What's playing on the ipod: Lips Like Sugar, Echo and the Bunnymen
Another busy day, and I've just about given up on doing my French homework in time for this evening's class. I need to read one of the magazines Monsieur C. gave me so that I'll have something for discussion, but other than that, the homework might have to wait. Interestingly, we have a friendly Parisian couple (no, that's not an oxymoron) at the inn. It seriously tested my French to have to explain the remote control to them last night. I was tempted to switch to English.
I'm leaning toward going to Tunisia for my fall trip. That might still change, but I'm interested enough that I'm going to get the Lonely Planet guidebook for the country from Amazon.
Only two more months until Gibraltar Point. I'm hoping to finish a first draft of DW by July 10 and then have a few more weeks to polish the first few chapters to submit to the group. I'd love to have a sale of THE RIGHTEOUS to report to my writing friends. All I had for last year's workshop was a brainstorm. It will be awesome to have it sold and another book almost written one year later.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 38,000 words
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Lots of Work
What's playing on the ipod: Mandinka
I made the marathon trip to Costco today to restock the inn stuff. Got some writing done this morning, plus have made it through the first 100 pages of L's book. That's the good news.
The bad news is that the house is trashed, my garden needs digging, and I'm way behind on my list of spring projects that need to be done around the inn. Some of them are fairly involved, too. Oh, and I've got a fussy boy with a squishy diaper who is grabbing my hand to move it away from the keyboard. So, that's all for now.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 36,400 words
I made the marathon trip to Costco today to restock the inn stuff. Got some writing done this morning, plus have made it through the first 100 pages of L's book. That's the good news.
The bad news is that the house is trashed, my garden needs digging, and I'm way behind on my list of spring projects that need to be done around the inn. Some of them are fairly involved, too. Oh, and I've got a fussy boy with a squishy diaper who is grabbing my hand to move it away from the keyboard. So, that's all for now.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 36,400 words
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Lots of Work
What's playing on the ipod: Radio Free Europe, REM
Most of my commitments are coming together to make for a busy week. My friend LB just emailed me her latest novel for comments/editing. She's got a tight deadline, so I've got roughly a week to turn it around. It's pretty good and I'm sure it will take its place among her other novels as a top 5 NY Times bestseller.
As you can see below, DW continues to progress apace. This is also the week when I need to double dig the garden and plant my lettuce. They look fantastic in the planter, but I'm a little worried what happens when they get planted, the vegetable garden being adjacent to the wilder Buddha Garden and its resident population of slugs and other hungry fauna. I've released a couple of toads and salamanders in the Buddha Garden this spring; hopefully, they stuck around.
I'm also behind on my French for the week, with Thursday's class looming large, but what else is new.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 34,900 words
Most of my commitments are coming together to make for a busy week. My friend LB just emailed me her latest novel for comments/editing. She's got a tight deadline, so I've got roughly a week to turn it around. It's pretty good and I'm sure it will take its place among her other novels as a top 5 NY Times bestseller.
As you can see below, DW continues to progress apace. This is also the week when I need to double dig the garden and plant my lettuce. They look fantastic in the planter, but I'm a little worried what happens when they get planted, the vegetable garden being adjacent to the wilder Buddha Garden and its resident population of slugs and other hungry fauna. I've released a couple of toads and salamanders in the Buddha Garden this spring; hopefully, they stuck around.
I'm also behind on my French for the week, with Thursday's class looming large, but what else is new.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 34,900 words
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Using My Imagination
What's playing on the ipod: The Sweetest Drop, Peter Murphy
I've mentioned before that some of my best idea gathering comes when I'm walking around the beaver pond, taking a shower, or lying in bed before falling asleep. This is when I come up with snippets of dialogue or interesting plot developments.
The other thing I do during these times (and used to do during boring work meetings or when listening to an especially boring professor) is wander into imaginary places in my own life. I imagine myself in some ruined castle or speaking fluently in a foreign language. And, very often, these daydreams include writing success. I imagine myself taking a call from my agent about a great offer to publish THE RIGHTEOUS, or opening the NY Times to see my book on the list.
I've done this for a long time and while these daydreams have almost never come true, I'm convinced that they are a major factor behind my persistence. Even when things looked especially bleak because I had no projects in the works, nothing submitted, and stories I considered strong and publishable languished in the dust bin of my hard drive, I could almost always conjure a future in which professional triumph gave meaning to these early failures. There was just enough truth in these dreams that I've always managed to start one more story. This one, I told myself, would be the one.
If I ever make it as a writer it will come because I simply stuck with it longer than most people with my same native skill, intelligence, and creativity. And all thanks to the ability to stare out the window and imagine myself somewhere better.
Devil's Workshop Wordcount: 32,100 words
I've mentioned before that some of my best idea gathering comes when I'm walking around the beaver pond, taking a shower, or lying in bed before falling asleep. This is when I come up with snippets of dialogue or interesting plot developments.
The other thing I do during these times (and used to do during boring work meetings or when listening to an especially boring professor) is wander into imaginary places in my own life. I imagine myself in some ruined castle or speaking fluently in a foreign language. And, very often, these daydreams include writing success. I imagine myself taking a call from my agent about a great offer to publish THE RIGHTEOUS, or opening the NY Times to see my book on the list.
I've done this for a long time and while these daydreams have almost never come true, I'm convinced that they are a major factor behind my persistence. Even when things looked especially bleak because I had no projects in the works, nothing submitted, and stories I considered strong and publishable languished in the dust bin of my hard drive, I could almost always conjure a future in which professional triumph gave meaning to these early failures. There was just enough truth in these dreams that I've always managed to start one more story. This one, I told myself, would be the one.
If I ever make it as a writer it will come because I simply stuck with it longer than most people with my same native skill, intelligence, and creativity. And all thanks to the ability to stare out the window and imagine myself somewhere better.
Devil's Workshop Wordcount: 32,100 words
Saturday, May 26, 2007
The Joys of Solo Travel
What's playing on the ipod: Old Man, Neil Young
Something I wrote last year:
We live in a comfort zone. Every day we go to work and talk to the same people and then we return home to the same people that we saw the previous day and the one before that. We might talk to strangers at the supermarket or when calling with a question about our car insurance, but these are closely proscribed conversations that follow a set pattern: greeting, business transaction, closing comment. If we’re bold we might make a comment about the weather. It’s as if we are still six years old and cannot talk to strangers.
How many times does this continue when we go on vacation? You travel with your spouse or maybe a friend and ninety percent of the time you spend talking to the people with whom you’ve come. If you’re trying to learn a language you may get few chances to practice. Instead of enjoying the local culture, you may find yourself watching dubbed Friends reruns in the hotel and stopping at every other McDonald’s you find. All it takes is one unadventurous person in the group.
Wonderful opportunities open up when you travel by yourself. When I was in Thailand I spent a couple of days with a British couple, bicycled around the ruins of Sukhothai with a Dutch and a German, and took a trek with seven other travelers into the mountains north of the city and made some great friendships.
There are conversations and friendships I have made in Guatemala and Costa Rica that I wouldn’t have enjoyed if I had not been alone. In Mexico I have made friends with several locals who have invited me to dinner at their homes and showed me how to cook Mexican dishes like mole. In April, 2005, I had a long conversation with an old silversmith outside of Taxco, Mexico. Between the heavily accented Spanish, the clank of small hammers on silver, and a fair number of missing teeth, I had to pay very close attention to follow the conversation. After about forty minutes he apologized for monopolizing my time and told me that in seventy-two years he’d never had such a long conversation with a gringo.
Of course it’s possible to make these kinds of connections when I travel with a partner, but I usually don’t, at least not as many or to the same depth. There is that initial discomfort of talking to a stranger to overcome and I usually don’t bother because I don’t need to.
The funny thing is, after a few days of solo travel, I find myself becoming a different person. I am more open to different experiences. I greet strangers with confidence. Instead of rigidly planning my schedule, I find myself following a different rhythm. I accept recommendations and invitations. I may get up later and stay out in the evening at a time when I’m usually in bed.
My solo travel began almost by accident. In late 2000, I went to Thailand on short notice. I had been planning a trip to Turkey but due to security concerns in the Middle East, the defense contractor for whom I worked would not permit me to travel to that part of the country. The airline was very understanding and offered me a range of other destinations. On a whim, I chose Bangkok, even though I knew almost nothing about the country. My wife took the children to visit her parents in Oregon and did not come.
It was such a long flight from the United States to Tokyo and then on to Bangkok and the pre-trip planning had been so harried that I didn’t even think about where I would stay until the plane was entering its final decent. Making a quick decision, I shared a taxi to the legendary Koi San Road in Bangkok, where I spent a single night and talked to as many travelers as I could the next morning before deciding to head north to see ruins and wildlife instead of south toward Thailand’s legendary beaches.
When I was in Chiang Mai, I met a young Thai couple with the improbable names of Ben and Ned who approached me wanting to practice their English. They took me to see the Buddhist temple at Doi Suthep where I rang the bells and a monk blessed me by sprinkling me with water. I never would have dared participate in these rituals without native Thai to encourage me, afraid that I would commit a religious taboo.
