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Articles by Seth Fried
Figuring Out What Your Story is Trying to Say
Let’s say you want to write a short story about a man being attacked in the woods by some sort of skeleton bird monster. First of all, great idea. Skeleton bird monster? I’m in. So you write a first draft. You don’t stop to polish your sentences or to think of the perfect sensory details. You’re just getting your material down as quickly as you can. Here’s the story that emerges from that exploratory draft: A man is camping in the woods.
Finishing Your Book: The Surprising Power of Stupidity
Once while using a stapler I accidentally drove a staple all the way through the middle of my thumb. In high school, while picking up a girl for a date, her concerned-looking father asked me which of two rival sports teams I supported. Instead of telling him I didn’t follow sports, I told him I liked both. What else? In the third grade, I was bored during music class, so I began tying the drawstring of my shorts to the chair in front of me. I then occupied myself by untying the knot.
How to Find Your Voice as a Writer
Originality often gets talked about as if it’s a rare trait among artists, which I find strange. In my experience as a writer and teacher, originality seems more or less unavoidable. When I assign 15 fiction students the same writing prompt, without fail I get 15 different stories back.
The Problem of Outrage
Early in the week, I was pretty sure I was going to put a little outrage into the world via this newsletter. My motives were various: I felt genuinely outraged. Expressing my outrage on Twitter resulted in significantly higher than normal engagement with, adding a number of new followers to my tally.
Sea Monster - The Razor — Literary Magazine — Gotham Writers Workshop
About the Reader Meliora Dockery is an audio narrator, actor, and monologist. Originally from England, she now lives in Brooklyn, NY. She can be heard as the narrator for The Longest Shortes Flight of Rudolf Hess, available on Spotify (Starting at 10:25). and she is a featured artist on ‘The Moth Radio Hour‘ .
Book Marks reviews of The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel
Publisher Orbit Date September 21, 2021 In a New York ravaged by climate change and repeat pandemics, Kobo is barely scraping by. He scouts the latest in gene-edited talent for Big Pharma-owned baseball teams, but his own cybernetics are a decade out of date and twin sister loan sharks are banging down his door. Things couldn't get much worse.Then his brother is murdered at home plate.
I’m a Character in a Satirical Monologue and, Frankly, I Could Be So Much More
Hi, I’m a character in a satirical monologue and, you know, it’s nice to be involved, it really is, but I can’t help thinking that I’m a little underdeveloped. Now, don’t get me wrong. I know the piece only really calls for a person who is reasonably articulate and self-aware, and I think it’s clear that I am reasonably articulate and self-aware, so that’s fine. Box ticked. But there’s got to be more to me than that, surely.
Updates, humor pieces, craft advice
Welcome to Seth’s Free Sporadic Newsletter. I promise this newsletter will be good. Or maybe not “good,” but at the very least it will be too infrequent to be annoying. In the meantime, tell your friends!
Where the Wild Ladies Are by
One nice thing this decade was discovering the funny, surreal, slyly ingenuous, sometimes eerily incantatory fiction of Aoko Matsuda. In this short novella, Matsuda’s longest work to be translated so far, the narrator travels up five flights of stairs to see the titular girl who is getting married, while reflecting on their relationship--now intimate, now distant, now ontologically suspect.
Introduction to Fiction: How to Write the First Draft of a Short Story
If you're interested in writing a short story and don't know where to start, this is the class for you. Seth Fried is a widely published short story writer and novelist, whose debut novel, The Municipalists, was recently published by Penguin Books. This class will introduce you to all the basic skills you’ll need to write a draft of a short story.
THE MUNICIPALISTS
Listeners will be instantly transported to Metropolis, a city of tomorrow full of promise, technological advancement, and imagination. Narrator Robert Petkoff pulls listeners right in, introducing Harry, a lifelong employee of the U.S. Municipal Service who is dedicated to improving infrastructure, and Owen, a projection of the agency's supercomputer "who" represents artificial intelligence in all its glory.
