As a writer, I’m very protective of first drafts. Or have been. For some writers, first drafts are throw-aways, warm-ups, and nothing more. I’ve read of some writers that literally throw away their first drafts and start over because now the story is inside them or something. These people are monsters. The first draft is […]
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The New Thing
I’m reading this Sunday at a bar on Crescent Street. Not by myself, because that would be unbelievably awful, but with a bunch of other writers. I’m going to read a chapter from Jones. That’s what the new project is called. It’s still in first draft mode. Half way through the first draft. Meaning the […]
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Tagged cold, Cosmonaut Avenue, Crescent Street, Montreal, Waiting for the Man
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Scenes From the Making of a Novel
What does it look like to write a book? It’s a stupid question. I wrote Waiting for the Man over a long period, in many different circumstances. Some drafts were written by hand. Some were done entirely on computer. I do most of my editing by hand as well, so I’d print out the latest […]
I’m Not Making A Single Resolution
I don’t believe in resolutions. I’d like to say I don’t believe in New Year’s at all, since the calendar is a human construct, but that’s not really true (the earth does revolve around the sun after all and we’re just measuring that passage) and I’m not remotely that cool. As humans we need milestones, […]
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Tagged abs, Bourbon, December, Elvis, new year's resolutions, nostalgia, umami
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The Day North Korea Outdid Itself
Dennis Rodman went to North Korea and became friends with Kim Jong Un, a despotic – and short – heir to the world’s longest running…something. North Korea is something but it’s hard to describe. It is an odd world indeed when “Denis Rodman” is not the strangest word in a sentence but that’s the power […]
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Tagged Betamax, Bobby Ewing, CEO, CIA, Guy Delisle, James Franco, Kim Jong Un, Napoleon Complex, New Coke, Newhart, North Korea, Playstation, Seth Rogen, Sony, Steve Carell, stoned, Suzanne Pleshette, The Interview
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I Haven’t Written Anything Here for a Long Time
There. I just changed that. More to come.
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The Unthinking: der Giller Part Two
The thing about getting nominated for a major award but not really getting nominated is the potential of it. The glimpse it affords to the other side. Being longlisted for anything is like the Pluto of nominations. One day you’re a planet and the next day you’re not. You’re not even considered a planet anymore. […]
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Tagged awards, Giller Prize, length of day on Pluto, nominations, planet, Pluto
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Fidgeting My Through The Ottawa Writers Festival
From last spring. I shared the stage with Miriam Toews and Jonathan Bennett. Despite my ticks, I had a lovely time. Arjun Basu, Jonathan Bennett and Miriam Toews – Where You Stumble – April 28 2014 from OTTAWA INTL WRITERS FESTIVAL on Vimeo. This was my reading. Watch me annihilate my forehead: Arjun Basu reading […]
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Tagged Jonathan Bennett, Miriam Toews, Ottawa, Ottawa Writers Festival
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der Giller
You don’t write to be loved. Or remembered. Or compensated. I mean, all of those things are nice, but that’s not why you write. It is not a career one recommends too often if your goal is wealth. Or simplicity. Congratulations @arjunbasu! Waiting for the Man, is on the #GillerPrize longlist: http://t.co/amyfbUDoPv pic.twitter.com/QN2BvT5q5z — CBC Books […]
So You Want To Be Cool?
The Giller Prize longlist was announced today. I’m on it. It was announced in Montreal. My son goes to school across the street from where it was announced. I am in a hotel room in Anaheim, California. My phone started buzzing. I was on the list for Canada’s richest literary prize. My reaction? I did […]
