Blog Archives

MICHAEL LIN

A Journey Through the Familiar: William T. Vollmann’s California In 2006, Sean Wilsey and Matt Weiland came up with an idea to write a book. It took them two years to pull together a collection of travelogues, detailed narratives, and encapsulating essays. State by State: a Panoramic Portrait of America, was to be a compilation Read more…

MICHAEL LIN

Setting: A story’s support and meaning  By Michael Lin “Authors use setting to create meaning, just as painters use backgrounds and objects to render ideas.” ~Eudora Welty  Often overlooked and brushed past, setting is the main supporting column of any great story. Without setting, the characters wouldn’t have a place to be at all, anywhere, Read more…

MICHAEL LIN

Gretath Yunberg I stepped outside and took a long, deep breath of the cool refreshing air. Everything was caked with a thick layer of glistening and shining white snow. The majestic pine trees with their skinny branches struggled to push against the snow that weighed them down. I stepped out and my heavy boots were Read more…

MICHAEL LIN

The McCormicks Past Palm Street, an already isolated road, the McCormick house stood alone. It was a huge abode, built with the highest quality materials and led to by a gargantuan driveway with iron gates. The McCormicks lived in Stowe, a small town in Vermont. Palm Street was a road originally used to get around Read more…

MICHAEL LIN

Magic through a Professor’s eyes John Bellairs (1938-1991) was a brilliant author of juvenile and adult literature who wrote many novels and series and parodies over the course of his shortened life. Bellairs created three series: the Anthony Monday series, which contained 4 books, the Lewis Barnavelt series, and the Johnny Dixon series, both of Read more…