Reading Great Writers – James Lee Burke for Setting

I’ve just finished James Lee Burke’s Feast Day of Fools.  It’s not a short read and it’s a violence one (no surprise, right?) but here’s the thing: you can learn so much from this guy.

I’m re-reading it now, marking things up, because he’s just so darn good at describing things.  Like the bleak horizons down on the Texas border with Mexico.  The colors, the sounds, you get the idea. 

There’s one scene, where a sociopath has taken his victim (I’m trying to avoid a spoiler here) out to his personal killing field and as the evildoer parks his “gas guzzler” and exits the car to walk back and open the truck where his victim has been tossed … well.  Not much word count, and I can still hear those boots moving, the sound of the truck opening, the barren surroundings, the breathing of the bound man.  Creeps me out. 

I’m not using his vocabulary. 

You need to read it for yourself.  Feast Day of Fools.

Amazingly good stuff. 

How to Write a Book in 90 Days: The Book, The Plan

I've ordered the Kindle version of Sarah Domet's book 90 Days to Your Novel: a Day by Day Plan for Outlining and Writing Your Book.  I've read it. 

Now, I'm going getting serious about following the path established in this book, because it's smart and it's hard and it makes good sense.  What Sarah Domet has written speaks to me -- I think I've found the approach that jives with how I work.  Not all do, I'm sure you know what I mean.

This is all about my writing fiction, and this means I am going to have to add this time commitment to my current working day, which involves writing and editing nonfiction work as well as providing consulting services for lawyers writing blogs and using social media. 


The book opines that you will need to find two hours a day to meet its 90 day deadline.  Okay.  Two hours; I can find them. 


The book demands an outline, although it gives you optional approaches to outlining.  I like outlining, I like planning in advance.  I love lists.  I love lists of lists, it's that bad.  So, this is good for me.  It might not be as welcome to someone like Robin Lee Hatcher, who likes to write and find out how the story develops as she goes. 


We'll see.


One last thing.  You can keep reading about writing, studying trends, learning markets and publishers and agents ... but then there comes the day when you have to put your foot down.  No more.  No more preparation, whether or not you feel like you're ready to go, there comes a time to move forward. 


At some point, you've got to write instead of learning about writing, thinking about writing, dreaming up plots and making friends with characters. 


Here goes.


Of course, you know what happens.  Just as I find the link for this post on Amazon, what pops up?  How to Write a Book in 90 Days, God's Way by Henry Abraham.  Now, do I read it or stick to my guns?  Arrrgggghhhh. 

Journaling by Hand: I Like Writing Pen on Paper - Though I Do It Less and Less

When I was growing up, I had a callus on my left ring finger that lasted all the way through law school:  it was ugly, but somewhat of a badge of honor. I was left-handed, and held my pen a funny way because I'd taught myself to read and write long before I started school.  (There's an old news story on this in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, but that's a different post for a different day.)

That callus meant I wrote - and wrote a lot.  I was proud of that ugly old thing.

Today, it's gone.  I type all the time now.  Sometimes, I dictate into a Dragon microphone (voice to text software is handy now and then).  I handwrite grocery lists, task lists, little notes to friends, an occasional letter.  Sign a card, leave a stickie on the door.  Not much handwriting going on over here.

So, I've decided to change.  I like writing by hand.  I like the pen, the paper, the time it takes to do it.  A friend who analyzes handwriting for forgeries recalled to me her long-ago study of handwriting analysis.  Personality appearing through handwriting. 

She told me that there are those who believe that people can change their attitudes and behaviors simply by changing how they write.  Amazing to think that a child could increase self-esteem by writing their signature bigger or that a depressed teen could brighten up by simply changing the slant of their words. 

Who knows if it's true or not - even my friend wasn't a true believer - but I suspect that our personalities do show themselves somewhat in how we write with pens, it's such a personal thing.  It has its own creative character, handwriting.

Tess Gerritsen and Elmore Leonard are two authors I know who handwrite their work.  Type it later, but first draft is brain to hand to pen to paper.  I like that.  Or I like the idea of that. 

Mr. Leonard actually writes on special paper pads made just for him.  That's so wonderful.  Unlined, yellow pads each with 63 sheets - you can see an image of them here, on his desk, and read his story of why he likes them in this NPR Interview. 

Dr. Gerritsen may not have special pads, but she has a separate desk for handwriting and another for her computer.  The handwriting desk is an old oak partner's desk -- you know the kind, with all that fabulous surface area inviting you to stack stuff to the rafters (look at the image for Gerritsen's map of Boston there, atop her books and things).   

Here's the thing. I am going to incorporate handwriting back into my daily life.  I'm going to journal by hand, maybe write a poem or two by hand, and who knows: start writing a story by hand.  Is there power in it?  Dunno - will I write more? will I become more prolific?  will my personality change? will I lose weight?  I'll let you know.

To make things even more fun, I've sent off for some disposable extra fine point Varsity Fountain pens (see the image above, they're less than three bucks apiece at Office Depot).  Very cool, can't wait till they arrive.

Update:  Got my Varsity Fountain pens, and I love them - if you're interested, read my review over at Amazon for the details on why they're great (IMHO). 

Grammar-1:11 Common Mistakes

According to JunketStudies, here are the 11 rules of grammar that are most often broken (or is it "broken most often"?):

1. To join two independent clauses, use a comma followed by a conjunction, a semicolon alone, or a semicolon followed by a sentence modifier.

2. Use commas to bracket nonrestrictive phrases, which are not essential to the sentence's meaning.

3. Do not use commas to bracket phrases that are essential to a sentence's meaning.

4. When beginning a sentence with an introductory phrase or an introductory (dependent) clause, include a comma.

5. To indicate possession, end a singular noun with an apostrophe followed by an "s". Otherwise, the noun's form seems plural.

6. Use proper punctuation to integrate a quotation into a sentence. If the introductory material is an independent clause, add the quotation after a colon. If the introductory material ends in "thinks," "saying," or some other verb indicating expression, use a comma.

7. Make the subject and verb agree with each other, not with a word that comes between them.

8. Be sure that a pronoun, a participial phrase, or an appositive refers clearly to the proper subject.

9. Use parallel construction to make a strong point and create a smooth flow.

10. Use the active voice unless you specifically need to use the passive.

11. Omit unnecessary words.

What does all this MEAN? Go here, and click for details: http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/