Writing - Jeffrey Overstreet

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Writing

A collection of 17 posts

You're invited to write with me...

It's time. Let me give you some background: I had a remarkable run of years in writing and publishing books — five titles in four years (2007-2011). That was a rush. A privilege. An exhilarating joy, after a decade of hard work on manuscripts that I never thought would

What to Read on Veterans Day: The Things They Carried

On Books & Writing

What to Read on Veterans Day: The Things They Carried

“Everything sparkled.” That line from Tim O’Brien’s The Things We Carried would be sentimental and sugary in most contexts. But in this masterful short story collection, it’s all we need to know about how, when the writer was drafted into the Vietnam War at a young age,

In Case You Missed It: Personal Highlights of 2013

I am so grateful for evenings, weekends, and coffee breaks. Those are the chances I have to share what I do best. I hope that some of it was useful to you in 2013. Here are some of the highlights of my past year...

On Books & Writing

Can You Do Better Than "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night..."?

The temperature is falling fast. It's windy. There's snow in the rain that's splatting against the windows of my house. What is your neighborhood like on a dark and stormy night? If you were asked to describe it, what would you write? Here’s

On Movies & Media

A (Temporary) Farewell to Film Review Work

Writing, I find, is a joy and an adventure. But it's not much of a job. In fact, you need another job in able to afford to do it.

Overstreet's Books

From the Front Lines, November 29, 2011

I should be writing the new chapter of my new novel. But... ... there are Christmas carols playing in this cafe. Anne is writing on the other side of the table. We and our laptop computers are facing each other as if we're engaged in an intense, wordless game

Fingertips: Longhand Writing; Time-Based Pixel Painting; Beer; Richard Linklater; Leonard Cohen; Joe Henry; Kate Bush; G.K. Chesterton; and St. Vincent

Writing on a computer is like sprinting through a park; you can cover a lot of ground very quickly. But will you have much to say about the ground you covered, or the sights and sounds you passed along the way? I want to write about subjects that deserve close

On Books & Writing

Come write with me.

Gregory Wolfe. David Dark. Julia Kasdorf. Jill Phillips. Andy Gullahorn. And me. At one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Ready to talk with you about your writing — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, songwriting — on a weekend retreat. Will you join us September 29? Read on for details about my workshop.

On Movies & Media

For Kids Who Can't Write Good

Can a good movie be made about bad writing? If you've seen Twilight, you may think otherwise. But seriously: Can a good documentary be made about the challenges of becoming a writer? This upcoming documentary certainly looks interesting.

Speaking engagements

Uncool in October. And loving it.

[I wrote this yesterday but had no time to post it... so, better late than never.] In the courtyard outside my window, the leaves of the trees are ablaze. It's inspiring. The trees aren't trying to get attention. They're not striking poses. They'

On Books & Writing

The scene on the sidewalk

The story is almost ready, but something's been missing. I've been searching for a scene. I've written four attempts. I was ready to settle for the best of them. They felt forced and artificial, something grown in a lab to produce a particular color.

Who's right?

So... I stumbled onto these two quotes within a few seconds of one another... "In order to write about life, first you must live it!" - Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961), writer, journalist But then: * Ned Rorem, Pulitzer Prize-Winning American Composer Which is it? Come on. Time's

On Books & Writing

Sitting up with my "dying friend."

Annie Dillard in The Writing Life says: I do not so much write a book as sit up with it, as with a dying friend. During visiting hours, I enter its room with dread and sympathy for its many disorders. I hold its hand and hope it will get better.

Name Your Elephant

Do you like chase scenes? This is a story about a chase. It's a pursuit that's lasted for years. It involves a mysterious red elephant. I've written a two-part article about it, and the first part is up today at ConversantLife.com. Read it,

On Movies & Media

Mick Silva's Advice for Writers; Narnia's Makeover for High King Peter

Silva ponders Mick Silva on the voice of the Christian writer. * High King Peter of Narnia's "small mind" In C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, High King Peter did not have a "small mind." But it seems that American filmmakers are

The DaVinci Load

On Movies & Media

The DaVinci Load

From Language Log's musings on The Da Vinci Code: A voice spoke, chillingly close. "Do not move." On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly. Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the