Tag Archives: latin american authors

Gabriel García Márquez, How Ideas For Stories and Novels Are Born: An Image

It all starts with an image… This is a short excerpt from Gabriel García Márquez‘s El olor a la guayaba (The Smell of Guava), a series of interviews/conversations with Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza (Tunja, 1932), Colombian politician, journalist and writer.  The translation is mine: Mendoza: What is, in your case, the starting point of a book? García […]

October 08

Writing Advice from Abelardo Castillo

  Abelardo Castillo (Buenos Aires, 1935) is an Argentinian writer, novelist, essayist, and playwright.  He is also well known for his short stories including “Ernesto’s Mother“.  An amateur boxer in his youth, Castillo worked as director of several literary magazines including El Escarabajo de Oro and El Ornitorrinco.  Following are a few tips from his book Ser Escritor (Being […]

September 27

“A Few Words About Short Stories,” Augusto Monterroso

“A Few Words About Short Stories,” Augusto Monterroso Born in Teguscigalpa, Honduras, Augusto Monterroso (1921- 2003) is mainly known as a Guatemalan writer.  In his early life in Guatemala city, where his family relocated in 1936, Monterroso began to publish his short stories and was one of the founders of El Espectador with several other […]

16 Rules for writing by Jorge Luis Borges

16 Rules for writing by Jorge Luis Borges In one of their many collaborative endeavors, Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares planned to write a story with Silvina Ocampo set in France.  The story never came to be, but what does survive from those days is Borges’ ironic list of 16 pieces of advice […]

Mario Vargas Llosa Internet Resources

Mario Vargas Llosa Bio English Español Nobelprize.orgWikipedia Biography.com Wikipedia.es Mundolatino.org Novels/ Novelas English Español The Time of the Hero, (la ciudad y los perros) The Green House, (La casa verde) Conversation in the Cathedral (Conversación en la catedral) Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, (Pantaleón y las visitadoras) Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter , (La […]

August 28

Advice on writing a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa

Mario Vargas Llosa (1936, Perú) was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature in recognition of his remarkable career and body of work as a writer.  The Academy awarded him the Prize “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.”  He has written over 30 […]

August 28

The Writer’s Decalogue: Ten* suggestions for writers, Augusto Monterroso

Augusto Monterroso (1921-2003) was most well known for his very short stories.  His story, “The Dinosaur,” is often referred to as the shortest short story in literature.  In Spanish, it has just seven words: Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí. When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there. Other stories, like “The Eclipse” are […]

August 27

Jorge Luis Borges On Writing Short Stories: El Zahir

Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) is one of the best-known Latin American writers.  It is difficult to summarize Borges in a few sentences.  The best way to get to know Borges is to read his stories.  Many think he was a genius.  His short stories are unique and let the reader step away from reality for […]

August 26

Horacio Quiroga’s Ten Rules For Writing A Perfect Short Story

Horacio Quiroga’s Ten Rules For Writing A Short Story Horacio Quiroga (1878-1937) was an Uruguayan poet, playwright, and short story writer.  He is considered to be one of the best Latin American short story writers of all time.  His stories like “The Decapitated Chicken” and “The Son,” are deliciously bizarre and really grip the reader. […]