How I Write Fiction
A reader asked me to produce a post about how I write fiction. They wanted to know how I came up with ideas and then how I translated those ideas from my head onto the paper or in my case screen. It is a good question and one that I have written about before. It is called:
I Don't Always Believe In Happy Endings
In an effort to avoid being repetitive I am going to try to cover some things that I didn't speak about in the initial post. I have been described as being very intense and passionate person. I am not sure that I can provide an accurate assessment as to whether I am any more passionate or intense than the next person.
What I do know is that I have had a bunch of life experience. I have been in love and I have been heartbroken. I have friends that I love, who I would die for. It goes without saying that I feel even more so about my family. In my life I have celebrated great success and deeply mourned my losses.
Heartbreak is not just about loving a person. Sometimes you can be heartbroken about missed opportunities, or at least suffer from severe regret. There is not much that I regret. I have gotten pretty good at just shrugging my shoulders at life, but there are those few things.
I write based upon my gut, it is just instinct. I compose at the computer and the words just kind of show up on screen. I suspect that my best writing comes from my being able to get in touch with certain feelings. Sometimes I can find the old wounds and rip the scab right off of them. Sometimes I can relive those moments of pain and frustration and transfer it to the keyboard.
Sometimes I am surprised to find a tear or two hit the keyboard. It doesn't happen too often, but sometimes.
Really what I am saying here is not all that insightful. My best writing comes from what I know or at least what I think I know. It is a subjective thing. Some people love my writing and others hate it.
I don't know if that is a satisfactory answer, but it will have to do for now. It is late and I am ready for bed.
Lailah tov from LA.
I Don't Always Believe In Happy Endings
In an effort to avoid being repetitive I am going to try to cover some things that I didn't speak about in the initial post. I have been described as being very intense and passionate person. I am not sure that I can provide an accurate assessment as to whether I am any more passionate or intense than the next person.
What I do know is that I have had a bunch of life experience. I have been in love and I have been heartbroken. I have friends that I love, who I would die for. It goes without saying that I feel even more so about my family. In my life I have celebrated great success and deeply mourned my losses.
Heartbreak is not just about loving a person. Sometimes you can be heartbroken about missed opportunities, or at least suffer from severe regret. There is not much that I regret. I have gotten pretty good at just shrugging my shoulders at life, but there are those few things.
I write based upon my gut, it is just instinct. I compose at the computer and the words just kind of show up on screen. I suspect that my best writing comes from my being able to get in touch with certain feelings. Sometimes I can find the old wounds and rip the scab right off of them. Sometimes I can relive those moments of pain and frustration and transfer it to the keyboard.
Sometimes I am surprised to find a tear or two hit the keyboard. It doesn't happen too often, but sometimes.
Really what I am saying here is not all that insightful. My best writing comes from what I know or at least what I think I know. It is a subjective thing. Some people love my writing and others hate it.
I don't know if that is a satisfactory answer, but it will have to do for now. It is late and I am ready for bed.
Lailah tov from LA.
Time To Pick A Summer Camp
It is hard to believe that it is already time to begin making the arrangements for summer camp. It is not even Spring and we are busy reviewing brochures for summer camp. Maybe that is why I have a block of Iron Maiden playing on iTunes.
Summer camp. Book your space now or risk having to place your son/daughter on a waiting list. The good news is that you don't have to give them the full amount now, just a small token of your appreciation. Shall we say $500 a child. It is crazy, but so is taking a chance that they will have nothing to do this summer.
Just the thought of children staying home all day every day is enough to make a million mothers scream in frustration or is that terror. Either way, they want their kids out.
Of course there is the small issue of trying to make sure that you can afford to pay for your child's summer fun. If you are really lucky you are already sending them to a private school that has a healthy tuition. And that healthy tuition is supplemented by one fundraiser after another. Book drive, bagel sale, candy sale, wrapping paper, PTA dinner dance, silent auction etc.
It drives me a bit crazy. Let's say that the tuition for your child is supposed to be $10,000. By the time all of the fundraisers have come and gone you are stuck for another grand or two. It would be easier if they just chucked the freaking fundraisers and told us that it was going to cost $12,000. It would save so much heartache and I wouldn't have 1,498,987 rolls of wrapping paper and 2098 pounds of candy clogging the arteries of my already too small home.
