Lon Otto: “Avoiding Literary Thin Ice”

Lon Otto

In this podcast, Lon Otto leads a discussion on how to avoid “literary thin ice”- the insecurities resulting from insufficient originality, tension or authority in a work. Otto suggests strategies for dealing with problematic pieces when one hears “those cracking sounds” that indicate unstable writing territory. Otto offers ways for writers to sustain the reader’s (and their own) belief and interest without “breaking through.”

Listen: Lon Otto: "Avoiding Literary Thin Ice"

Lon Otto (Ph.D., Indiana University) has published two collections of stories — A Nest of Hooks (University of Iowa Press), and Cover Me (Coffee House Press). Magazines and anthologies with his writing include Prairie Schooner, Great River Review, American Fiction, Flash Fiction, Townships, and Flash Fiction Forward. He has lived in Costa Rica, taught in Mexico, Spain, and Portugal, and is now a Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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August 06, 2007
Fiction | Poetry | Summer Writing Festival Email this article

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