What’s your favorite creative writing handbook?

Today’s guest on the Morning Media Menu podcast was journalist and author Tom Bissell. While talking about his new book, Magic Hours, Bissell shared the creative writing book that he made all his creative writing students read–an unexpected title about the art of film editing.

Check it out: “I have a really weird one I use that I’ll pass on to the GalleyCat audience: Michael Ondaatje‘s series of  interviews with the film editor Walter Murch. The book is called The Conversations. It’s about art and mostly film editing, but the stuff that they talk about in film editing is so incredibly applicable to fiction writing that I make all of my students read that book. It is a hugely helpful primer on what thinking like an artist means and what thinking like a creative person means and ways to avoid hackneyed thinking as a creator.”

Read more

At the Los Angeles Festival of Books, we uncovered the only three pieces of writing advice you will ever need.

In the middle of a panel discussion about “Creativity & Imagination,” one audience member asked three great nonfiction writers if they had any advice for aspiring writers.

1. Magic Hours author Tom Bissell repeated the first piece of advice twice: “Read a lot. Read a lot.”
2. I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts author Mark Dery chipped in a simple response: “Write a lot.”
3. Is That a Fish in Your Ear? author David Bellos contributed the final, and perhaps most important, piece of advice: “Don’t expect to make any money.”

Read more

More than 80 Harper’s Magazine writers and friends signed an open letter to publisher John “Rick” MacArthur supporting the unionization of the magazine’s staff and urging the publisher not to cut two editors. The publisher has since  defended his actions in another letter.

The 84 signatures on the original letter included: Tom Bissell, Heidi Julavits, Naomi Klein, Jonathan Lethem, and Zadie Smith. The letter asked MacArthur to seek alternative ways to reshape the magazine’s financial budget, suggesting the publisher study the models of other not-for-profit magazines.

Here’s a quote from the original letter: “Editorial costs can only be cut so far without damaging the quality of the publication … At a time when there is much chatter about the death of print, publishing a magazine as brave and creative as Harper’s Magazine verges on a sacred trust.” (Via New York Magazine & Sarah Weinman)

The NY Observer just profiled writers attempting to break into the lucrative video game market. The article featured journalist Tom Bissell (author of Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter) talking about a shooter game project he dreamed up with his partner.

We would love to play this: “[They] have been shopping around a ‘comedy shooter,’ complete with mission and design documents, which detail gameplay, and concept art. They’ve been kicking around the idea of asking Junot Diaz to voice the main character, because Mr. Bissell is fond of the nerd-friendly author’s performances at readings.”

The story included interviews with novelist Alex Garland and journalist N’Gai Croal about the genre. Garland offered the frank assessment that “it’s bloody difficult” to break into the industry. If you want to read more, check out our How to Write for Video Games feature.

PW Daily reports that Vintage/Anchor senior editor Andrew Miller is moving floors in the Random House building as a result of his new gig as a senior editor at Knopf. “Andrew is an exceptional editor who, in his tenure at Vintage/Anchor, has demonstrated a keen eye for topical nonfiction,” said Knopf chairman and editor-in-chief Sonny Mehta in yesterday’s announcement. Miller has edited books by Victor Davis Hanson, Tom Bissell, James Fallows and Neal Pollack, as well as worked with authors including Robert Caro, David Remnick, Lawrence Wright, Robert Kagan, Hampton Sides, and Chuck Palahniuk.