Building the alternate-universe New York: Novelists Seth Fried and K Chess in conversation
"The Municipalists" by Seth Fried; "Famous Men Who Never Lived" by K. Chess (Penguin Random House; Tin House Book) The authors "The Municipalists" and "Famous Men Who Never Lived," discuss writing about immigration, AI and more Seth Fried • K Chess April 1, 2019 9:00PM (UTC) Seth Fried: This spring will see the release of what I feel are two very exciting debut novels. The first is "Famous Men Who Never Lived" by K Chess, a book about immigrants from a parallel world.
The Municipalists
“Even if you’ve never spent one day in a city, but are just someone who wants to laugh and marvel at Fried’s imagination and wit, this book is also for you. Really, it’s for everyone.”—NYLON, “50 Novels You’ll Want to Read in 2019” “A new and irreverent take on both real-world politics and sci-fi history.”—The Wall Street Journal “A fresh and funny take on the near-future crime novel.
Futurecasting - Event Search (For Guest Page) - New York Comic Con - October 4 - 7, 2018 - Javits Center
Futurecasting Add to calendar Add to shortlist Futurecasting October 07, 2018, 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM Room 1A18 – Javits Center Language: English Is science fiction innately optimistic, even if the outlook is dire? After all, even if characters are struggling in a non-utopian environment, one can argue that the fact the mere existence of humans in the future is a triumph of the species in itself.
Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre
Last year, the people in charge of the picnic blew us up. Every year it gets worse. That is, more people die. The Frost Mountain Picnic has always been a matter of uncertainty in our town, and the massacre is the worst part.
9 Stories About Exploring Extremes – Electric Literature
Adventures in hell, the high seas, and outer space from Mary Gaitskill, Mario Levrero, Jensen Beach, and more. With summer comes the promise of adventures and the allure of exploring. It’s often said that fiction is transportive, but wandering through the Recommended Reading archives, that feels like an understatement.
Trump University Valedictorian Speech, Class of 2009
Wow, just look at all of us here today. We’ve learned so much over the past few escalating education packages. It seems like just yesterday that we first came to this unlicensed for-profit learning annex—all of us nervous and being shouted at by a man reading from a binder. Remember how we thought the sales reps were all so scary at first?
The 5 Mortal Sins of the New York Subway | The Towner
In the hectic lives of New Yorkers, a calm subway ride at the end of the day can be a rare opportunity for some quiet contemplation. But these much needed moments of peace have come to be interrupted more and more frequently by a loud and ultimately rhetorical question: “What time is it? Showtime! What time is it? Showtime!” Before anyone knows what’s happening a stereo is switched on and placed on the floor of the car.
Hello Again - Lightspeed Magazine
After a long and tumultuous expansion, the universe began to contract. The speed with which it had cast itself out was finally overpowered by the inward gravitational pull of its own suspended matter, and so the stars and planets paused like weary travelers before beginning to drift the long way back toward one another. They drew together in great clumps, colliding with such force that they collapsed into black holes.
Make America Grape Again
At the age of 23, I lit a dozen firecrackers and put them in my ears, nose, and mouth as a goof. When I showed my roommate, Josh, I pointed at the nametag on my chest where I’d written, “Mr. Firecracker Face.” He laughed for quite a while and then told me that he was going to get his camera.
Manhattan in 11031 A.D.
As is well known, the ancient city of New York was consumed by rising ocean waters more than eight thousand years ago. My expedition set sail from the port of Scranton on April 12, 11031, in hopes of solving certain mysteries surrounding this lost city.
Office-Safety Tips for Your Soul-Sucking Desk Job
A messy workspace can easily lead to a serious accident, such as a slip, fall, or electrical fire. To make sure that your desk area is in fact clutter-free, get rid of anything that might remind you of the personal life you once had. Not only will you be safer, you’ll also be less distracted and will have much more room for actual work material. It can be difficult to throw things away, but you don’t want your diploma getting lonely in the garbage can.
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