The good news is that during the school year you can be relatively certain that your child will reward you for your hard work by telling you that school is boring, the teachers are so-so and that the kids are kind of mean. If you are really lucky they'll also tell you that they have figured out that the cafeteria is the benefit of the school recycling project. There is a reason why the pizza tastes like cardboard.
Eventually your little sweethearts will get to experience the joy of the camp you helped them to pick six months earlier. Remember that $500 you used as a security deposit. That same money that you needed desperately for something else will be returned to you in the form of the great compliment your child offers about their summer camp. You'll ask what they think and they'll say something profound like "it sucks" or "it is really boring."
And then you'll share in the same joy of parenthood that so many others do. Later on when you tell your parents about how rotten and ungrateful your children are your folks will start laughing and using terms like "payback" and "at last."
I suppose that it is what they meant in that Lion King movie when they sang about the Circle Of Life.
Summer camp. Book your space now or risk having to place your son/daughter on a waiting list. The good news is that you don't have to give them the full amount now, just a small token of your appreciation. Shall we say $500 a child. It is crazy, but so is taking a chance that they will have nothing to do this summer.
Just the thought of children staying home all day every day is enough to make a million mothers scream in frustration or is that terror. Either way, they want their kids out.
Of course there is the small issue of trying to make sure that you can afford to pay for your child's summer fun. If you are really lucky you are already sending them to a private school that has a healthy tuition. And that healthy tuition is supplemented by one fundraiser after another. Book drive, bagel sale, candy sale, wrapping paper, PTA dinner dance, silent auction etc.
It drives me a bit crazy. Let's say that the tuition for your child is supposed to be $10,000. By the time all of the fundraisers have come and gone you are stuck for another grand or two. It would be easier if they just chucked the freaking fundraisers and told us that it was going to cost $12,000. It would save so much heartache and I wouldn't have 1,498,987 rolls of wrapping paper and 2098 pounds of candy clogging the arteries of my already too small home.
The good news is that during the school year you can be relatively certain that your child will reward you for your hard work by telling you that school is boring, the teachers are so-so and that the kids are kind of mean. If you are really lucky they'll also tell you that they have figured out that the cafeteria is the benefit of the school recycling project. There is a reason why the pizza tastes like cardboard.
Eventually your little sweethearts will get to experience the joy of the camp you helped them to pick six months earlier. Remember that $500 you used as a security deposit. That same money that you needed desperately for something else will be returned to you in the form of the great compliment your child offers about their summer camp. You'll ask what they think and they'll say something profound like "it sucks" or "it is really boring."
And then you'll share in the same joy of parenthood that so many others do. Later on when you tell your parents about how rotten and ungrateful your children are your folks will start laughing and using terms like "payback" and "at last."
I suppose that it is what they meant in that Lion King movie when they sang about the Circle Of Life.
The Breakfast Club
I never get tired of this movie. Maybe it is just because I am a sentimental old fool or just that I associate so many good memories with it.
Don't Mess WIth Chewbacca
Star War fans recall that Han Solo said you should never upset a wookie.
"He yelled at me, 'Nobody tells this wookiee what to do!' "Click here for the full story.
Do You Have Blog Envy?
(Originally posted here)
Do you have blog envy? Are you a blogger who secretly wishes that your blog was more like another. Do you wish that you had more comments or that your commenters were cooler and more clever.
Do you ever wish that your posts were smarter and wittier. Have you ever been disappointed because your favorite blogger never comments on your blog?
Are you upset because your own blog is not patrolled and assaulted by wackos, moonbats and nutjobs.
Do you question why you blog and wonder if you are wasting your time.
Do you ever wonder how many roads a man must walk before he becomes a man. Have you ever ridden through the desert on a horse with no name.
Well, have you?
Do you have blog envy? Are you a blogger who secretly wishes that your blog was more like another. Do you wish that you had more comments or that your commenters were cooler and more clever.
Do you ever wish that your posts were smarter and wittier. Have you ever been disappointed because your favorite blogger never comments on your blog?
Are you upset because your own blog is not patrolled and assaulted by wackos, moonbats and nutjobs.
Do you question why you blog and wonder if you are wasting your time.
