First Crocus of Spring
It’s coming. Spring is coming. The geese were right, and spring is coming early after a mild maritime winter. I’m not complaining…I love spring.
Posted in Seattle | Tagged crocus, Garden, gardening, geese, photography, Seattle, spring | Leave a Comment »
In prep for my next book project, I’m reading some authors whose styles I want to understand better. The first author on my list was Alice Hoffman, and my second is Julio Cortázar.
I turned to Cortázar primarily because of one story I read many years ago. “Axolotl” was a story of such unusual structure and style that it has stuck with me for decades, after only a single reading. This alone is enough do draw me back to it, in this preliminary phase, but its structure also has something I’ve been thinking about for the structure of my next book: shifting POV.
Cortázar’s prose and style is impossible to nail down. Each story in this so different from the others. At times, I thought I found an overarching method, only to find something radically different in the next story. If there is anything that does pertain to all of Cortázar’s stories here, it is density. And by density, I don’t mean that his prose is opaque and hard to understand. To the contrary, his prose is clear, but full of detail, full of depth, and (harkening back to my one recent revelation) full of history and backstory. Continue Reading »
Posted in Writing | Tagged books, creative writing, julio cortazar, novel writing, robert w chambers, Writing, writing techniques | 1 Comment »
It’s time to make some pasta!
Why? Because if I don’t, I have to throw out my pasta maker. Them’s the rules. Yes, that’s right. I run my kitchen by Alton Brown’s “Use it or Lose it” system.
Foodies accrete clutter–That shiny new thingumbob at Sur La Table, that “People who bought that also bought this” add-on from Amazon, those stupid whatsit prezzies from well-meaning relatives. They all build up. (Some say they even multiply in the late hours of the evening, while the dishwasher is running.)
Alton’s “Use it or Lose it” system is a great way to de-clutter your kitchen and simplify your life. I strongly recommend it, if for no other reason than it provides a guilt-free excuse to get rid of all that junk. Here’s how it works.
Posted in Food | Tagged Alton Brown, cooking, Food, kitchen, kitchen gadgets, simplification, the Simple Life | 5 Comments »
Time’s up!Posted in Writing | Tagged blogging, contest, creative writing, handwritten manuscript, novel writing, the view from here, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips | 1 Comment »
My recent reading has hammered it in: Backstory–a word my spellchecker hates (though it doesn’t have a problem with “spellchecker”)…I swear; it’s like being edited by a 6th grader with OCD–is absolutely crucial. I’ve known this for a long time, but I’m sort of obsessing about it, now, as I prepare for this new book. I see backstory everywhere in great writing, and it makes all the difference.
You’ve probably heard it: “Your characters aren’t born on Page One.” Meaning, our characters need a history, a reason to be the way they are, where they are, and with whom they are. Lately, I’ve also realized that this rule isn’t just for characters. Places and sometimes even objects need a backstory. The town they live in, that rocking chair in the corner, that leather-bound book there on the shelf, that old pitcher with the crack in it, the dog asleep in the corner…anything can benefit from a backstory. Problem is, I can’t put all that backstory in a book.
New writers often seem to think that, if something is not in the book, it’s not important. This may well be true, but with backstory, this attitude can lead to two major mistakes: putting backstory in the book, and not putting backstory in the book.
Posted in Writing | Tagged backstory, believable characters, character history, Characters, creative writing, novel writing, Writing, writing structure, writing techniques, writing tips | 7 Comments »
A quick reminder: Today is the last day to put in your bid for the “Cast in Stone” rewrite documents.
Go to the contest post for info on how to enter to win the original story, my handwritten rewrite, and the final draft with markup.
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Posted in Writing | Tagged contest, creative writing, fiction, handwritten manuscript, novel writing, the view from here, writing errors, writing mistakes, writing techniques, writing tips | Leave a Comment »
It’s not often that I can tie together what is arguably the grittiest crime drama on network television with a 1966 rom-com–OK, I’ve never done it, so today’s a first–and I’ll be frank with you, tieing these two objects together is going to take some doing, so have patience. I’ll get there.
Yesterday during my workout I watched “How to Steal a Million” (1966), starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole. It is a light-hearted bit of fluff about the daughter of an art forger and a purported art thief who need to steal something to protect a secret. It’s set in Paris, Audrey is swathed in Givenchy throughout, O’Toole sports around in an XK-E, and it has several temporal “shout-outs” to the stars’ previous hits, so I’m sure it was doubly enjoyable for folks back in ’66 who’d been following these two icons through their early careers. It’s a little less believable than most romantic comedies (which means it was totally farcical), but one doesn’t watch a rom-com for believability or with any doubts as to the outcome. We watch them for the interaction, for the play, for the fun of it, and in this respect, “How to Steal a Million” delivers, even today.
I thought it was out-dated, though, because of its treatment of Ms. Hepburn’s character. Continue Reading »
Posted in Movies, Television | Tagged Audrey Hepburn, Kevin Bacon, movie reviews, Movies, Peter O'Toole, reviews, television, television reviews, The Following, William Wyler | Leave a Comment »
