Certainty is all! /
God has decreed this answer, /
Except to the quark.
Filed under 2015, Haiku to You Thursday, poetry by author
Tip once, tip often.
Filed under 2015, writing tip, Writing Tip Wednesday
And some days the demon wrote better drafts than Willard did.
Filed under 2015, cartoon by author, CarToonsday
Two writers were sitting in the corner of a library arguing over words. One of the writers was named Dick, the other one Nathan, though most people called him Nary.
After being shushed a few times, the library lost her composure and yelled, “Dick and Nary, shut up or I throw the book at you.”
“Bridge or unabridged?” Nary asked.
Word has it that nary a moment passed before Nary knew not what hit him. And though Dick escaped unharmed, Dick or Nary was never found at that library again.
Filed under 2015, Monday morning writing joke
Thirty years in the making. Scheduled for release in 2016.
by Jack Martinez
Source: http://www.newsweek.com/cormac-mccarthy-new-book-363027#.Vc-Q6I8RjpQ.twitter
Cormac McCarthy
The occasion marks nearly 50 years since the publication of McCarthy’s The Orchard Keeper, which won the PEN/Faulkner prize for best debut novel in 1966.
While academics and critics have long praised his work, the legendary author keeps a low profile, spending most of his time at a science and mathematics think tank in New Mexico, the Santa Fe Institute (SFI), where he is a trustee. Organizers at SFI confirmed to Newsweek that the novel will be released in 2016, though McCarthy’s agent and publishers declined to comment on the status of the book.
Prior to the Lannan Foundation event on August 5, details about the book’s eventual publication were hard to come by. Now, The Passenger appears to be approaching.
That alone is enough to excite McCarthy’s substantial following. Steven Frye, president of the Cormac McCarthy Society, is more than a little biased when it comes to ranking authors. But there are plenty who share his opinion when he says: “I would rate him No. 1” among contemporary authors. “It’s bold to say that we’ll be reading him in 500 years, the way we read Shakespeare…. But if we’re still reading novels, then I think it will be the case.”
Given the author’s history when it comes to public appearances, it was a surprise to members of the Society (which has no affiliation with the author) when the event was announced on the Santa Fe Institute’s web site.
Read more at: http://www.newsweek.com/cormac-mccarthy-new-book-363027#.Vc-Q6I8RjpQ.twitter
Florida principal tries to quietly ban book to appease Christians — sets off sh*tstorm instead
by David Ferguson
A high school principal in Tallahassee, Florida is in hot water over his unilateral decision to drop a controversial book from a summer reading list for students.
Book banning
Curious Incident is the story of a 15-year-old British math genius who is on the autism/Asperger’s Syndrome spectrum. The teenager relays everything that happens around him in the same matter-of-fact, almost emotionless tone, including some adults’ struggles with faith and a belief in God.
Burch’s decision to pull the book has caught the attention of the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and other major freedom of information, anti-censorship organizations.
“This case is very startling. A handful of parents are making choices for every other parent in that school,” said Sarah Hoffman of the NCAC to the Democrat. “There is a reason policies are in place — to protect educators and the decisions they make.”
“This seems like a knee-jerk decision,” she continued.
But Sue Gee, one of the parents who complained about the book, feels that Curious Case is an affront to her faith and that its casual use of swear words would be harmful to students.
“I am not interested in having books banned,” said Gee, a former primary school teacher. “But to have that language and to take the name of Christ in vain — I don’t go for that. As a Christian, and as a female, I was offended. Kids don’t have to be reading that type of thing and that’s why I was asking for an alternative assignment.”
“I know it’s not realistic to pretend bad words don’t exist, but it is my responsibility as a parent to make sure that my daughter knows what is right or wrong,” she said.
But parents like Valerie Mindlin said they don’t want religious parents or any other kinds of ideologues dictating to teachers what they can and can’t teach.
“I was stunned,” said Mindlin. “I feel like it is second-guessing teachers. I never thought that the school would participate in an act of censorship. “At what point do you let parents decide the curriculum for an entire school?”
Lincoln County School Board member Alva Striplin told the Democrat that the agency is just trying to act in the best interests of students.
Striplin believes that Curious Incident should be replaced by something more innocuous.
“We are simply listening to parents’ concerns,” Striplin said. “We’ve got a million books to choose from and this one should not be on the district approval list.”
Drive by thinking.
Filed under 2015, photo by David E. Booker, Photo Finish Friday
’Bots or lifeless souls. /
99 percent are fake. /
Send for true details.
Filed under 2015, Haiku to You Thursday, poetry by author
9 Practical Tricks for Writing Your First Novel
by JAN ELLISON
1. Get to the end of the story
One of the biggest mistakes I made writing my first novel was spending too much time polishing the language before I understood the story’s arc. I didn’t know if the words and sentences I was massaging supported the story, because I had no idea how it ended. I finally made a huge poster that read: “GET TO THE END OF THE STORY” and taped it to the wall behind my computer. This simple trick helped me push forward to the end.
2. Put the manuscript away for awhile and write something else
After five and a half years of steady work on my novel, I inadvertently set it aside for eighteen months to write 600 pages of material for a second novel. I thought my first novel was dead. Then I opened the file one day and started reading it from the beginning. What I discovered was that the time away allowed me to experience the manuscript as a reader instead of a writer. Not only did I find I liked what I’d written, I saw where the holes were, and how it might end. Ten months after its rediscovery, it was sold overnight to Random House.
3. Set a timer for forty-five minutes, then take a fifteen minute break
This is a trick that emerged out of creativity research, and that I first heard about from another writer, Ellen Sussman. When you sit down to write, set a timer for forty-five minutes. Force yourself to begin putting words on the page immediately, and don’t stop until the timer goes off, even if you have to write about the weather. Then reset the timer for a fifteen minute break. During the break, don’t check email; do something mindless like dishes or jumping jacks or cartwheels. This trick frees your subconscious to tackle bigger issues in the manuscript. You’ll find that when you sit down again for another forty-five minute session, you’ll have made breakthroughs without even trying.
4. Only set writing goals that are completely within your control
Some writers set daily word count or page goals; I find it simpler to commit to the amount of time I spend writing every day. If I get interrupted by my kids, I can always make the hours up at night when they’re asleep. I set a goal of three writing hours (45 minutes on, 15 minutes off) per day, five days a week. I keep track of the hours on a log next to my desk, and when I reach fifteen, I’ve met my goal.
Other tips include:
5. Keep a poem in progress on your desktop
6. Organize a self-styled writing retreat
7. Read other novels, not short stories
8. Write 1,200 pages to get 300
9. Find three trusted readers, not just one
Jan Ellison
Filed under 2015, writing tip, Writing Tip Wednesday
Booker's Blog 