James Buchanan's Blog
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May.23.2013
Hi All,
I was recently interviewed by the owner of a small publishing company on ghostwriting and writing in general. It was fun to do and it would be great if some of you took a look.
It is here: http://www.allbook-books.com/BTL44.mp3.
Best,
James
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Jan.23.2013
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I have been working on a first chapter that is all about movement and emotion. The trick of it has been to tie the two together in a compelling way that feels authentic rather than contrived, but too often I have found myself lost in it and unable to regain the necessary perspective to effectively...
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Jan.22.2013
Following on John McPhee's very helpful and interesting piece on structure in the New Yorker I happened upon a book that has been equally as helpful when it comes to gaining greater grasp on the fundamentals. It is called Story Craft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction.
The book is...
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Jan.17.2013
You have to wonder about the mix of marketing, corporation, progressivism, social contract, and anarcho libertarianism that seems to represent the bizzare amalgam that is Whole Foods. I mean, where else do you find the CEO of a company dedicated (or at least in all of its marketing) to the...
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Jan.15.2013
The New Yorker can be something of a mixed bag. On one hand it presents one of the last and best resources for long form journalism, narrative nonfiction, poetry, and in some instances short stories. On the other, it can be pedantic, pompous, and come across as if they are constantly trying to...
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Jan.14.2013
To look at a photo of Flannery O'Connor (born in 1925 and died in 1964) would probably lead one to conclude she was a bit of a prig, especially when it comes to attitudes on human sexuality and racial equality (she was born and bread Southern).
However, I'm currently reading her collected works (a...
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Jan.10.2013
Corrections and apologies are hard, but as writers there is a simple fact that at some point in our careers we will get something wrong. Being able to acknowledge and take ownership of a mistake is a fairly important aspect of this art and profession.
I learned this in a rather difficult way when I...
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Dec.04.2012
In the morning I like to read the poem in the Writer's Almanac. This is a daily email sent out ostensibly by Garrison Keillor, though I believe by now he has become some sort of industry and must have a number of elves keeping things going. God help NPR and all writers when he retires.
At any rate...
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Nov.29.2012
Okay, they are not really worth a million dollars, but I have found that when marketing a manuscript or project these two questions really help focus the mind when it comes to helping an agent or publisher get excited about your project or manuscript.
This is something that I do for people I work...
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Nov.20.2012
Hi All, Went to a great release party last night for Look Forward, which is a book I wrote with Bob Dixon. It's a great story and worth checking out.
You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Look-Forward-Bob-Dixon/dp/1936196131/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353424148&sr=8-1&keywords=...
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Nov.18.2012
Hi All, This is a book (LINK HERE) that I ghostwrote with Bob Dixon that tells the story of how he helped guide his son and family through weeks in a trauma ICU after his son's motorcycle accident. The story begins with Bob receiving a phone call while in China on business telling him that his...
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Nov.15.2012
As I was doing my morning coffee and baked good--a thoroughly enjoyable if not totally healthy routine--I also spent the usual amount of time reading through the four or five websites I go to every morning. But then I thought: Do I really need to read all of this crap?
I go to the Washington Post (...
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Oct.26.2012
Previously I have written about the notion pushed at nearly every writers' conference and by many, many writers that if you don't keep a daily journal you are making some monumental mistake that will doom your career.
Well, maybe that is a little strong, but the advice is consistent that keeping a...
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Oct.09.2012
This morning I received an email from a friend who is working on a book that describes a literal journey he took as a means to tell the story of the metaphorical journey that he experienced.
One of the key moments of his book is when he asked a Russian man he met while walking down the street what...
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Sep.26.2012
Most of our days we simply walk through life going from one responsibility to the next with intermissions to enjoy our friends and family or to build some addition to our lives, or some such thing.
For the most part these are predictable and this predictability is welcome. Sometimes, though, life...
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About James
James Buchanan is a 47-year-old writer living in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire with his two young children-Quincy and Violet and their leopard gecko Spotty.
Born in 1965 in Philadelphia, James attended Quaker schools throughout the elementary and...
Causes James Buchanan Supports
Expanding health care in the US, ending war as a viable tool of foreign policy, and issues related to social justice in general.
James’s Favorite Books
The Kite Runner, The Orchard, Cider House Rules, Water for Elephants, The Dive from Clausen's Pier, To Kill a Mockingbird, On Chesil Beach, Under the Tuscan...