Do you ever wonder how many roads a man must walk before he becomes a man. Have you ever ridden through the desert on a horse with no name.
Well, have you?
The New Coke of Blogging & Random Thoughts
Jameel and I agree that Beta Blogger bears a strong resemblance to New Coke. It remains to be seen whether that description remains in place or if it is left behind in a trail of cyberspace dust. As I said over at his place, I apologize for crossing the streams. That could very well be the problem, who knows.
What we can say is that thus far there have been a number of bumps, squeaks and bruises left by the change. The most notable one took place earlier today in which many of us were unable to reach our blogs. Instead we received some sort of error message. Since I don't read Klingon I am at a loss for what this message meant.
Perhaps it was a note from the hamster union calling upon all hamsters of character to go on strike. As soon as they stop spinning those wheels the whole freaking thing breaks down. Or maybe it was something else I don't really know.
That is ok. I don't get paid the big bucks to know these things. I get paid the big bucks to write posts of whimsy and will about this and that. In case you are curious I don't know what that last sentence about whimsy and will means. It sounds like some sort of wacky radio show. Welcome to KWILL's morning show with Whimsy and Will.
I need to get a haircut. The old Jewfro is starting to look pretty raggedy, rather Unabomberish. I figure I either cut it or open up a laboratory and become a mad scientist. Now there is a term that I don't hear that often anymore, Mad Scientist. I rather fancy it, the term, not being a Mad Scientist. Of course there are certain benefits to being a Mad Scientist.
Mad Scientists don't pay takes. Mad Scientists don't worry about hitting the motorcyclists who split lanes. A good Mad Scientist would have some evil acid that they drop on the motorcyclist's tires. That would teach them to the split the lanes. If I were a Mad Scientist I wouldn't have to worry about so many little details, like what to have for dinner, how to pay tuition for my children's schools etc.
I'd live in a big castle at the top of a hill and scream things like IT IS ALIVE! and then maniacal laughter would rain down upon the gentle valley below. It could be fun.
Ok geek time. If you could be a character on Star Trek or Lord Of The Rings which would you choose and why? Remember, you cannot be both. Orcs don't carry Phasers and Kirk doesn't have a magic ring. Besides, he didn't really need one. On a side note it appears that old Willie is now making guest appearances on blogs.
Maybe I'll look into having him over here again. There is nothing like listening to him sing Rocket Man.
What we can say is that thus far there have been a number of bumps, squeaks and bruises left by the change. The most notable one took place earlier today in which many of us were unable to reach our blogs. Instead we received some sort of error message. Since I don't read Klingon I am at a loss for what this message meant.
Perhaps it was a note from the hamster union calling upon all hamsters of character to go on strike. As soon as they stop spinning those wheels the whole freaking thing breaks down. Or maybe it was something else I don't really know.
That is ok. I don't get paid the big bucks to know these things. I get paid the big bucks to write posts of whimsy and will about this and that. In case you are curious I don't know what that last sentence about whimsy and will means. It sounds like some sort of wacky radio show. Welcome to KWILL's morning show with Whimsy and Will.
I need to get a haircut. The old Jewfro is starting to look pretty raggedy, rather Unabomberish. I figure I either cut it or open up a laboratory and become a mad scientist. Now there is a term that I don't hear that often anymore, Mad Scientist. I rather fancy it, the term, not being a Mad Scientist. Of course there are certain benefits to being a Mad Scientist.
Mad Scientists don't pay takes. Mad Scientists don't worry about hitting the motorcyclists who split lanes. A good Mad Scientist would have some evil acid that they drop on the motorcyclist's tires. That would teach them to the split the lanes. If I were a Mad Scientist I wouldn't have to worry about so many little details, like what to have for dinner, how to pay tuition for my children's schools etc.
I'd live in a big castle at the top of a hill and scream things like IT IS ALIVE! and then maniacal laughter would rain down upon the gentle valley below. It could be fun.
Ok geek time. If you could be a character on Star Trek or Lord Of The Rings which would you choose and why? Remember, you cannot be both. Orcs don't carry Phasers and Kirk doesn't have a magic ring. Besides, he didn't really need one. On a side note it appears that old Willie is now making guest appearances on blogs.
Maybe I'll look into having him over here again. There is nothing like listening to him sing Rocket Man.
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