Every time I asked my new friends why we were ringing the bells or bowing to receive the monk’s blessing they would say, “To be lucky.” The intricacies of the ritual were beyond their English.
It was the Loi Krathong Festival in Chiang Mai and that night they took me out to the river to watch the parade and the krathongs floating down the river, flower rafts with lit candles. We lit khom loi—paper balloons filled with candles—and sent them to the sky. “To be lucky,” I was told.
It was enough to sell me on solo travel for good. When I travel by myself I am frequently not alone and I have never found myself lonely. Something about that night in Chiang Mai had worked, for I have, indeed, been very lucky.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 31,000 words
Something I wrote last year:
We live in a comfort zone. Every day we go to work and talk to the same people and then we return home to the same people that we saw the previous day and the one before that. We might talk to strangers at the supermarket or when calling with a question about our car insurance, but these are closely proscribed conversations that follow a set pattern: greeting, business transaction, closing comment. If we’re bold we might make a comment about the weather. It’s as if we are still six years old and cannot talk to strangers.
How many times does this continue when we go on vacation? You travel with your spouse or maybe a friend and ninety percent of the time you spend talking to the people with whom you’ve come. If you’re trying to learn a language you may get few chances to practice. Instead of enjoying the local culture, you may find yourself watching dubbed Friends reruns in the hotel and stopping at every other McDonald’s you find. All it takes is one unadventurous person in the group.
Wonderful opportunities open up when you travel by yourself. When I was in Thailand I spent a couple of days with a British couple, bicycled around the ruins of Sukhothai with a Dutch and a German, and took a trek with seven other travelers into the mountains north of the city and made some great friendships.
There are conversations and friendships I have made in Guatemala and Costa Rica that I wouldn’t have enjoyed if I had not been alone. In Mexico I have made friends with several locals who have invited me to dinner at their homes and showed me how to cook Mexican dishes like mole. In April, 2005, I had a long conversation with an old silversmith outside of Taxco, Mexico. Between the heavily accented Spanish, the clank of small hammers on silver, and a fair number of missing teeth, I had to pay very close attention to follow the conversation. After about forty minutes he apologized for monopolizing my time and told me that in seventy-two years he’d never had such a long conversation with a gringo.
Of course it’s possible to make these kinds of connections when I travel with a partner, but I usually don’t, at least not as many or to the same depth. There is that initial discomfort of talking to a stranger to overcome and I usually don’t bother because I don’t need to.
The funny thing is, after a few days of solo travel, I find myself becoming a different person. I am more open to different experiences. I greet strangers with confidence. Instead of rigidly planning my schedule, I find myself following a different rhythm. I accept recommendations and invitations. I may get up later and stay out in the evening at a time when I’m usually in bed.
My solo travel began almost by accident. In late 2000, I went to Thailand on short notice. I had been planning a trip to Turkey but due to security concerns in the Middle East, the defense contractor for whom I worked would not permit me to travel to that part of the country. The airline was very understanding and offered me a range of other destinations. On a whim, I chose Bangkok, even though I knew almost nothing about the country. My wife took the children to visit her parents in Oregon and did not come.
It was such a long flight from the United States to Tokyo and then on to Bangkok and the pre-trip planning had been so harried that I didn’t even think about where I would stay until the plane was entering its final decent. Making a quick decision, I shared a taxi to the legendary Koi San Road in Bangkok, where I spent a single night and talked to as many travelers as I could the next morning before deciding to head north to see ruins and wildlife instead of south toward Thailand’s legendary beaches.
When I was in Chiang Mai, I met a young Thai couple with the improbable names of Ben and Ned who approached me wanting to practice their English. They took me to see the Buddhist temple at Doi Suthep where I rang the bells and a monk blessed me by sprinkling me with water. I never would have dared participate in these rituals without native Thai to encourage me, afraid that I would commit a religious taboo.
Every time I asked my new friends why we were ringing the bells or bowing to receive the monk’s blessing they would say, “To be lucky.” The intricacies of the ritual were beyond their English.
It was the Loi Krathong Festival in Chiang Mai and that night they took me out to the river to watch the parade and the krathongs floating down the river, flower rafts with lit candles. We lit khom loi—paper balloons filled with candles—and sent them to the sky. “To be lucky,” I was told.
It was enough to sell me on solo travel for good. When I travel by myself I am frequently not alone and I have never found myself lonely. Something about that night in Chiang Mai had worked, for I have, indeed, been very lucky.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 31,000 words
Sun Worship
What's playing on the ipod: Suite Española, Andres Segovia
My ancestry is about 60% Scottish, 25% English, and 15% Danish and Swedish, and you can see my heritage in my attitude to heat. I'd prefer a brisk day of 55F to 80F and sunny. Anything above 90 and I want to sit in front of a fan drinking cool drinks until it goes away.
And yet a lot of people of European extraction have this desire to sit on a beach in the direct sun. The warmer the better. I can only think there were some people who survived Vitamin D deficiency during the Ice Ages by sunning themselves on rocks. I do not carry that gene.
As the trail wraps around the Beaver Pond, it hits a narrow spit of land which separates the pond from an area of the river called the Punch Bowl, with a little cascade and a beautiful pool. There's a grassy picnic area on the other side of the river, and this the local nudist camp. I take the pond counterclockwise because you only see the nudists for a brief moment in that direction. Otherwise, it feels like I'm staring for a good five minutes before I'm past.
In the United States, public nudity seems to be the domain of the fat and middle aged, with a ratio about 75/25 in favor of men. Rather different that what I saw recently on a beach in Southern France.
My ancestry is about 60% Scottish, 25% English, and 15% Danish and Swedish, and you can see my heritage in my attitude to heat. I'd prefer a brisk day of 55F to 80F and sunny. Anything above 90 and I want to sit in front of a fan drinking cool drinks until it goes away.
And yet a lot of people of European extraction have this desire to sit on a beach in the direct sun. The warmer the better. I can only think there were some people who survived Vitamin D deficiency during the Ice Ages by sunning themselves on rocks. I do not carry that gene.
As the trail wraps around the Beaver Pond, it hits a narrow spit of land which separates the pond from an area of the river called the Punch Bowl, with a little cascade and a beautiful pool. There's a grassy picnic area on the other side of the river, and this the local nudist camp. I take the pond counterclockwise because you only see the nudists for a brief moment in that direction. Otherwise, it feels like I'm staring for a good five minutes before I'm past.
In the United States, public nudity seems to be the domain of the fat and middle aged, with a ratio about 75/25 in favor of men. Rather different that what I saw recently on a beach in Southern France.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Fall Trip
What's playing on the ipod: Obsession, Animotion
I've been giving some thought to a fall trip for when things quiet down at the inn mid-October. I've tried to talk two friends and my brother into going somewhere adventurous with me, but there were no takers. My last few trips have been twice to France and to Mexico. In the last ten years I've been to France three times, three times to the UK, once to Spain, once to Morocco, twice to Guatemala, once to Thailand, twice to Costa Rica, several times to Mexico, and once to Honduras, plus a bunch of trips to Canada.
Given that I don't count the Latin American stuff as challenging due to my Spanish and the number of times I've travelled there, the last time I did anything difficult was when I went to Thailand in late 2000. I'm feeling the need to challenge myself. Here's what I'm considering at the moment:
Bulgaria
pros: Interesting part of Europe just getting discovered.
cons: Weather could be turning cold that time of the year. Little English spoken and the second language is Russian, which I don't speak well.
Turkey
pros: Tons of great stuff to see. Well-developed tourist infrastructure.
cons: Lots of Roman stuff, which I just saw in abundance in Provence. Might go there at some later date with my family.
Tunisia
pros: Second language is French, making it easier to travel. Better weather that time of year than Europe.
cons: Lots of Roman stuff, which I just saw in abundance in Provence. The second most expensive of the five locations.
Cambodia
pros: I loved Thailand and want to go back to SE Asia. My French would be useful.
cons: 12 hours difference, which is a lot of jet lag to absorb in a shorter trip. Brutal flight. I don't know as much about things to see in the country other than Angor Wat.
Crete
pros: Smaller area making it easier to decide what to do. Some fantastic Greek stuff. Good food.
cons: Probably the most expensive of the five choices and the least challenging location.
I've already ruled out India and Peru. I'm probably leaning toward Turkey at the moment, but that will probably change several times in the months before I actually buy plane tickets.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 29,000 words
I've been giving some thought to a fall trip for when things quiet down at the inn mid-October. I've tried to talk two friends and my brother into going somewhere adventurous with me, but there were no takers. My last few trips have been twice to France and to Mexico. In the last ten years I've been to France three times, three times to the UK, once to Spain, once to Morocco, twice to Guatemala, once to Thailand, twice to Costa Rica, several times to Mexico, and once to Honduras, plus a bunch of trips to Canada.
Given that I don't count the Latin American stuff as challenging due to my Spanish and the number of times I've travelled there, the last time I did anything difficult was when I went to Thailand in late 2000. I'm feeling the need to challenge myself. Here's what I'm considering at the moment:
Bulgaria
pros: Interesting part of Europe just getting discovered.
cons: Weather could be turning cold that time of the year. Little English spoken and the second language is Russian, which I don't speak well.
