So far, whenever I’ve mentioned the word fan fiction, people either didn’t know what it was or thought about it as something to look down upon. They associate it with either some perverse version of the original work, or with someone who takes another author’s work and changes it to make it all about themselves. … More In Defense of Fan Fiction
“Every English major secretly wants to be a writer.” This is a sentence that’s often thrown around in literature classes, but what does it actually mean? We study the greats because we want to be one of the greats? To be fair, I suppose, who wouldn’t want to be at par with Dickens or Fitzgerald? … More Why Do We Write?
“You don’t try to reverse the river or get it to jump over a mountain, you harness its flow and energy to gently urge that it join up with other tributaries.” David Byrne 1. Introduction Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think that writing is a lonesome activity. Granted, like many writers I spend a … More Synergy: Writers and Editors in Collaboration
“Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you into creativity that is not hampered by opinion.” — Red Haircrow 1. ONSET Beginnings are always the hardest. Sitting at your computer, chasing that perfect opening line across your mindscape, searching, constantly searching. In what lair is it hidden? In what vault is … More The Writer’s High
Writer’s Block is looking for fresh, new, enthusiastic, talented, and creative editorial board members! Do you like writing, editing, or do you have any journalistic aspirations? Then join the Writer’s Block editorial board! What/ who is Writer’s Block? Writer’s Block magazine is the student magazine of the English department at the University of Amsterdam, but … More Writer’s Block Is Looking For New Editorial Board Members!
“Show the readers everything, tell them nothing.” — Ernest Hemingway 1. LIMIT Show-don’t-tell is bullshit. Now, before a lynch mob of angry keyboard warriors attempts to verbally slay me, let’s all calm down and establish a context.
“Your head’s like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the weight of oceans and the turning stars. Whole universes fit in there! But what do we choose to keep in this miraculous cabinet? Little broken things, sad trinkets that we … More Writer’s Block Doesn’t Exist – Part 5: Death of Ideas
You might already have heard of her through Instagram or Tumblr, or maybe you’ve seen her book lying beside all of the other ‘cool’ books in the book section of the Urban Outfitter’s store. Rupi Kaur is a Canadian author, feminist activist and illustrator in her twenties who has published two books of poetry accompanied … More Rupi Kaur’s poetry in the age of social media
“[S]topping a piece of work just because it’s hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea. Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it, and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.” — Stephen King 0. … More Writer’s Block Doesn’t Exist – Part 2: Inspired by Spirit
“First there is no idea. Then there is the flickering of an idea. Then there is a fully realized idea. And then finally we have a physical artifact which we can hold in our hands. We have a book. We have a painting. This, to me, is a magical act. Any act of creation … More Writer’s Block Doesn’t Exist – Part 1: Why I Write
