I hereby declare blog posts count as letters. I think they come from the same impulse of connection, or at the very least to share one's side/opinion/take. And how cool is that, Anne still exchanging weekly (!) letters with a good friend.
Thanks to Lynn Post (appropriate name for sharing story told via letters!) I also read the Correspondent and also loved it. So fun to read your take, Eleni, and learn a bit about the author. Seven previous novels - all unpublished!? Also loved learning that she wrote the novel she'd want to read. Another favorite epistolary novel is Where'd You Go Bernadette. :-)
I used to write long letters that were so filled with information I made photocopies (that dates them!) to keep for re-reading. The copies are all in the Lev Raphael Papers at Michigan Sttae University's Special Archives at their library. Now, though, all I have to do is print off a copy from SENT. :-) Oh, speaking of dialogue, The Fires set in Iceland has no quotation marks around dialogue which runs together with narration and when there's a scene you can't always tell who's speaking.
That was prescient you copied/saved all of your letters, and to have them archived--incredible. You are speaking through the generations.
And interesting re: The Fires. Do you recommend? I might have mentioned my novel-in-progress is also forgoing the marks in favor of what I'm calling silence, or the space between thought and speech. When I'm reading works like this, I often enjoy it, but it can take longer to read depending on how it's done for backtracking/re-reading.
I'm lucky that MSU pursued me to sell them my papers for their Michigan Writers archives and made a really good deal. The first time, they took away 90 or so boxes--I had saved everything related to my writing career.
I'm split about no quotation marks. It really depends on how skillfully it's done and with The Fires I had to reread to make sure I was following. I've seen books where the author uses dashes to indicate new speakers and I like the look of that.
There is a terrific cross genre novel by Charlie Houston, Already Dead that uses dashes which really fits the energy of the book. It’s a private detective/vampire/zombie novel, beautifully written and conceived. When I was teaching crime fiction, my students absolutely loved it, and I’ve read it three times.
I'm so glad you finally got to read The Correspondent! It's a great book on so many levels, but especially for anyone interested in writing an epistolary novel (or eshewing quote marks 😉). I started Lonesome Dove because of Sybil's letter to Larry McMurty 😄, and appreciated her letters to other authors. (The Outlander one esp. made me LOL.) I still love sending (and receiving) snail mail. 🐌💌
Sorry for my delay in reading/replying. I had (still have) a swollen thumb, making computer work challenging, then was on vacation at Mt. Hood, which got cut short by one night due to wildfire smoke! Now our clogging gig at Lake Wenatchee might get canceled too 😒.
Love this online letter! Oh man, I hope your thumb is better soon--it's a really important work partner for writers. Sorry about the smoke. I hope it dissipates soon. We had it for a few days here, too.
Very cool that you were inspired to read other works she mentioned! Love discovering books this way.
Just finished Trust by Hernan Diaz and am reading The Wedding People. Next up the oldest novel ever, Tales of Genji.
I used to write letters, way back in the day. Can I count blog posts as letters to multiple friends at once?
Anne still exchanges at least one mailed letter a week with her oldest friend (from the 80s)
I hereby declare blog posts count as letters. I think they come from the same impulse of connection, or at the very least to share one's side/opinion/take. And how cool is that, Anne still exchanging weekly (!) letters with a good friend.
Thanks to Lynn Post (appropriate name for sharing story told via letters!) I also read the Correspondent and also loved it. So fun to read your take, Eleni, and learn a bit about the author. Seven previous novels - all unpublished!? Also loved learning that she wrote the novel she'd want to read. Another favorite epistolary novel is Where'd You Go Bernadette. :-)
Ooh thank you for the recommendation Sadie! And Seattle ties, too.
Isn't that something re: seven novels? For me that kind of data gives me fuel to push past rejections. At least for one road-trip.
I used to write long letters that were so filled with information I made photocopies (that dates them!) to keep for re-reading. The copies are all in the Lev Raphael Papers at Michigan Sttae University's Special Archives at their library. Now, though, all I have to do is print off a copy from SENT. :-) Oh, speaking of dialogue, The Fires set in Iceland has no quotation marks around dialogue which runs together with narration and when there's a scene you can't always tell who's speaking.
That was prescient you copied/saved all of your letters, and to have them archived--incredible. You are speaking through the generations.
And interesting re: The Fires. Do you recommend? I might have mentioned my novel-in-progress is also forgoing the marks in favor of what I'm calling silence, or the space between thought and speech. When I'm reading works like this, I often enjoy it, but it can take longer to read depending on how it's done for backtracking/re-reading.
I'm lucky that MSU pursued me to sell them my papers for their Michigan Writers archives and made a really good deal. The first time, they took away 90 or so boxes--I had saved everything related to my writing career.
I'm split about no quotation marks. It really depends on how skillfully it's done and with The Fires I had to reread to make sure I was following. I've seen books where the author uses dashes to indicate new speakers and I like the look of that.
Yes, I've seen the dashes in Greek books and also some older works too. I agree it really depends on how it's implemented/integrated.
And very cool they sought you out. Ninety boxes (!)
There is a terrific cross genre novel by Charlie Houston, Already Dead that uses dashes which really fits the energy of the book. It’s a private detective/vampire/zombie novel, beautifully written and conceived. When I was teaching crime fiction, my students absolutely loved it, and I’ve read it three times.
Dear El,
I'm so glad you finally got to read The Correspondent! It's a great book on so many levels, but especially for anyone interested in writing an epistolary novel (or eshewing quote marks 😉). I started Lonesome Dove because of Sybil's letter to Larry McMurty 😄, and appreciated her letters to other authors. (The Outlander one esp. made me LOL.) I still love sending (and receiving) snail mail. 🐌💌
Sorry for my delay in reading/replying. I had (still have) a swollen thumb, making computer work challenging, then was on vacation at Mt. Hood, which got cut short by one night due to wildfire smoke! Now our clogging gig at Lake Wenatchee might get canceled too 😒.
Hope you and R are doing well!
What are you reading now?
Yours Truly,
Ly
Dear Ly,
Love this online letter! Oh man, I hope your thumb is better soon--it's a really important work partner for writers. Sorry about the smoke. I hope it dissipates soon. We had it for a few days here, too.
Very cool that you were inspired to read other works she mentioned! Love discovering books this way.
Just finished Trust by Hernan Diaz and am reading The Wedding People. Next up the oldest novel ever, Tales of Genji.
Sincerely,
El