Turkey
pros: Tons of great stuff to see. Well-developed tourist infrastructure.
cons: Lots of Roman stuff, which I just saw in abundance in Provence. Might go there at some later date with my family.
Tunisia
pros: Second language is French, making it easier to travel. Better weather that time of year than Europe.
cons: Lots of Roman stuff, which I just saw in abundance in Provence. The second most expensive of the five locations.
Cambodia
pros: I loved Thailand and want to go back to SE Asia. My French would be useful.
cons: 12 hours difference, which is a lot of jet lag to absorb in a shorter trip. Brutal flight. I don't know as much about things to see in the country other than Angor Wat.
Crete
pros: Smaller area making it easier to decide what to do. Some fantastic Greek stuff. Good food.
cons: Probably the most expensive of the five choices and the least challenging location.
I've already ruled out India and Peru. I'm probably leaning toward Turkey at the moment, but that will probably change several times in the months before I actually buy plane tickets.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 29,000 words
Thursday, May 24, 2007
A Little Wildlife
What's playing on the ipod: Welcome to the Jungle, Guns N' Roses
All sorts of birds hit the birdfeeder this time of year: rose breasted grosbeaks, nuthatches, blue jays, grackles, indigo buntings, and of course, the ever-present chickadees. I haven't yet seen any evening grosbeaks, but I think they usually show up a little later.
Of course, we also have a couple of chipmunks and now a red squirrel feasting on bird seed. I wouldn't mind if they weren't so darn greedy. The chipmunks will stuff their cheeks, disappear for about ten minutes, then come back and do it again. The squirrel can sit there eating for about twenty minutes while birds flap around, frustrated but unable to do anything.
Two years ago, when suffering a chipmunk infestation, I spent some effort trying to squirrel-proof the feeders with little luck. It was easier to live trap and then relocate them to the beaver pond or the other side of the river. I used to do this with rats, too, but people give you funny looks when you fling rats onto their property. Now, alas, the rats suffer a crueler fate.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 27,900 words
All sorts of birds hit the birdfeeder this time of year: rose breasted grosbeaks, nuthatches, blue jays, grackles, indigo buntings, and of course, the ever-present chickadees. I haven't yet seen any evening grosbeaks, but I think they usually show up a little later.
Of course, we also have a couple of chipmunks and now a red squirrel feasting on bird seed. I wouldn't mind if they weren't so darn greedy. The chipmunks will stuff their cheeks, disappear for about ten minutes, then come back and do it again. The squirrel can sit there eating for about twenty minutes while birds flap around, frustrated but unable to do anything.
Two years ago, when suffering a chipmunk infestation, I spent some effort trying to squirrel-proof the feeders with little luck. It was easier to live trap and then relocate them to the beaver pond or the other side of the river. I used to do this with rats, too, but people give you funny looks when you fling rats onto their property. Now, alas, the rats suffer a crueler fate.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 27,900 words
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
More on the Money Thing
What's playing on the ipod: Firewoman, The Cult
I've thought more about why I find the Fantastic Four quarters so obnoxious. Coins are artifacts that people will collect and study for thousands of years. Long after our freeways have crumbled to dust and the lunar landing has become half-remembered myth, people will hold American coins in their hands and think, "My god, I'm holding something from ancient America." And then they'll flip it over and there will be a crummy advertisement on the back of it. And their respect for what we have accomplished will diminish slightly.
The picture is money from the future world of Idiocracy, a movie you should see if you haven't already.
Birthdays
What's playing on the ipod: She Sells Sanctuary, The Cult
So, my birthday is coming and I can't think of a single (realistic) thing that I want. Mostly, I just want to avoid getting older. I like my current age. Mid-thirties and people finally treat me seriously. I have energy. I'm not poor anymore. I'm more mellow and more easily able to dismiss life's little disappointments in gratitude for what I have right now.
So can't I just hang out here for a few more years? No? Well, that kinda sucks.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 26,700 words
So, my birthday is coming and I can't think of a single (realistic) thing that I want. Mostly, I just want to avoid getting older. I like my current age. Mid-thirties and people finally treat me seriously. I have energy. I'm not poor anymore. I'm more mellow and more easily able to dismiss life's little disappointments in gratitude for what I have right now.
So can't I just hang out here for a few more years? No? Well, that kinda sucks.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 26,700 words
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The Infestation is Nearly Complete
What's playing on the ipod: Mandinka, Sinead O'Connor
Under the you've-got-to-be-kidding department, the U.S. Mint is issuing 40,000 legal tender quarters with a Fantastic Four advertisement on the back.
Now, people who know me know that I hate advertising. I also think most of it is a waste of effort and worse, inspires an advertising arms race with it becoming harder and harder to get the commercial-saturated public to pay attention. My biggest pet peeve used to be advertisements that you couldn't escape: public restrooms, billboards, etc. It then moved to being forced to take advertisements while you were consuming a product for which you had paid good money and which had no relationship to the product: commercials (not trailers) in front of movies, commercials during breaks at a football game, commercials over the PA system on the airplane. Beyond annoying. Just yesterday I noted that the stickers on my tomatoes from the supermarket (individually labeled produce itself being an annoying trend) were running a commercial for Shrek III.
But this takes the cake. It's not like the mint doesn't have a legitimate source of income by holding the right of seigniorage. They make money for god's sake. And doesn't our nation have a little more dignity than to make our money into advertisements?
I feel like Ralphy on A Christmas Story, who feverishly uses his Little Orphan Annie Decoder Wheel to decipher Annie's secret message: "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!"
A crummy commercial.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 25,300 words
Under the you've-got-to-be-kidding department, the U.S. Mint is issuing 40,000 legal tender quarters with a Fantastic Four advertisement on the back.
Now, people who know me know that I hate advertising. I also think most of it is a waste of effort and worse, inspires an advertising arms race with it becoming harder and harder to get the commercial-saturated public to pay attention. My biggest pet peeve used to be advertisements that you couldn't escape: public restrooms, billboards, etc. It then moved to being forced to take advertisements while you were consuming a product for which you had paid good money and which had no relationship to the product: commercials (not trailers) in front of movies, commercials during breaks at a football game, commercials over the PA system on the airplane. Beyond annoying. Just yesterday I noted that the stickers on my tomatoes from the supermarket (individually labeled produce itself being an annoying trend) were running a commercial for Shrek III.
But this takes the cake. It's not like the mint doesn't have a legitimate source of income by holding the right of seigniorage. They make money for god's sake. And doesn't our nation have a little more dignity than to make our money into advertisements?
I feel like Ralphy on A Christmas Story, who feverishly uses his Little Orphan Annie Decoder Wheel to decipher Annie's secret message: "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!"
A crummy commercial.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 25,300 words
The Horse Latitudes
What's playing on the ipod: Radio Free Europe
I made the mistake of looking at some abandoned novels of mine from over the years. Seems that most of them fizzled out at about 20-25K words. Let's call that point of the book the Horse Latitudes, where you're too far from port to turn back and the wind has died from your sails, leaving you dead in the water.
In almost every case, I was surprised to see just how far I'd gone before my stories had collapsed. I even turned up an early, aborted attempt at THE RIGHTEOUS, which was both longer and longer ago than I'd remembered. I'd been thinking that I was working on during the winter of 2005/2006 and that I'd written two or three chapters, say 10K words. No, it was October/November of 2004 and I stopped at about 22,000 words, or almost exactly where I am with DEVIL'S WORKSHOP. Both of those facts are depressing to me.
So here I am again and what has changed? The number one thing is that I've got an agent and there's a pretty good chance she'll sell THE RIGHTEOUS within the next month or two, which means I'll have to come up with something else. Just as importantly, I think my first chapters work; I don't have that sinking feeling that it isn't amounting to anything, which I inevitably suffer in the days before I abandon a project. Not that I don't have some worries and some known flaws already manifesting.
What is the same is that I'm quickly approaching the unknown. The path ahead grows dark instead of just dim. I'm not sure, but I think I'm approaching the edge of a cliff. I'd better find an alternate path, and soon.
I made the mistake of looking at some abandoned novels of mine from over the years. Seems that most of them fizzled out at about 20-25K words. Let's call that point of the book the Horse Latitudes, where you're too far from port to turn back and the wind has died from your sails, leaving you dead in the water.
In almost every case, I was surprised to see just how far I'd gone before my stories had collapsed. I even turned up an early, aborted attempt at THE RIGHTEOUS, which was both longer and longer ago than I'd remembered. I'd been thinking that I was working on during the winter of 2005/2006 and that I'd written two or three chapters, say 10K words. No, it was October/November of 2004 and I stopped at about 22,000 words, or almost exactly where I am with DEVIL'S WORKSHOP. Both of those facts are depressing to me.
So here I am again and what has changed? The number one thing is that I've got an agent and there's a pretty good chance she'll sell THE RIGHTEOUS within the next month or two, which means I'll have to come up with something else. Just as importantly, I think my first chapters work; I don't have that sinking feeling that it isn't amounting to anything, which I inevitably suffer in the days before I abandon a project. Not that I don't have some worries and some known flaws already manifesting.
