Tag Archives: novels

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 29

10 Great Writing Prompts

This is a sample of some of the writing prompts available at lasesanaonwriting.wordpress.com Writing Prompt # 001 Picture prompt: Start a story or scene from a description of the picture above. Writing Prompt # 002 Art prompt: Write a story about what is going in the painting. Go back and write the story from the […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Tiger's Wife, Tea Obreht August 19

The Tiger’s Wife, Téa Obreht REVIEW

***** This is a book about a young woman’s relationship with her grandfather, how that relationship changes and grows as they both get older and understand each other on deeper levels.  The story begins after Natalia’s grandfather’s death, as Natalia, a young doctor, tries to understand the meaning of her life and the impact that […]