Tag Archives: Writing

Heads-Up-Display: Don’t Blink

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Gene Stewart

Rat Stew A Column for Tom Sadler’s APA zine The Reluctant Famulus TRF #96 by Gene Stewart Heads-Up-Display: Don’t Blink Shit floats and imagines itself superior. That’s what came to me as I thought about writing. As I thought about … Continue reading →

Posted in Sample Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Heads-Up-Display: Don’t Blink

Fairness Regained

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Gene Stewart

Fairness Regained, a RAT STEW column by Old 815, written for THE RELUCTANT FAMULUS edited by Tom Sadler A literary journal just bragged that it liked to publish new literary voices and asked me to subscribe. “Publish some of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Sample Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fairness Regained

Who Will It Be?

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Gene Stewart

Publishing is changing. It’s no longer profitable to cling to the 19th Century models that have prevailed until digital became universal. Now it seems trad publishing sneers at ebooks, even as it tries hard to exploit them with the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Sample Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who Will It Be?

The Secret Life of Fans

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Gene Stewart

“A life is a secret thing, even between a husband and wife. Your secret life is completely your own, and because it is unknown, will never be mourned. The secret life of each individual goes unhonored through eternity.” — Steve … Continue reading →

Posted in Sample Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Secret Life of Fans

Started Writing Fiction At Age Eight

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Gene Stewart

At age 16 I sent my very first submission to Esquire. It elicited a call-back from a sub-editor, and a two-page single-spaced response from Rust Hills, the editor, who explained that he wanted to publish it but simply could not … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Started Writing Fiction At Age Eight

It’s (not) the Thought that Counts, It’s the Stuff

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Gene Stewart

“[Fighting piracy is] becoming a full time job. There’s literally scores of sites containing pirated copies of my ebooks, and every time I get a DMCA notice served on one another springs up. It’s getting to the point where it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Sample Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s (not) the Thought that Counts, It’s the Stuff

Not Ideas

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Gene Stewart

it’s not your ideas ideas are a dime a dozen and unimportant. stop worrying about them. they are for trick fiction, for toy wind up stories. emphasizing or even noticing the “idea” is the most peurile skiffery imaginable. focusing on … Continue reading →

Posted in Sample Essays | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Not Ideas

A Ficta Mystica Rumination

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Gene Stewart

I’m glad to have discovered my Ficta Mystica sub-strata as the basis of most of what I write because it frees me to trope from dark to light without changing my approach to fiction. Encountering the Other and blundering into … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical Writing, Sample Essays | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Ficta Mystica Rumination

The Scope and Structure of Our Ignorance

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Gene Stewart

Please go read the introduction to Slow Learner by Thomas Pynchon, whence these excerpts that may be useful or interesting to writers are taken. Reading any and all Pynchon fiction is important, too. /// “…Our common nightmare The Bomb … … Continue reading →

Posted in Sample Essays | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Scope and Structure of Our Ignorance

Art’s Value

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Gene Stewart

Our uncultured society places a low value on culture and art. We pay CEOs millions to remove jobs from America and strip us of everything worth a penny but we grouse at having to pay for a story, a song, … Continue reading →

Posted in Sample Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Art’s Value