What is the same is that I'm quickly approaching the unknown. The path ahead grows dark instead of just dim. I'm not sure, but I think I'm approaching the edge of a cliff. I'd better find an alternate path, and soon.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Up and Down
What's playing on the ipod: Jump, Van Halen
I was totally blanked for the first time for this book on Saturday. Daily word count: 0.
And then, yesterday, I hit 1,800 words and could have written another 500 or so if life hadn't intervened. Maybe all I needed was a little gunfire directed my way to get the creative juices flowing again. On the other hand, the best part of my day is already past and I haven't yet hit my word count for the day. I'm sure I'll make 1,000, but probably just barely.
So, THE RIGHTEOUS goes on submission June 4. This, apparently, is the optimal time between Memorial Day, BEA, and the beginning of the summer when absolutely nothing gets decided for two months. It's almost like Europe, don't you know, when you work in the publishing industry.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 23,500 words
I was totally blanked for the first time for this book on Saturday. Daily word count: 0.
And then, yesterday, I hit 1,800 words and could have written another 500 or so if life hadn't intervened. Maybe all I needed was a little gunfire directed my way to get the creative juices flowing again. On the other hand, the best part of my day is already past and I haven't yet hit my word count for the day. I'm sure I'll make 1,000, but probably just barely.
So, THE RIGHTEOUS goes on submission June 4. This, apparently, is the optimal time between Memorial Day, BEA, and the beginning of the summer when absolutely nothing gets decided for two months. It's almost like Europe, don't you know, when you work in the publishing industry.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 23,500 words
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Life Imitating Art
What's playing on the ipod: Kashmir, Led Zeppelin
Wild and scary experience last night. I was walking around the beaver pond with the dog, enjoying the wildlife you can see right at dusk. Frogs chirped. I saw a deer in the meadow. On the far side, where it gets dark and I hold my walking stick close in case I see a bear, I heard an owl from deep in the woods. Beavers on the pond, of course.
The trail comes back onto a dead-end dirt lane on the far side. As I was coming down the hill a car pulled up. It so happened I was thinking about my book and wondering about how to bump up the tension of my opening chapter and hearing the car made me think about two people coming and dumping a body in the woods and a guy walking his dog who might have overseen it.
I'm about ten feet from the car when I see someone, hear a pop, and this man just fired a gun. Then, "bang! bang! bang! bang! bang!" The muzzle is flashing as this guy just unloads a handgun at something. Looks just like one of those scenes where they drag some guy off after a drug deal gone bad and murder him in some deserted spot.
I totally freeze and as he turns back to the car I go back up the hillside, heart pounding. I hear voices. About a minute passes. The car turns around and drives back up the lane.
I was pissed. I wanted to yell at this jerk for shooting without looking into the woods. The gun was not pointed at me, but still. And I knew better than to go down to some guy, possibly drunk, randomly firing. There was no body there, of course, but it was still an experience that left me a little shaken.
I went back today in the daylight and looked around. Saw nothing.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 22,400 words
Wild and scary experience last night. I was walking around the beaver pond with the dog, enjoying the wildlife you can see right at dusk. Frogs chirped. I saw a deer in the meadow. On the far side, where it gets dark and I hold my walking stick close in case I see a bear, I heard an owl from deep in the woods. Beavers on the pond, of course.
The trail comes back onto a dead-end dirt lane on the far side. As I was coming down the hill a car pulled up. It so happened I was thinking about my book and wondering about how to bump up the tension of my opening chapter and hearing the car made me think about two people coming and dumping a body in the woods and a guy walking his dog who might have overseen it.
I'm about ten feet from the car when I see someone, hear a pop, and this man just fired a gun. Then, "bang! bang! bang! bang! bang!" The muzzle is flashing as this guy just unloads a handgun at something. Looks just like one of those scenes where they drag some guy off after a drug deal gone bad and murder him in some deserted spot.
I totally freeze and as he turns back to the car I go back up the hillside, heart pounding. I hear voices. About a minute passes. The car turns around and drives back up the lane.
I was pissed. I wanted to yell at this jerk for shooting without looking into the woods. The gun was not pointed at me, but still. And I knew better than to go down to some guy, possibly drunk, randomly firing. There was no body there, of course, but it was still an experience that left me a little shaken.
I went back today in the daylight and looked around. Saw nothing.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 22,400 words
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Bunch of Stuff
What's playing on the ipod: Stand or Fall, The Fixx
The local farmers market opened for the season today. We hit a lot of markets in France and bought all sorts of tasty, frivolous things. Once you're home it's sometimes hard to justify buying gourmet at a premium. I feel guilty about that, liking to support local efforts like this, but I don't know if I could afford to buy all my vegetables from the local growers, or to buy fresh flowers, pottery, etc., on a regular basis. I ended up buying a loaf of bread--bread is one area where I never buy the cheap stuff--and that was it. It was a little cool, but it's a great little community ritual and one thing that makes living in this town such a pleasure.
Now that it's in the rear view mirror, that difficult scene turned out to be the easiest, most interesting part of the book to write. It took me awhile to figure out how to approach it, but once I did, everything came together wonderfully. Ironically, it's the subsequent scenes that have caused me trouble.
I was sad to see that Miss Snark is retiring. This was my favorite blog. When I discovered it last fall, I spent several days reading every entry in the snarkives.
I sure hope this Simon and Schuster rights grab ends with egg-on-the-face and backpeddling on the part of S&S. The other likely alternative is that agents and writers will swallow the new contract terms and this contract clause will spread to other publishers. It's already a difficult business for writers; why make it any harder to make a living?
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 21,000 words
The local farmers market opened for the season today. We hit a lot of markets in France and bought all sorts of tasty, frivolous things. Once you're home it's sometimes hard to justify buying gourmet at a premium. I feel guilty about that, liking to support local efforts like this, but I don't know if I could afford to buy all my vegetables from the local growers, or to buy fresh flowers, pottery, etc., on a regular basis. I ended up buying a loaf of bread--bread is one area where I never buy the cheap stuff--and that was it. It was a little cool, but it's a great little community ritual and one thing that makes living in this town such a pleasure.
Now that it's in the rear view mirror, that difficult scene turned out to be the easiest, most interesting part of the book to write. It took me awhile to figure out how to approach it, but once I did, everything came together wonderfully. Ironically, it's the subsequent scenes that have caused me trouble.
I was sad to see that Miss Snark is retiring. This was my favorite blog. When I discovered it last fall, I spent several days reading every entry in the snarkives.
I sure hope this Simon and Schuster rights grab ends with egg-on-the-face and backpeddling on the part of S&S. The other likely alternative is that agents and writers will swallow the new contract terms and this contract clause will spread to other publishers. It's already a difficult business for writers; why make it any harder to make a living?
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 21,000 words
Friday, May 18, 2007
Taking a Risk
What's playing on the ipod: Emporer's New Clothes, Sinead O'Connor
It's interesting how many people are comfortable going through life without ever taking a serious risk.
When I went to tell my former boss that I was quitting and moving into the mountains to run an inn, he did the typical thing of asking me what it would take to keep me there, telling me how much they needed me, etc? When we'd finished that little dance, he said, "I wish I could do something like that. I don't know, maybe I'm too old, but I guess it will never happen."
He was only fifty. Seemed plenty young to me. The sad thing is that I got an email from a former co-worker last year saying that my boss had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died just a few weeks after the diagnosis. He was a good guy and I was sad to hear the news.
Thing was, he'd have probably only lived another three years after our conversation anyway. Chasing some dream wouldn't have prolongued his life any. Yet I'll bet there was some regret in his mind those last weeks that he hadn't done something else. You can bet that if he'd done something exciting he wouldn't have been saying, "Gee, too bad I didn't spend these last few years as a middle manager for a multi-billion dollar defense contractor."
The thing about risks--and this is what they don't usually tell you when they're urging you to chase your dream--is that they're called risks for a reason. You can fall pretty hard if they fail. It can be humiliating to limp back to a former job with your tail between your legs. Nobody wants to have family members saying, "Told you so."
I'm speaking from some personal experience here. It's been so many years since I started writing that I absolutely hate to be asked about my writing by family members because I always have to admit that, no, still hasn't happened yet. That might be changing, as it turns out, but it's still a change in slow motion.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 19,600 words
It's interesting how many people are comfortable going through life without ever taking a serious risk.
When I went to tell my former boss that I was quitting and moving into the mountains to run an inn, he did the typical thing of asking me what it would take to keep me there, telling me how much they needed me, etc? When we'd finished that little dance, he said, "I wish I could do something like that. I don't know, maybe I'm too old, but I guess it will never happen."
He was only fifty. Seemed plenty young to me. The sad thing is that I got an email from a former co-worker last year saying that my boss had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died just a few weeks after the diagnosis. He was a good guy and I was sad to hear the news.
