The Daily Port of Call: April 18, 2014

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

In today’s Daily Port of Call, you’ll find recordings from Seamus Heaney and Dylan Thomas, how Eleanor Catton wrote The Luminaries, and how to determine if your idea can support a novel.

Voices from the past: Discover recordings of Seamus Heaney and Dylan Thomas.

Here are five authors and their pseudonyms.

Eleanor Catton reveals how she wrote her Man Booker Prize winning novel, The Luminaries.

What do authors really wear as they labor on their works in progress?

Here are guidelines to determine whether your idea can support a whole novel.

Attention Potter fans: Ginny Weasley reports live from the 2014 Quidditch World Cup.

The Daily Port of Call: April 1, 2014

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

In today’s Daily Port of Call, you’ll find a debate about whether you should write what you know, intellectual property and copyright basics, and an interview with an editor.

Write what you know. Is this helpful advice or idle cliché?

Here is Annie Dillard on the art of the essay and narrative nonfiction vs. poetry and short stories.

Need to know some intellectual property and copyright basics? Wise Ink has you covered.

Find out the secret of Christina Baker Kline’s success with Orphan Train: a change in format, a change in subject matter, and a key retailer promotion.

Here is an interview with Allie Sommer, an editor with Little, Brown, on editing philosophy, pet peeves, and more.

Don’t know what to read next? Here is a chart with the best books of the 21st century (so far) and how to choose according to your mood.