Writing is like pro football—you have to work at it until you sweat every day (and, of course, the injuries are more severe).
February 22, 2011
Writing: Abuse Most Pleasurable
I just spent an hour typing a new page into my novel while sitting in my underwear on the edge of my bed. I’m in bare feet, it’s ten degrees out, and there’s no heat in my bedroom. My skin is freezing. But my story is set on an island near Cuba where it’s eighty-five degrees in the shade, so I’m warm as a fetus . . . in my mind. My feet, however, are suing my brain for negligent affliction of frostbite and they want an immediate divorce. I’m hoping my heart will step in and adjudicate the matter, but it’s too busy being happy about the page I wrote. Sometimes writing is a form of abuse most pleasurable.
February 20, 2011
Plot teaser for Tesora
After a sixteen-year-old cabin boy steals pirate gold, he is left marooned, but he finds a new life in Cuba and falls in love with the daughter of a slave. His hopes for happiness turn to doubt when the pirates surround him and the townspeople must decide whether or not to fight to save the life of the only white man in town.
January 29, 2011
See If You Can Beat Me
I entered the 20th Annual James Jones First Novel contest. Not sure if this a good step towards sharing my writing, or an expensive lottery ticket. Will you try? Any first novelist may apply.
It will be awarded to an American author of a first novel-in-progress, in 2011, by the James Jones Literary Society. Novellas and collections of closely linked short stories may also be considered for the competition.
The award is intended to honor the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into modern culture exemplified by the late James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity and other prose narratives of distinction. Jones himself was the recipient of aid from many supporters as a young writer and his family, friends, and admirers have established this award of $10,000 to continue the tradition in his name. Two runner up awards of $750 each will also be given by the Jones Literary Society.
Apply Here
January 23, 2011
A short synopsis of Tardy Son
Tardy Son, a novel
When a 13-year-old California boy’s attempt to run away from his abusive home is thwarted, he defies the police, and wages a war against his father. His first attempt to escape by jumping onto a freight train bound for San Francisco becomes an odyssey. He wants to start an imaginary baseball team, go to an imaginary school, and become a real writer. But when cornered by the police and angered by the lies his father tells the newspapers, he uses his wit and humor to fight back and publishes his own version of the runaway story which becomes infamous throughout California. He writes his real, day-to-day story for his teammates, his girlfriend, and his father to read. When he finally faces his father again, his anger draws blood, yet it also reveals a deeper story. He’s a polio survivor and a Mexican adopted by a white family in the 1950s, so his fight for his truth becomes more than a struggle to survive life on the street—it becomes a struggle to find his own identity.
December 17, 2010
Rock&Roll Song from Skeezer
My new character from the new WIP writes a 24-word chorus about how she feels about her ex. Imagine a speed-punk sound welded to a cut-time reggae romp. No? Do your homework.
Twenty-Nine
Deaf dumb and blind heaven, where are you?
Is there a cloud there, not colored blue?
Can I get a bootless note to save me mind?
When will the bootless boy kiss me behind?
December 12, 2010
Interesting Interview with Lan Samantha Chang on Bookworm
Of course, good writing can’t really be taught, although parts of it can be learned. But if one wanted to learn to be a good writer, it wouldn’t hurt to listen to someone like Chang.
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/bw/bw101118lan_samantha_chang_a/embed-audio
November 14, 2010
Haibun and Novels
My fiction combines autobiography, short parables for children, history, travel writing, and poetry. It is related in this way to the Haibun form of 17th Century Japan. The Japanese poet, Bashō, known mainly for his haiku, was a writer of haibun. Haibuns may use a scene in a descriptive and objective manner or they may occupy a dream-like space. Realistic scenes may be faded into parabolic ones such as this which follows a paragraph of standard prose:
I am your mother. I give you life, I hold your life up, I give you life on your own. The last gift is the hardest to give. I caress your title page as it leaves my hand. I can’t imagine not giving you a little sister. It’s the third gift.
davidkrancher.com 