Author Archives: jguenther5

Brainstorying–The Garden of Forking Paths

Posted on December 1, 2018 by jguenther5

The writing process, whether for novels or film scripts, has been characterized by many metaphors. Examples include building a bridge, painting a picture, hanging a clothesline, mapping an unexplored territory, opening a closet, making a sculpture, building a house, laying … Continue reading →

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Writers’ Rite

Posted on August 29, 2018 by jguenther5

A friend says: “How you write so many books is beyond my understanding.” My reply may be of general interest, possibly even helpful:

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“Incense Summer”

Posted on August 16, 2018 by jguenther5

A Short Story Incense Summer J Guenther Julia doesn’t talk about it, but she still thinks of that summer as “when I learned about incense.” Many things happened between June and September that year at Benison College, but she remembers … Continue reading →

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A True Map of the City – Copyright Filed

Posted on August 10, 2018 by jguenther5

I filed the copyright application for my latest book, A True Map of the City, today. It took from 11:07 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. Practice makes it go faster. Next step: create ARCs (advanced reviewer copies) for reviewers.

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Cover Poll – True Map of the City

Posted on July 19, 2018 by jguenther5

Which cover do you think is most likely to make you want to open the book? (Note: ignore the red border on  Cover #1). What do you think it’s about? Any suggestions are most welcome.           … Continue reading →

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Book Review: My Father’s Keeper by Norbert Lebert

Posted on June 14, 2018 by jguenther5

My Father’s Keeper (2001) is the story of the children of upper echelon Nazis, the sons and daughters of Himmler, Hess, Goering, and others. German journalists Stephan Lebert and his son Norbert conducted their interviews in 1959 and 2000, respectively. … Continue reading →

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Our Yardstick is Bent: the NYT Best Sellers List

Posted on April 23, 2018 by jguenther5

The NYT once testified that their best selling book list is editorial content, not news content. In other words, it’s not an objective measure of books’ worth OR popularity. In 1983, author William Peter Blatty sued The New York Times … Continue reading →

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“Needs Tightening”

Posted on March 31, 2018 by jguenther5

These two dread words, when found without further explanation in a critique, signal oncoming angst for the writer. We all know what ‘tightening’ means in theory. In practice, it can include anything from removing a few words here and there, … Continue reading →

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The Awful Truth About Writing & Writers

Posted on February 22, 2018 by jguenther5

I was at lunch with a group of writers the other day, and something I said resonated with the group. I summarized it in the meme I’ve created, below. I’ve posted this on Twitter and Facebook; might as well put … Continue reading →

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“The Universal Plot”

Posted on October 23, 2017 by jguenther5

Take a trip back to the 80’s and see what was known then as The Universal Plot. Its origins are obscure, but I suspect that it was generated by someone in Southwest Manuscripters back around 1980. My copy shows no … Continue reading →

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