Posted in Writing, tagged clustering, creative writing, Poetry, quiet living, Writing, writing techniques on 31 Mar 2014| Leave a Comment »
In the cold air of evening
Wrens forage on a red-barked tree
Cry here here here
Robins flee from my footstep
Eye me from amid apple blossoms
Coughing rum-rum-rum like old cars in the morning
Juncos steal past below me
Seeking midges mid-air
They leap silently through the gloaming
Sunset breaks the lidded sky
Limns the buds of maples
In the cold air of evening
Posted in Culture, Writing, tagged changing names, creative writing, given names, Kurt R.A. Giambastiani, middle names, names, pseudonyms, Writing on 27 Mar 2014| 7 Comments »
Names are interesting. They are (in general) the one permanent thing about us that someone else has chosen. Our parents, knowing nothing about us, saddle us with these monikers, and we grow up with them. How do they change us? How might we have been different, had we been given a different name? And for those who change their names, why do they change them, what do they change to, and why did they pick the new name?
Perhaps because of this fascination (along with the fact that I have trouble remembering the names of people I meet), names sometimes get stuck in my head. Names like Heiliger Dankgesang and Sandra Day O’Connor will drop into my head from nowhere and stick around for days, like that annoying song stuck in your head.
The other day, it was Yngwie Malmsteen. I mentioned this and was immediately told that the guitarists name was actually Yngwie J. Malmsteen (to distinguish him from all the other Yngwie Malmsteens out there), which led to a discussion of middle initials, which led to the question:
What does the R.A. in Kurt R.A. Giambastiani stand for?
Well, it isn’t rheumatoid arthritis.
Posted in Writing, tagged Characters, creative writing, novel writing, vignettes, Writing on 25 Mar 2014| Leave a Comment »
He had not wept, not for years, so when he broke, it was as if a mountainside had cracked and slid down, carrying everything–trees, homes, lives–into the valley below. His rage and frustration burst through his controls with a power that surprised everyone, himself most of all.
She was silent, wide-eyed in the face of his despair.
Posted in Culture, Writing, tagged Characters, creative writing, editing, novel writing, publishing, Writing, writing techniques on 20 Mar 2014| 4 Comments »
Character study…
Some people do not have a volume switch.
Or, to be more precise, there are some people whose volume switch is stuck at ten.
Or eleven. (more…)
Posted in Writing, tagged creative writing, editing, memoir, novel writing, revision letters, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 13 Feb 2014| Leave a Comment »
Letters are nice things to get in the mail.
I’m not talking about bills or street-spam from your local dentist. I mean letters. Honest to God Letters, written by a person, meant for you and you alone.
Well, mostly…
There’s one kind of letter that I hate to get:
The Revision Letter.
Posted in Writing, tagged creative writing, editing, heroic couplets, novel writing, sentence structure and rhythm, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 06 Feb 2014| Leave a Comment »
I do not care for the heroic couplet.
daDa-daDa-daDa-daDa-daDee,
daDa-daDa-daDa-daDa-daDee.
It’s fine for a short poem or sonnet, but when you stack one atop the other for stanza after stanza, it gets predictable, monotonous, and boring. It’s why A Midsummer Night’s Dream is my least favorite of Shakespeare’s plays, as a huge portion of it is written in heroic couplets.
What does this have to do with writing prose? Plenty.
Posted in Writing, tagged believable characters, building believable characters, Characters, creative writing, luck, lucky penny, Writing on 30 Jan 2014| 4 Comments »
I don’t really believe in luck.
At least, I don’t believe in luck as something we can affect. Things happen; sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re not. People who we think have “good luck” are just folks who make better decisions than others. People who have repeated “bad luck” are usually not paying close enough attention to what’s going on around them. Beyond that, it’s just the randomness of life. Stuff happens.
So, why do I have a “lucky penny?”
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 