May 16, 2008
Writer Needed
Craig's List is a funny place:
Writer Needed Reply to: [redacted] Date: ...Task - write a biography/self help book.
This will be a book based on the trials and errors as well as life experiences of an individual.
What is required - Prior experience in writing. Must be detail oriented and have an appreciation of philosophy and a willingness to research self-help material.
THIS WILL BE PUBLISHEDCompensation is negotiable. Please email a writing sample and contact information.
I don't even know where to begin.
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May 13, 2008
via my wife: Erica's 20 Rules for Writers
Erica's 20 Rules for Writers
1. Have faith--not cynicism
2. Dare to dream
3. Take your mind off publication
4. Write for joy
5. Get the reader to turn the page
6. Forget politics (let your real politics shine through)
7. Forget intellect
8. Forget ego
9. Be a beginner
10. Accept change
11. Don't think your mind needs altering
12. Don't expect approval for telling the truth -
(Parents, politicians, colleagues, friends, etc.)
13. Use everything
14. Remember that writing is Heroism
15. Let Sex (The Body, the physical world) in!
16. Forget critics
17. Tell your truth not the world's
18. Remember to be earth-bound
19. Remember to be wild!
20. Write for the child (in yourself and others)
There are no rules
Erica Jong
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April 28, 2008
Nabokov's Last Novel
Dmitri Nabokov plans to anger his father's ghost by publishing Vladimir's last, unfinished novel.
It would be a tough to be an executor, not to mention the son or daughter of an artist, and have to decide whether or not to ignore final wishes. I'd say that Dmitri, at 73, has spent a good long while thinking about this (his father died in 1977); this is not a rush to publish. If anything, it's a roll up a steep cliff. That the novel is written on index cards, and that Dmitri does not plan to add to it (appropriate I think), means it will be brief. And nothing published at this point will remove from Vladimir's legacy or legitimacy as a master storyteller. But I still wonder at the wish for the work to be destroyed. A great artist is their own best editor and critic, and as such, had he lived Vladimir would have decided for his own purposes whether to publish the work or not. That's been taken away from him. I have a hard time knowing if I think that's fair or appropriate.
I am reminded that Steven Erickson, when his novel "Days Between Stations" was sold, returned home and destroyed every novel he'd written up to that point. Nothing of those unpublished works will see the light of day - his control over that is ensured.
But not for Vladimir.
What about you? Have you that embarrassing novel or story floating in a drawer somewhere? Should you ignite it now while you still have the chance?
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April 16, 2008
Forgot to carry the two.
Now it looks like the earth has a better shot at getting hit by an asteroid than I do of getting my book published.Posted by sferrell at 1:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
April 15, 2008
Jason Segel.
This NYTimes article about Jason Segel ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "How I met Your Mother") nicely illustrates how you have to be ready to put yourself in harms way to get your vision out there. Or, alternatively, how you have to put your ding-dong on the screen to be true to your art. It seems that Mr. Segel wrote a humiliating, nude, break-up scene for himself in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." Bravo. The article goes on to say how he did this because when it had happened to him in real life he realized that it was too good a moment to ignore.
The article also recounts how Judd Apatow has played a strong, mentoring, and vital part of Mr. Segel's career, including being the one to encourage him to write his own material.
It's nice to see an article with a simple "keep doing the work and things will happen" message.
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April 10, 2008
Navel Gazing.
Pardon me as I ramble:
So I come up for air and discover that over a month has passed since my last post. A month? Try month-and-a-half. Damn. I've been busy, but... 45 days busy?
I've got a new novel in the works. Four words: Time travel murder mystery. I'm currently transcribing another. And I pounded out a screenplay. Oh, and American Idol's been good this season. Seriously, lots of things to write, not a lot of time, and blogging slips away and away.
So what brings me back? This article from the NYTimes: Michiko Kakutani rips Martin Amis a new one.
That's my title for the article, not theirs. Theirs is a shorter.
What brought me out of hibernation was the arrogant and self-aggrandizing stance of Mr. Amis' assertions. Me thinks he looks inward too much. Can he really perceive 9/11 in such cynical terms? As a semantic phenomenon? God I hope not. But from Kakutani's review it seems that he does. It's important to keep a sense of place, know what's going on, and remember what your endeavors really amount to. Mr. Amis seems to operate on the assumption that the world only exists so that people can write books about it. I'd much rather remember that anything I do, writing or otherwise, is part of and reflective of the world. Not only do I wish my writing to be respected, but I want the world it inhabits to be respected to. So while I haven't been blogging, I have been trying to keep myself in the world.
So, who do you like in American Idol?
Oh, and Call of Duty 4 rocks.
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