Thing was, he'd have probably only lived another three years after our conversation anyway. Chasing some dream wouldn't have prolongued his life any. Yet I'll bet there was some regret in his mind those last weeks that he hadn't done something else. You can bet that if he'd done something exciting he wouldn't have been saying, "Gee, too bad I didn't spend these last few years as a middle manager for a multi-billion dollar defense contractor."
The thing about risks--and this is what they don't usually tell you when they're urging you to chase your dream--is that they're called risks for a reason. You can fall pretty hard if they fail. It can be humiliating to limp back to a former job with your tail between your legs. Nobody wants to have family members saying, "Told you so."
I'm speaking from some personal experience here. It's been so many years since I started writing that I absolutely hate to be asked about my writing by family members because I always have to admit that, no, still hasn't happened yet. That might be changing, as it turns out, but it's still a change in slow motion.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 19,600 words
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
It's a Small World
What's playing on the ipod: One Thing Leads to Another, The Fixx
I think sometimes we forget just how few people read books.
If your first novel comes out and sells 200,000 hardcover and 400,000 paperbacks it would be considered a big hit. And yet, only 1 in 500 Americans would have purchased the book, let alone read it. If your movie did similar numbers you'd never direct another film.
Now, admittedly, there are far more books published than movies, but the average person freely admits that they never read. I know several educated, intelligent people who would admit that they haven't read a novel since college.
That's why I think it's so remarkable when a book reaches that rare position of entering the popular imagination. Think DaVince Code or Harry Potter. Most people might not have read it, still, but everyone will have heard about it. And the numbers are multiples of other megasellers. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will have a first print run in the U.S. of 12 million. That's what? A hundred times the copies of a typical bestseller.
The reason that Harry Potter sells a hundred or a thousand times as many copies as other books is not because it is a hundred or thousand times better. It has very little, in fact, to do with quality. For whatever reason, books occasionally hit some sweet spot where all the factors come together in an unpredictable and unrepeatable way. In short, people are buying the book because other people are buying it. If someone only reads one book a year or feels guilty for not having read a novel recently, why not read the same book that everyone else is reading?
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 17,200 words
I think sometimes we forget just how few people read books.
If your first novel comes out and sells 200,000 hardcover and 400,000 paperbacks it would be considered a big hit. And yet, only 1 in 500 Americans would have purchased the book, let alone read it. If your movie did similar numbers you'd never direct another film.
Now, admittedly, there are far more books published than movies, but the average person freely admits that they never read. I know several educated, intelligent people who would admit that they haven't read a novel since college.
That's why I think it's so remarkable when a book reaches that rare position of entering the popular imagination. Think DaVince Code or Harry Potter. Most people might not have read it, still, but everyone will have heard about it. And the numbers are multiples of other megasellers. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will have a first print run in the U.S. of 12 million. That's what? A hundred times the copies of a typical bestseller.
The reason that Harry Potter sells a hundred or a thousand times as many copies as other books is not because it is a hundred or thousand times better. It has very little, in fact, to do with quality. For whatever reason, books occasionally hit some sweet spot where all the factors come together in an unpredictable and unrepeatable way. In short, people are buying the book because other people are buying it. If someone only reads one book a year or feels guilty for not having read a novel recently, why not read the same book that everyone else is reading?
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 17,200 words
Monday, May 14, 2007
Update on the Updates
What's playing on the ipod: Old Man, Neil Young
Blog entries will be thin for the next several days, probably once a day is all. I got my final request from my agent before she shops The Righteous; she wants me to read through the novel a final time and tinker with the dialogue to correct some flaws she noted.
I'm going to try to keep moving forward on DW as well, since if I take a week off it's likely to turn into a month, then two months, and so on. But I'm not going to keep writing past my 1,000 wpd as I've been doing. As soon as I hit my word count I'm going to go back to The Righteous.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 16,100 words
Blog entries will be thin for the next several days, probably once a day is all. I got my final request from my agent before she shops The Righteous; she wants me to read through the novel a final time and tinker with the dialogue to correct some flaws she noted.
I'm going to try to keep moving forward on DW as well, since if I take a week off it's likely to turn into a month, then two months, and so on. But I'm not going to keep writing past my 1,000 wpd as I've been doing. As soon as I hit my word count I'm going to go back to The Righteous.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 16,100 words
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Everybody is Provincial
What's playing on the ipod: Funkytown, Lipps, Inc.
When I moved out of Utah seven years ago I could no longer stand the provincial attitude of the place. The mannerisms, the accents, the narrow-minded politics, it all drove me crazy. I was moving to the Northeast, to the center of life in the country and within driving distance of DC, New York, Boston, and dozens of other interesting places. It didn't take me very long to realize that Rhode Islanders were just as provincial as anywhere else and the same goes for Bostonians and New Yorkers as well. It was just that my own culture's provincialism bothered me the most; the Rhode Islanders were merely quirky.
I've since come to realize that I suffer my own provincialism. Not only am I a manifestation of the very culture from which I hoped to escape, but it is almost impossible to avoid a narrowing of perspective over the years. Even as my experiences broaden and my knowledge base grows, even as I have visited far countries and learned foreign languages, my dismissal of those things which do not interest me has grown ever more calcified. It's a tendency against which I must continually struggle.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 15,000 words
When I moved out of Utah seven years ago I could no longer stand the provincial attitude of the place. The mannerisms, the accents, the narrow-minded politics, it all drove me crazy. I was moving to the Northeast, to the center of life in the country and within driving distance of DC, New York, Boston, and dozens of other interesting places. It didn't take me very long to realize that Rhode Islanders were just as provincial as anywhere else and the same goes for Bostonians and New Yorkers as well. It was just that my own culture's provincialism bothered me the most; the Rhode Islanders were merely quirky.
I've since come to realize that I suffer my own provincialism. Not only am I a manifestation of the very culture from which I hoped to escape, but it is almost impossible to avoid a narrowing of perspective over the years. Even as my experiences broaden and my knowledge base grows, even as I have visited far countries and learned foreign languages, my dismissal of those things which do not interest me has grown ever more calcified. It's a tendency against which I must continually struggle.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 15,000 words
Saturday, May 12, 2007
That Tricky Scene
What's playing on the ipod: You Just Haven't Earned it Yet Baby, The Smiths
I tackled the tricky scene today. It's going really well. I've got another five, six hundred words and then I'll move on to another thread of the novel, then return and do the last half. At this pace, that should happen in a day or two.
The tricky part is that I'm writing from the viewpoint of a character with a limitted capacity to interact with the outside world. Imagine writing a scene from the POV of Helen Keller before she learned to communicate. Or Tom Hanks on the island in Castaway. Human to human interaction drives the plot forward.
I'm happy with the results.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 13,600 words
I tackled the tricky scene today. It's going really well. I've got another five, six hundred words and then I'll move on to another thread of the novel, then return and do the last half. At this pace, that should happen in a day or two.
The tricky part is that I'm writing from the viewpoint of a character with a limitted capacity to interact with the outside world. Imagine writing a scene from the POV of Helen Keller before she learned to communicate. Or Tom Hanks on the island in Castaway. Human to human interaction drives the plot forward.
I'm happy with the results.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 13,600 words
Friday, May 11, 2007
More
What's playing on the ipod: Storm on the Sea, Thompson Twins
I didn't finish that earlier thought, as I was interrupted by something about Devil's Workshop that I had to write down. What I was going to say is that it's not a good time to be thinking about shedding a few extra pounds because my mind is working a lot harder than my body while I'm occupied with a novel. Apart from occasional walks around the beaver pond, whenever I have a few extra minutes I've been sitting down at the computer to tinker with things.
I think once this draft is over, however, I'm planning to get off my butt and do some good hiking. I'd like to do something more adventurous on the travel front over the next couple of years, something like a trek in the Himalayas or a camel safari in the Sinai and I need to get myself in better shape. I'd prefer a long-term change to my exercise habits than a crash course.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 11,400 words
I didn't finish that earlier thought, as I was interrupted by something about Devil's Workshop that I had to write down. What I was going to say is that it's not a good time to be thinking about shedding a few extra pounds because my mind is working a lot harder than my body while I'm occupied with a novel. Apart from occasional walks around the beaver pond, whenever I have a few extra minutes I've been sitting down at the computer to tinker with things.
I think once this draft is over, however, I'm planning to get off my butt and do some good hiking. I'd like to do something more adventurous on the travel front over the next couple of years, something like a trek in the Himalayas or a camel safari in the Sinai and I need to get myself in better shape. I'd prefer a long-term change to my exercise habits than a crash course.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 11,400 words
Getting Fat
What's playing on the ipod: Left of Center, Suzanne Vega
Not a good time to decide that I could lose a few pounds picked up during the winter and through eating too much in France. I'm not big on diet, and while I enjoy active pursuits, including hiking and skiing, I'm not big on organized exercise, either.
Sadly, I've reached the age of life where one must pay closer attention to such things. I could run, but I'd rather save my knees for skiing moguls and never cared much for running anyway. I like to bike, but I hate riding on the edge of the highway where there's no bike lane and you get pinned in close when you cross a bridge. It's either that or some wicked big hills that, once again, start to feel like organized exercise. What I need is a swimming pool or a basketball court.
