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Melissa Duclos

received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, and now works as a freelance writer and editor. Her clients include many first time authors, and she delights in helping them give voice to their stories. She has recently completed work on her own first novel, Besotted, literary fiction set in Shanghai, for which she is currently seeking representation. She lives in Portland, OR, with her husband, two children, and Yorkshire Terrier, Saunders.

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Melissa Duclos

Fiction

Why the geometry of the love triangle pulls us in

Contained within the simple geometry of a love triangle are all the ingredients for an engrossing plot. There are characters (desired and desiring, therefore compelling); conflict (fights and lies and changes of heart); and resolution (someone will win, someone will lose, the triangle will be broken apart). Is it any…
Melissa Duclos
April 1, 2014
Nonfiction

Taking care of our parents, and ourselves

“In any given year, almost 30% of the U.S. population will be caring for an ill, disabled, or aging friend or family member.” So we are informed by Ariel Gore in her new memoir The End of Eve (Hawthorne Books, March). She goes on to explain: “The typical caregiver, it…
Melissa Duclos
March 4, 2014
Miscellany

It’s (no, not its) National Grammar Day!

Americans have a strange relationship with grammar. Anyone who spends a significant amount of time on Facebook, or perusing the comments section on YouTube (or any website, really, where people are allowed to comment) might conclude that as a culture, we are losing our grasp on the English language. Does…
Melissa Duclos
March 4, 2014
Fiction

Lessons from Ann Patchett for the new year

 Perhaps a more accurate title for Ann Patchett’s latest book, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage (HarperCollins, November), would be This Is More Than the Story of a Happy Marriage. A collection of essays on writing, her dog, divorce, and yes, her now happy marriage, the book isn’t…
Melissa Duclos
January 7, 2014