Counter Craft

COUNTER CRAFT is a newsletter where I share insights on the art of writing fiction, updates on the publishing world, unusual book recommendations, and various literary topics.

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Articles

Processing: How Sam Bett Translated Osamu Dazai

2 months ago | countercraft.substack.com | Osamu Dazai |Lincoln Michel

On a semi-regular basis, I interview authors about their writing processes and the craft behind their books. You can find previous entries here. As a dedicated reader of translated literature, I’ve been meaning to expand this series into translation. And this week I’m excited to be talking with Sam Bett, translator ofThe Beggar Studentby Osamu Dazai, which was recently published by New Directions. Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) was a major writer in pre- and post-WWII Japanese literature.
Why ChatGPT Is a Balloon and the Book Is a Bicycle

2 months ago | countercraft.substack.com | Lincoln Michel

[A quick note before the article to say that my second novel, Metallic Realms, is coming out in just three months. The novel was recently named one of the 20 most anticipated books of 2025 by Esquire, and there is currently a Goodreads giveaway. Otherwise, preorders are always welcome and deeply appreciated!]It has been over two years, seemingly millions of articles, and untold billions of investment dollars since ChatGPT came out. Yet the debate about GenAI has remained strangely stagnant.
A Luminous, Brave, and Unputdownable Article about Blurbs

2 months ago | countercraft.substack.com | Lincoln Michel

[Note: This article is blurbs—quotes of praise that appear on book covers—a somewhat inside baseball topic. Please feel free to skip if the topic doesn’t interest you.]Blurbs. Can’t live with them, can’t live a luminous tour-de-force life of tender-hearted lyricism and soul-nourishing honesty without them. Or maybe you can?
Fix Your Hearts or Die!: A Short Ode to David Lynch (RIP)

Jan 16, 2025 | countercraft.substack.com | Lincoln Michel

David Lynch passed away today at the age of 78. He was one of those artists whose name calls for effusive adjectives—visionary, legendary, genius—and whose influence on American art is incalculable. What would “prestige TV” be without Twin Peaks? What would modern cinema be without Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and more? What would American art be without the countless artists he inspired? When a great artist dies, it is common for people to lament.
Recommendation: The Odyssey (Read by Ian McKellen)

Jan 14, 2025 | countercraft.substack.com | Lincoln Michel |Lyta Gold

If you somehow missed it, there was amusing discourse last month about whether anyone should be expected to have heard of some old-ass poem named the Odyssey. It was kicked off when Matt Ramos—an influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers—expressed surprise that Christopher Nolan was adapting a random poem. Apparently, quite a lot of people had never heard of, much less read, the Odyssey.
Art in the Age of Slop

Jan 9, 2025 | countercraft.substack.com | Lincoln Michel

New year, new literary scandals. This week, Katy Waldman in the New Yorker has an interesting and depressing article about a plagiarism scandal in the Romantasy world. If you’re unfamiliar, Romantasy is the buzzy marketing category that’s more or less what the portmanteau of Romance and Fantasy implies. (Yes, there is monster sex.) Romantasy has existed for a while—remember Twilight?—by concept if not name.
Four Translated Novels I Enjoyed This Year

Dec 1, 2024 | countercraft.substack.com | Dino Buzzati |Lincoln Michel

Every now and then I try to use this newsletter for good, by which I mean recommending great yet overlooked books. Especially translated books on small presses since Americans (myself included) really do not read enough translated literature. There is an entire world of literature out there, quite literally. Don’t you want to sample as much of it as you can? I’ve got an essay in the drafts about how reading translated literature is one of the best things a young writer can do for their writing.
Imitation Games

Nov 22, 2024 | countercraft.substack.com | Lincoln Michel

Imagine that I find a group of people who are unfamiliar with the works of Leo Tolstoy. Perhaps they’ve read no works of Russian literature or indeed much 19th-century literature at all. I ask them to read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and Peace and War by Lincoln Michel, which is Tolstoy’s novel lightly revised with some self-help bromides sprinkled in. I ask them which they prefer and 50% choose Tolstoy and 50% choose Michel.
Adjusting the Levels in Revision

Nov 15, 2024 | countercraft.substack.com | Lincoln Michel

I’ve had a short break from updating this newsletter, in part because, well, the state of the world. But mostly because I’ve been in the revision mines—more specifically the “first pass” mines—on my forthcoming novel, Metallic Realms. I will not ramble about that book here, but it got me thinking about the fun yet fraught process of revision. Revision is both the most exciting and somehow the most depressing part of writing, at least for me.
Processing: How David Small Illustrated and Wrote The Werewolf at Dusk

Oct 31, 2024 | countercraft.substack.com | Lincoln Michel |David Small

On a semi-regular basis, I interview authors about their writing processes and the craft behind their books. You can find previous entries here. This week I’m excited to be talking with the award-winning writer and illustrator, whose recent and excellent illustrated book of dark stories, The Werewolf at Dusk, is a perfect Halloween read for any graphic novel fan. The Werewolf at Dusk is a collection of three eerie tales all illustrated by Small in his expressive and emotive style.