… The Millions : Politics, Art, and the Practice of Writing: A Conversation with Orson Scott Card. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I warn my writing students not to submit their work to English majors, who are likely to be true believers in the anti-communication school of literature, unless they plan to do the opposite of whatever such readers suggest. Nor should they keep showing their work to the same writing group — after a year, you’ve learned everything they have to teach you, and you have nothing of value left to offer them.
I am afraid I don't agree with his criticism of the simple present tense as a narrative device. I, for one, use it for any kind of confessional writing. What might work is a combination of the past tense, the present continuous and the simple present. Sample this writeup of mine.
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