Note the wordcount below. This is the stage of the book where I'm always stunned to see that, wow, I'm about 50 pages into this sucker and I just started last week. Just a few weeks from now, however, I'll already be at the stage where I'm too far from the beginning to remember the initial rush and too far from the end to appreciate that it will all be over soon.
It's a bit like running a marathon. Or, so I've been told. As I said, running ain't my thing.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 10,700 words
Not a good time to decide that I could lose a few pounds picked up during the winter and through eating too much in France. I'm not big on diet, and while I enjoy active pursuits, including hiking and skiing, I'm not big on organized exercise, either.
Sadly, I've reached the age of life where one must pay closer attention to such things. I could run, but I'd rather save my knees for skiing moguls and never cared much for running anyway. I like to bike, but I hate riding on the edge of the highway where there's no bike lane and you get pinned in close when you cross a bridge. It's either that or some wicked big hills that, once again, start to feel like organized exercise. What I need is a swimming pool or a basketball court.
Note the wordcount below. This is the stage of the book where I'm always stunned to see that, wow, I'm about 50 pages into this sucker and I just started last week. Just a few weeks from now, however, I'll already be at the stage where I'm too far from the beginning to remember the initial rush and too far from the end to appreciate that it will all be over soon.
It's a bit like running a marathon. Or, so I've been told. As I said, running ain't my thing.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 10,700 words
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Tricky Scenes
What's playing on the ipod: I'm a Believer, The Monkees
I've pushed off the tricky scene for another day. Turns out I had one more scene to write first. I've got a better handle on the scene in question, too, as I see how I'm going kick off this POV. The big question is how to end chapter four with a big enough hook to carry this thread to the other side.
I was thinking earlier about various hurdles I've overcome, skill-wise, as my writing has matured. I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be, but there are plenty of things that used to give me pause in years past. I can remember feeling uncomfortable with lengthy dialogue, for example. As a result, my dialogue in those days was short and conveyed information only.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 9,400 words
I've pushed off the tricky scene for another day. Turns out I had one more scene to write first. I've got a better handle on the scene in question, too, as I see how I'm going kick off this POV. The big question is how to end chapter four with a big enough hook to carry this thread to the other side.
I was thinking earlier about various hurdles I've overcome, skill-wise, as my writing has matured. I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be, but there are plenty of things that used to give me pause in years past. I can remember feeling uncomfortable with lengthy dialogue, for example. As a result, my dialogue in those days was short and conveyed information only.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 9,400 words
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A Challenge
What's playing on the ipod: Dominion/Mother Russia, The Sisters of Mercy
I've reached the first great challenge of this book. It's a POV/character of a type different to any I've written before. I'm not sure how to tackle this, so there's a chance I'll have to start over a couple of times or at least go very slowly. It's exciting to try something new and difficult, but also inspires nervousnous. Will I be able to pull it off?
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 7,700 words
I've reached the first great challenge of this book. It's a POV/character of a type different to any I've written before. I'm not sure how to tackle this, so there's a chance I'll have to start over a couple of times or at least go very slowly. It's exciting to try something new and difficult, but also inspires nervousnous. Will I be able to pull it off?
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 7,700 words
Chaos and Order
What's playing on the ipod: La Gota Fría, Tarpuy
It's occurs to me that we often enjoy a good mystery posed more than the answer to same. I love it when an author poses situations that make me think, "What the hell?" It's this unanswered question that drives us forward, and it's why the real tension of the scene lies in the uncertainty of what is on the other side of the door, not the moment when the monster/zombie/estranged lover breaks through with his tentacles/fingernails/axe. Indeed, sometimes the question is so good that the answer cannot possibly satisfy.
A classic example for me is IT, by Stephen King. From the moment we see the clown in the sewer we are creeped out by the unnamed evil stalking the children of this town. It was a major disappointment for me when King revealed that IT was an alien.* The execution of same wasn't bad so much as the raising of the mystery so good that nothing could have met expectations.
This may seem to go against my assertion that we read fiction in part to bring order to chaos. That is, fiction satisfies some of the same need as religion, to explain the unexplainable, and to make sure that the good are rewarded and the evil are thrust down to hell. In fiction, if it is the chaotic phase driving our interest, how is it that the order part is so critical?
*To this day, I cannot think of IT without a twinge of disappointment. King's portrayal of childhood fears and friendships is absolutely brilliant, and his handling of tension in the early stages of the book is unmatched by any other writer. But the answer to the mystery is like a crumbling cinderblock wall supporting the magnificent cathedral erected earlier in the book. Better to have left the evil more vague, a la THE SHINING or THE STAND.
Apropos of nothing, I smiled to read that Paris Hilton is asking "fans" to sign a petition to keep her out of jail. What she doesn't understand is that her so-called fans want her to go to jail. Most of her fans would $29.95 on pay-per-view to see her plunged, Fear Factor style, into a tank of piranha.
It's occurs to me that we often enjoy a good mystery posed more than the answer to same. I love it when an author poses situations that make me think, "What the hell?" It's this unanswered question that drives us forward, and it's why the real tension of the scene lies in the uncertainty of what is on the other side of the door, not the moment when the monster/zombie/estranged lover breaks through with his tentacles/fingernails/axe. Indeed, sometimes the question is so good that the answer cannot possibly satisfy.
A classic example for me is IT, by Stephen King. From the moment we see the clown in the sewer we are creeped out by the unnamed evil stalking the children of this town. It was a major disappointment for me when King revealed that IT was an alien.* The execution of same wasn't bad so much as the raising of the mystery so good that nothing could have met expectations.
This may seem to go against my assertion that we read fiction in part to bring order to chaos. That is, fiction satisfies some of the same need as religion, to explain the unexplainable, and to make sure that the good are rewarded and the evil are thrust down to hell. In fiction, if it is the chaotic phase driving our interest, how is it that the order part is so critical?
*To this day, I cannot think of IT without a twinge of disappointment. King's portrayal of childhood fears and friendships is absolutely brilliant, and his handling of tension in the early stages of the book is unmatched by any other writer. But the answer to the mystery is like a crumbling cinderblock wall supporting the magnificent cathedral erected earlier in the book. Better to have left the evil more vague, a la THE SHINING or THE STAND.
Apropos of nothing, I smiled to read that Paris Hilton is asking "fans" to sign a petition to keep her out of jail. What she doesn't understand is that her so-called fans want her to go to jail. Most of her fans would $29.95 on pay-per-view to see her plunged, Fear Factor style, into a tank of piranha.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Manhattan vs. Rural Life?
What's playing on the ipod: Criminal, Fiona Apple
Haven't seen any moose yet this year, but I saw a red fox while taking a walk around the beaver pond. It was down at the water's edge, probably getting a drink, but sprang away into the woods when we approached. My dog was too busy sniffing some other dog's pee to notice, which was probably a good thing for the fox. I saw a beaver swimming around as well. We've had all sorts of birds hit the feeder lately, some species of which I only see a couple of times a year.
I've been thinking for a couple of years about the possibility of moving to Manhattan at some point in the future. I've spent a few years now in a rural environment, and am thinking of a change in the opposite direction. But there's something about living next to a river (two rivers, actually) with the smell and sights of the woods and mountains around me at all times. Of course, I also miss living next to the ocean like when we were in Newport, RI, so I'm sure I'd adjust to the change.
This is a bad place to live for the language learner, and lacks all the restaurants, literary scene, etc., that are so exciting. The main thing about NYC, of course, is the money. I'm not poor, but unless a big contract comes in, the expense of living in Manhattan would probably mean that any such move would be for a year or two and then we'd move out where the cost of living--specifically, housing--didn't break the bank.
That change is probably a couple of years in the future, at least, but it's something I've been thinking about. After a year in NYC, what then? Back west?
Haven't seen any moose yet this year, but I saw a red fox while taking a walk around the beaver pond. It was down at the water's edge, probably getting a drink, but sprang away into the woods when we approached. My dog was too busy sniffing some other dog's pee to notice, which was probably a good thing for the fox. I saw a beaver swimming around as well. We've had all sorts of birds hit the feeder lately, some species of which I only see a couple of times a year.
I've been thinking for a couple of years about the possibility of moving to Manhattan at some point in the future. I've spent a few years now in a rural environment, and am thinking of a change in the opposite direction. But there's something about living next to a river (two rivers, actually) with the smell and sights of the woods and mountains around me at all times. Of course, I also miss living next to the ocean like when we were in Newport, RI, so I'm sure I'd adjust to the change.
This is a bad place to live for the language learner, and lacks all the restaurants, literary scene, etc., that are so exciting. The main thing about NYC, of course, is the money. I'm not poor, but unless a big contract comes in, the expense of living in Manhattan would probably mean that any such move would be for a year or two and then we'd move out where the cost of living--specifically, housing--didn't break the bank.
That change is probably a couple of years in the future, at least, but it's something I've been thinking about. After a year in NYC, what then? Back west?
Progress
What's playing on the ipod: Saved by Zero, The Fixx
Making good progress on the book, as you can see below. I printed the first two chapters yesterday to read and no, they didn't suck. That's always a relief.
