14
Interviewing Sam Douglas: Real Advice from a Real Fiction Editor
As my Valentine's Day gift to you, I retrieved an old interview from the dusty archives of The Publishing Spot. Way back in 2006, I interviewed Sam Douglas--an associate editor at Picador.Picador has published critically acclaimed novels like Paul Auster's... Continue Reading
Inside the Mind of an Anthology Editor
That web video shows just a few of the happy contributors to the six-word memoir anthology. Writing anthologies and contests are tricky business. Editors comb through vast amounts of submissions, and it's hard to know what they are thinking. Most... Continue Reading
Feb13
Publishing Spotted: Cold, Cold Go Away!
Over the last 24-hours, we went from bitter cold to slush to cold rain in New York City. Who can write with weather like that?  For today's writing wisdom, I went to sunny California, where the LA Times Jacket Copy... Continue Reading
Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith Show You How To Balance Writing and a Dayjob
"We were struck by the openness of the memoirists--and by their desire to share even more of their lives with perfect strangers. People sent us pictures of the adorable children they'd just admitted, in six words, they regretted having. One... Continue Reading
Feb12
Welcome To The Publishing Spot
I just wanted to say welcome to all the Galleycat readers coming through today. It's always cool to meet new people, and this site is only as strong as its readers. Please stay for awhile, and leave your suggestions/special requests/questions... Continue Reading
"Part professionalism, part karma" : Larry Smith Explains Why Writers Need Community
Shooting that video at the six-word memoir party, I realized that there's nothing better than making friends with a writer. You end up with somebody to talk about books with, to edit your writing with, and help you find new... Continue Reading
The Publishing Spot Library: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Don't be scared to write about sex!  To help us all, I went to the expert to help us become more comfortable writing about all things sensual. Rachel Kramer Bussel wrote the excellent Lusty Lady sex column at the Village... Continue Reading
The Publishing Spot Library: Novelist Tony D'Souza
Last week novelist Tony D'Souza stopped by to discuss his new book, The Konkans. This former Peace Corps volunteer and freelance writer has made two visits to The Publishing Spot, and delivered epic essay answers every time. Every week I... Continue Reading
Feb11
Meet The Twenty-First Century Writing Community
That's some video I shot over the weekend, just for you. I've been in a cheery mood ever since the Smith Magazine book release party on Saturday. I met people from New Orleans, Los Angeles, and, as my friend observed,... Continue Reading
Rachel Fershleiser Explains How To Build A Reading Community
How do you get your readers to interact with your writing? That's the 21st Century problem that all fledgling authors face. To help us answer that question, I brought in the experts.This week Larry Smith (founder of Smith Magazine) and... Continue Reading
Feb 8
The Fine Art of Writing Action Scenes: A Tutorial By Tony D'Souza
"The harijans up top [of the bus], who neither got to see that girl's incredible breasts, nor understand why they were flying through the air as the driver slammed the brakes at the edge of the ravine, which the bus... Continue Reading
Feb 7
How To Make Your Next Public Reading More Exciting
Most people are scared to death of talking in public. By the law averages and the fact that lots of shy people to end up writing, most writers are even more scared of reading in public. A couple weeks ago,... Continue Reading
Tony D'Souza Explains How To Write In An Airport
"I was a creature set among them from the magical world of television. Even after a year, children would sit in a group on the dirt of my courtyard to watch me do the simplest things as though watching television... Continue Reading
Feb 6
How To Find Journalism Jobs, Win Contests, Meet Other Writers, and Get an Agent
Okay. So maybe there's not one site that can do all those things, but that would be pretty sweet. Luckily I found four different sites where you can do all that and more... Start by going to Reporterist, a brand... Continue Reading
Tony D'Souza Shows You How To Work With An Agent
Too many fledgling writers treat agents like fairy godmothers, expecting them to change pumpkin novels into princes. That desperation allows too many swindling faux-agents to flourish.  Today novelist Tony D'Souza will tell you exactly how an agent can help you... Continue Reading
Feb 5
Super Tuesday Pep Talk For Writers: James Risen, National Security, and the Future of Journalism
The other day, I was telling my journalism class about the old radio show, I Was a Communist for the FBI. This program juiced up the adventures of Matthew Cvetic, an undercover agent who infiltrated the Communist Party headquarters in... Continue Reading
Tony D'Souza Explains How To Break Into New Characaters: "I'll equate it to breaking and entering into someone's house"
"The Peace Corps had constructed a mock Indian village [in Wisconsin], replete with shanties and stocked with educated Indian functionaries they had hired and flown over from Delhi to play the role of the poor and underserved. Acting the part... Continue Reading
Feb 4
The Worst Superbowl Ad Vs. The Best Super Tuesday Coverage
Two stories caught my eye this busy Monday. Take them home with you and think deeply. But not too deeply. And when you finish thinking about it, check out my brand spanking new interview with novelist Tony D'Souza.First of all,... Continue Reading
"It's Kind Of Like Picking A Wife": Tony D'Souza Explains How To Research Your Novel
"Maxwell Street at that time was an open-air bazaar of second-hand electronics, knockoff designer shoes, food stalls, junk, and trinkets to rival any great market in the Third World, and the vendors and shoppers came from every corner of it.... Continue Reading
Feb 2
Superbowl Sunday For Writers
As everybody, including myself, shuffles off for some weekend Superbowl viewing, I'd like to send you a couple links that will keep you thinking about writing even as the high (dare I say, novelistic) drama of two youthful-looking quarterbacks battling... Continue Reading
Feb 1
Rachel Kramer Bussel Shows You How To Write The Best Love Letters
"I want to feel like we are our own entity, existing in a private universe that nothing and no one else can pierce. That life is all about looking at her, in her, nothing more, nothing less. Without makeup, she... Continue Reading
How To Make A Book Trailer: An Online Primer
What should a book trailer look like?Galleycat has an excellent essay about it here, giving a smart critique of a mystery book trailer by novelist Matt Beynon Rees. I appreciated the fun that this writer had with his video. If you... Continue Reading

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