211 ratings | 1 review | avg rating:4.11

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Collin Piprell

Goodreads Author

Born

Canada

Website

http://www.collinpiprell.com/

Twitter

collinpiprell

Genre

Science Fiction, Thriller, Humor and Comedy

Member Since

July 2010

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Collin Piprell is a Canadian writer and editor living in Thailand. He has also lived in England, where he did graduate work as a Canada Council Doctoral Fellow (later, a Social Sciences and Humanities Fellow) in politics and philosophy at Pembroke College, Oxford; and in Kuwait, where he learned to sail, waterski, and make a credible red wine in plastic garbage bins.

In earlier years, he worked at a wide variety of occupations, including four jobs as a driller and stope leader in mines and tunnels in Ontario and Quebec. In later years he taught writing courses at Thammasat University, Bangkok, freelanced as a writer and editor, and published hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics (most of these pieces are pre-digital, hence effect ...more

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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Collin Piprell As a writer I get to engage with activities and ideas that interest me and, sometimes, synthesize these in the course of spinning stories. Whatever I …moreAs a writer I get to engage with activities and ideas that interest me and, sometimes, synthesize these in the course of spinning stories. Whatever I learn, and however I learn it, tends in some often pre-articulate way to shape my overall fiction project—both the books I’m writing and those I’m hoping to write in future.

Another pleasure: as I draft and revise fiction I learn more and more about the craft of writing and the art of making prose as readable as I can.

Being a writer can also enrich the experience of reading. Not that I tend to read fiction very analytically, but I can’t help but appreciate good writing on levels I might not see if I hadn’t faced similar challenges in my own writing.

But the real payoff as a writer, at least for me, comes after I’ve been banging my head against some story for days, frustrated with my wooden prose and dumb ideas. Then one morning I go straight to my computer of clipboard and start churning stuff I must’ve been struggling with all night long, on some unconscious level. It can be magical; I have no idea where some of it comes from. This may be the experience that, all those thousands of years ago, inspired the legend of the Muse.
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How do you get inspired to write?

Collin Piprell Being a fiction writer sensitizes you to finding inspiration almost anywhere. An idea for a character, a bit of color, a snatch of dialogue, an intere…moreBeing a fiction writer sensitizes you to finding inspiration almost anywhere. An idea for a character, a bit of color, a snatch of dialogue, an interesting metaphor, and arresting idea or fact — any of these things can in itself feel pregnant with story. Often I have no idea where the words are leading me, yet I’m confident on a gut level that, if only I persevere, the story will emerge.

That makes a good argument for jotting such obervations down and keeping them somewhere to hand.
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Collin Piprell’s books

Average rating: 3.42 · 224 ratings · 30 reviews · 12 distinct works

	Kicking Dogs 3.52 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 1991 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bangkok Knights 3.75 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 1989 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mom liked it 3.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2009 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Yawn: A thriller 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2000	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Too many women it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Genesis 2.0 really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bangkok old hand: A collection of stories liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nixon et autres oiseaux exotiques 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reflets de Thaïlande N°1 : La photo 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thailand's Coral Reefs: Nature Under Threat by Collin Piprell (Goodreads Author), Ashley J. Boyd 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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message 1: by Collin

Mar 19, 2013 07:10PM

I've read it twice. I also slam my fingers in car doors for fun.

Just joking. If I should live a very long time, I may well read the book a third time. Then maybe I could say what it's really all about.

I still haven't read his collection of short stories, but a quick skim suggests they're brilliant.

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Collin Piprell’s Followers (5)

Collin’s Bookshelves

Collin’s Friends (22)

Collin Piprell

Goodreads Author

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Combine EditionsCollin Piprell’s books

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Learn more
Ask the Author

Combine Editions
Collin Piprell’s books

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Collin Piprell's Blog

recent posts
Collin’s Groups