I planted seeds for my garden. I'm growing carrots and lettuce this year. Have decided to give up entirely on the tomatoes as results last year disappointed. Not quite enough sun to get them going in time.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 6,200 words
Making good progress on the book, as you can see below. I printed the first two chapters yesterday to read and no, they didn't suck. That's always a relief.
I planted seeds for my garden. I'm growing carrots and lettuce this year. Have decided to give up entirely on the tomatoes as results last year disappointed. Not quite enough sun to get them going in time.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 6,200 words
Monday, May 7, 2007
Beginnings
What's playing on the ipod: Let Me Be, Kate Rusby
I apologize if this is starting to seem redundant, but I've been thinking more about what it means to accomplish a large task as I get past the beginning of Devil's Workshop.
I'm famously scattered, unable to focus on tasks for more than a few minutes at a time. In meetings or class I quickly drift into my own thoughts, and frequently skip to the next song in the ipod midway through because I'm bored. Even writing, I'll find myself blocked after ten or fifteen minutes or maybe after a sentence or two and will drift over to check my reader or play a game of Freecell.
I'm also terribly impatient. I can't stand waiting for things and if I've got a big trip upcoming or an unpleasant task to overcome I'll keep running over the numbers in my head (e.g.) 172 hours left, or, only 16 more days) until the time comes.
As a result, I'm simply incapable of accomplishing any task of any length whatsoever. But ironically, I'm good at taking little nibbles. I can come back again and again to a project and the end result can mean accomplishing something big. The key for me is to focus on the little tasks. I don't try to get my garden into shape, I try to weed the strawberry bed. I don't try to learn French, I try to watch a single episode of French in Action.
So it goes with books. I'll give up if I have to think about putting together 350, 400 pages of text. Indeed, the first time I print a new book I have to thumb through it as if making sure that yes, I did write all this. But how?
Little bites. Ten minutes here, a half hour there. A thousand words today, another thousand tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly the word count stacks up. I look back and hey, only a couple of weeks have passed and I've got a hundred pages.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 4,700 words
I apologize if this is starting to seem redundant, but I've been thinking more about what it means to accomplish a large task as I get past the beginning of Devil's Workshop.
I'm famously scattered, unable to focus on tasks for more than a few minutes at a time. In meetings or class I quickly drift into my own thoughts, and frequently skip to the next song in the ipod midway through because I'm bored. Even writing, I'll find myself blocked after ten or fifteen minutes or maybe after a sentence or two and will drift over to check my reader or play a game of Freecell.
I'm also terribly impatient. I can't stand waiting for things and if I've got a big trip upcoming or an unpleasant task to overcome I'll keep running over the numbers in my head (e.g.) 172 hours left, or, only 16 more days) until the time comes.
As a result, I'm simply incapable of accomplishing any task of any length whatsoever. But ironically, I'm good at taking little nibbles. I can come back again and again to a project and the end result can mean accomplishing something big. The key for me is to focus on the little tasks. I don't try to get my garden into shape, I try to weed the strawberry bed. I don't try to learn French, I try to watch a single episode of French in Action.
So it goes with books. I'll give up if I have to think about putting together 350, 400 pages of text. Indeed, the first time I print a new book I have to thumb through it as if making sure that yes, I did write all this. But how?
Little bites. Ten minutes here, a half hour there. A thousand words today, another thousand tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly the word count stacks up. I look back and hey, only a couple of weeks have passed and I've got a hundred pages.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 4,700 words
Language Wanderlust
What's playing on the ipod: Fade to Black, Metallica
I've been studying French for a couple of years now. It hasn't been a serious study, just on-again, off-again, largely hampered by the fact that I know very few French speakers. I rarely go very long without finding someone with whom to speak Spanish and, as a result, my Spanish skills remain far beyond what I can accomplish in French. To the non-Francophone, it appears as though I'm fluent, but the reality, sadly, is somewhat short of this ideal.
Maybe because I'm at a plateau I've been thinking a little about my next language. I speak a little Russian and Italian. Italian, especially, would be pretty easy. It's got the same cadence as Spanish, with a vocabulary that's a melange of French and Spanish with tons of English cognates. Russian would be more difficult, by far, but also more satisfying in many ways.
But I'm actually considering German as my next language. It's something different, whereas Italian would feel like a rehash of my French and Spanish studies. And it's not so hard as Russian, so I wouldn't be testing my stamina to quite as great an extent. Of course, people are far more impressed when they hear you speak Russian than when they hear you speak German. When I speak Russian to native Russian speakers they seem almost stunned. Of course, they soon realize that I'm far short of conversational, let alone fluent in the language. Still, it's kind of fun.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 3,400
I've been studying French for a couple of years now. It hasn't been a serious study, just on-again, off-again, largely hampered by the fact that I know very few French speakers. I rarely go very long without finding someone with whom to speak Spanish and, as a result, my Spanish skills remain far beyond what I can accomplish in French. To the non-Francophone, it appears as though I'm fluent, but the reality, sadly, is somewhat short of this ideal.
Maybe because I'm at a plateau I've been thinking a little about my next language. I speak a little Russian and Italian. Italian, especially, would be pretty easy. It's got the same cadence as Spanish, with a vocabulary that's a melange of French and Spanish with tons of English cognates. Russian would be more difficult, by far, but also more satisfying in many ways.
But I'm actually considering German as my next language. It's something different, whereas Italian would feel like a rehash of my French and Spanish studies. And it's not so hard as Russian, so I wouldn't be testing my stamina to quite as great an extent. Of course, people are far more impressed when they hear you speak Russian than when they hear you speak German. When I speak Russian to native Russian speakers they seem almost stunned. Of course, they soon realize that I'm far short of conversational, let alone fluent in the language. Still, it's kind of fun.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 3,400
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Sticky Mud Stage
What's playing on the ipod: If You Were Here, Thompson Twins
I'm slowly emerging from the sticky mud stage of the book, where every footstep (marked in 100 word increments) takes a tremendous effort. The hardest thing of all is just sitting down and writing that first sentence.
I finished chapter one, which is kind of a prologue, only I hate prologues, and it does introduce one of the main characters, who doesn't in turn die, plus the villain, still hidden in shadows for now. I'm going to go back and tinker with this a little more later on, but in the meanwhile, I've done about a page on chapter two.
I have to keep telling myself to take it one day at a time. Next week and the week after that will come in turn, and if I can keep today's speed, I'll be on my way to 20K by then.
Based on past experience, and my initial, abortive attempt with The Righteous, if I falter it will be somewhere between 6-9K or at around 50K. It's important to plan accordingly.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 2,300 words
I'm slowly emerging from the sticky mud stage of the book, where every footstep (marked in 100 word increments) takes a tremendous effort. The hardest thing of all is just sitting down and writing that first sentence.
I finished chapter one, which is kind of a prologue, only I hate prologues, and it does introduce one of the main characters, who doesn't in turn die, plus the villain, still hidden in shadows for now. I'm going to go back and tinker with this a little more later on, but in the meanwhile, I've done about a page on chapter two.
I have to keep telling myself to take it one day at a time. Next week and the week after that will come in turn, and if I can keep today's speed, I'll be on my way to 20K by then.
Based on past experience, and my initial, abortive attempt with The Righteous, if I falter it will be somewhere between 6-9K or at around 50K. It's important to plan accordingly.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 2,300 words
Garden Prep
What's playing on the ipod: Rock & Roll, Led Zeppelin
I thinned the strawberries yesterday. This is the last year before I have to move the bed, as the soil will be getting exhausted. As an alternative, I'm toying with the idea of wintering the plants in some covered planters (straw or maybe just moving them to the far basement), and turning over the soil with some compost, then moving them back in the spring. I have no idea if this would work, if the plants would take to a spring transplant soon enough to produce and if this would sufficiently reduce soil exhaustion.
My goal this week is to work on my seedlings for the main garden and spread some compost. I need an inch of compost before I double dig the garden. Last summer I grew squash and green beans. The green beans did well and the squash plants grew like crazy but the frosts came before I got enough squash. Because of the trip putting me behind on my seedlings, I'm going to skip the squash this year; I'd meant to start before we left, but there was still snow falling in mid-April. Last year, I took them out to the deck during the day and inside at night to protect against frost; that doesn't help much when the daytime temp is hitting the 20s.
I thinned the strawberries yesterday. This is the last year before I have to move the bed, as the soil will be getting exhausted. As an alternative, I'm toying with the idea of wintering the plants in some covered planters (straw or maybe just moving them to the far basement), and turning over the soil with some compost, then moving them back in the spring. I have no idea if this would work, if the plants would take to a spring transplant soon enough to produce and if this would sufficiently reduce soil exhaustion.
My goal this week is to work on my seedlings for the main garden and spread some compost. I need an inch of compost before I double dig the garden. Last summer I grew squash and green beans. The green beans did well and the squash plants grew like crazy but the frosts came before I got enough squash. Because of the trip putting me behind on my seedlings, I'm going to skip the squash this year; I'd meant to start before we left, but there was still snow falling in mid-April. Last year, I took them out to the deck during the day and inside at night to protect against frost; that doesn't help much when the daytime temp is hitting the 20s.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Daydreaming
What's playing on the ipod: Read My Mind, The Killers
Almost as important as the formal brainstorming sessions is the daydreaming I do while I'm walking around the beaver pond, taking a shower, or freshly awake at dawn. I start thinking about snippets of dialogue or imagining plot twists and great stuff starts to come.
Most advice says to write these things down on a notepad but I don't do this. I figure if it's good enough I'll remember it. Only rarely have I thought, "Oh, yeah, what was that thing I was thinking about?"
The problem is consciously invoking this state. If the mind is not in the mood, I'll find myself daydreaming about something else, some other story or my next trip to France or Mexico.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 1,300 words
Almost as important as the formal brainstorming sessions is the daydreaming I do while I'm walking around the beaver pond, taking a shower, or freshly awake at dawn. I start thinking about snippets of dialogue or imagining plot twists and great stuff starts to come.
Most advice says to write these things down on a notepad but I don't do this. I figure if it's good enough I'll remember it. Only rarely have I thought, "Oh, yeah, what was that thing I was thinking about?"
The problem is consciously invoking this state. If the mind is not in the mood, I'll find myself daydreaming about something else, some other story or my next trip to France or Mexico.
Devil's Workshop Word Count: 1,300 words
Daily Updates
What's playing on the ipod: Deliverance, The Mission UK
One thing I find daunting about keeping a blog is the need to update it daily. I work in spurts in all aspects of my life and I don't like the feeling of needing to write something so that I don't lose my audience.
There's no question it's necessary if you want to maintain an audience. It looks like I lost half my audience in the two weeks I was in France. I had about 10-15 unique visitors per day while I was gone and now I have 5-7, most of whom I probably know by name. It looks like I had a couple of people stop by every day while I was gone; some probably checked several times, saw there was nothing new for an extended period of time and promptly forgot about the blog.
One thing I find daunting about keeping a blog is the need to update it daily. I work in spurts in all aspects of my life and I don't like the feeling of needing to write something so that I don't lose my audience.
There's no question it's necessary if you want to maintain an audience. It looks like I lost half my audience in the two weeks I was in France. I had about 10-15 unique visitors per day while I was gone and now I have 5-7, most of whom I probably know by name. It looks like I had a couple of people stop by every day while I was gone; some probably checked several times, saw there was nothing new for an extended period of time and promptly forgot about the blog.
Restarting the Process
What's playing on the ipod: Head On, The Jesus and Mary Chain
That oil really sinks to the bottom of the tank after the car sits in the garage for a few months, doesn't it? The engine just does not want to turn over. There is so much that needs to be relearned every time I start a new project. There's so much that needs to come out in the first few pages and the pacing is so tricky that the first few pages need lots and lots of rewriting even as they're emerging onto the screen. Mostly, I need to remember how discipline myself to write each and every day.
The other thing I'm hitting is the slew of unanswered questions that need some additional thought before I can move forward. Why is Rosa so anxious to get Lett out of Riverwood? What does she plan to do with him once she's successfully got him out? Why is Wesley's brother in the very same facility? What is driving the tension until we find out exactly what happened to Lett?
That oil really sinks to the bottom of the tank after the car sits in the garage for a few months, doesn't it? The engine just does not want to turn over. There is so much that needs to be relearned every time I start a new project. There's so much that needs to come out in the first few pages and the pacing is so tricky that the first few pages need lots and lots of rewriting even as they're emerging onto the screen. Mostly, I need to remember how discipline myself to write each and every day.
The other thing I'm hitting is the slew of unanswered questions that need some additional thought before I can move forward. Why is Rosa so anxious to get Lett out of Riverwood? What does she plan to do with him once she's successfully got him out? Why is Wesley's brother in the very same facility? What is driving the tension until we find out exactly what happened to Lett?
Friday, May 4, 2007
Books as Product
What's playing on the ipod: Bang and Blame, R.E.M.
Another article about how Ludlum, Patterson, V.C. Andrews, et al, continue to suck up more bandwidth through books that they didn't actually write. Patterson had eight of the top 100 bestsellers last year and didn't write any of them. The last Tom Clancy Splinter Cell book even had a different ghost writer, but still "co-authored" by a fictional entity named David Michaels.
I'm not going to get into why this is bad for other authors, partly because I'm not sure that it is. But I think it's bad for the art. It's a repeat of what has happened with music, where most so-called musicians these days are performers, created from whole cloth, like the Spice Girls, or the American Idol winners. They don't write their songs. The problem seems especially accute for female performers, who almost need good looks to make it in the biz.
Well, at least Christina Aguilera has a fantastic voice. Many of the others have nothing more than a nice set of boobs. I just got back from the beaches of Southern France and after serious reflection determined that nice boobs are fairly common.
Back to writing. Why would you choose a second-rate novel "written" by a dead guy or a factory system when there are so many other choices out there.
Another article about how Ludlum, Patterson, V.C. Andrews, et al, continue to suck up more bandwidth through books that they didn't actually write. Patterson had eight of the top 100 bestsellers last year and didn't write any of them. The last Tom Clancy Splinter Cell book even had a different ghost writer, but still "co-authored" by a fictional entity named David Michaels.
I'm not going to get into why this is bad for other authors, partly because I'm not sure that it is. But I think it's bad for the art. It's a repeat of what has happened with music, where most so-called musicians these days are performers, created from whole cloth, like the Spice Girls, or the American Idol winners. They don't write their songs. The problem seems especially accute for female performers, who almost need good looks to make it in the biz.
Well, at least Christina Aguilera has a fantastic voice. Many of the others have nothing more than a nice set of boobs. I just got back from the beaches of Southern France and after serious reflection determined that nice boobs are fairly common.
Back to writing. Why would you choose a second-rate novel "written" by a dead guy or a factory system when there are so many other choices out there.
Advancing on Several Fronts
What's playing on the ipod: If I Ever, Red Flag
I gave a first stab at my new book today and the book stabbed back. Both sides are bleeding from multiple wounds. The end result is a hard-fought 300 words. My pace is 1,000 words per day, but the first few days are painful, halting affairs and while I'm reasonably sure that this is how I want to start, there's a fair chance I'll scrub things and start over more than once.
Two other small bits of news. First, a friend has asked me for a beta read on her current novel, currently finishing its first draft. She regularly cracks the NY Times top 10, and it's always fun to read her work. She's also offered to give me a quote for THE RIGHTEOUS, which will be fantastic.
Last night's sleep was even more interesting than the previous night. I stayed away until 9:30, but woke up at 3:00, which was about an hour earlier than Wednesday night. I might take a Unisom tonight to help me sleep at least until five or so.
A wave to my cousin Lis, who has just relocated from San Francisco to Boston. Welcome to New England.
I gave a first stab at my new book today and the book stabbed back. Both sides are bleeding from multiple wounds. The end result is a hard-fought 300 words. My pace is 1,000 words per day, but the first few days are painful, halting affairs and while I'm reasonably sure that this is how I want to start, there's a fair chance I'll scrub things and start over more than once.
Two other small bits of news. First, a friend has asked me for a beta read on her current novel, currently finishing its first draft. She regularly cracks the NY Times top 10, and it's always fun to read her work. She's also offered to give me a quote for THE RIGHTEOUS, which will be fantastic.
Last night's sleep was even more interesting than the previous night. I stayed away until 9:30, but woke up at 3:00, which was about an hour earlier than Wednesday night. I might take a Unisom tonight to help me sleep at least until five or so.
A wave to my cousin Lis, who has just relocated from San Francisco to Boston. Welcome to New England.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Idle Minds
What's playing on the ipod: Flood, Jars of Clay
So I did walk a lot in France, but more than made up for it with a steady diet of tartes, croissants, quiche, camembert, etc. Hold on one second while I loosen my belt...there, that's better.
I'm really at the point of starting my next book. I might take that step tomorrow. There are still some unresolved issues including a largish hole toward the end of the book. I've got a good idea of the first couple of chapters though, and the big set piece that will come at about 35-45 thousand words. My plan is to continue the brainstorming over the next week using the writing to shake loose some new ideas for the missing parts.
The tentative title is DEVIL'S WORKSHOP.
So I did walk a lot in France, but more than made up for it with a steady diet of tartes, croissants, quiche, camembert, etc. Hold on one second while I loosen my belt...there, that's better.
I'm really at the point of starting my next book. I might take that step tomorrow. There are still some unresolved issues including a largish hole toward the end of the book. I've got a good idea of the first couple of chapters though, and the big set piece that will come at about 35-45 thousand words. My plan is to continue the brainstorming over the next week using the writing to shake loose some new ideas for the missing parts.
The tentative title is DEVIL'S WORKSHOP.
Back From France
What's playing on the ipod: Big in Japan, Alphaville
Got back late last night and am currently fighting the odd feeling that it's the middle of the day. I did get a fair amount of sleep, so hopefully I'll be back on schedule tomorrow.
More later.
Got back late last night and am currently fighting the odd feeling that it's the middle of the day. I did get a fair amount of sleep, so hopefully I'll be back on schedule tomorrow.
More later.
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