Almost halfway there, at 35,000 words, and still worried. I just drafted chapter 14 of my novel-in-progress. Fifteen has to take a sharp turn so that’s why I’m stalling. Usually I conceptualize moves that take a couple of chapters to … Continue reading
I just read and reviewed Green Girl, by Kate Zambreno. See it here. A green girl is a young, naïve, unformed girl, as Ophelia was described in Hamlet. Zambreno’s book describes such an unformed person in novel-length detail. But why? I … Continue reading
There is a vaguely Faulknerian mood to this strange novel. In Faulkner’s work, dim-witted, almost subhuman characters passively bump their ways around Yoknapatawpha County. As a traditionalist, I’m not a fan of passive, aimless characters behaving pointlessly, but at least … Continue reading
I just posted a book review, of Two Serious Ladies, by Jane Bowles. See it here. I didn’t mention in the review that Jane and Paul Bowles (author of The Sheltering Sky) were married for decades while they lived in … Continue reading
Seriously Aimless In this sometimes amusing novel, two well-off American women cast aside their comfortable lives and pursue separate journeys of self-discovery. In both cases, they end up hanging out with prostitutes, con-men, and other shady characters, living in … Continue reading
There are few things more unnerving for a writer than that familiar doubt that erupts in the middle of a project, “Is this total bullshit?” I know you’re supposed to ignore the “shitbird,” as I’ve heard it called, the bird … Continue reading
Seven chapters have miraculously appeared as the start of my new novel (although Chapter 7 has to be significantly rewritten to accommodate my plan for #8 – I hate when that happens). Regardless, I’m starting to enjoy my characters. I started … Continue reading
Enthusiasts keen on the search for extraterrestrial life always present this justification for their interest: we must find out: Are We Alone? This topic comes to mind again today (7/14/15) after reading a New York Times article (http://nyti.ms/1dWlI2y) on the … Continue reading
What To Assume About Aliens Lem, Stanislaw (1968). His Master’s Voice. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (199 pp.) It barely counts as a novel, this story presented as a single scientist’s memoir of a project he worked on long ago. … Continue reading
I’m going to a meeting of local screenwriters and wannabe screenwriters (like me) tonight, to see if 1. I can learn anything, 2. If I can survive without being totally intimidated, and 3. If I might meet some interesting people. … Continue reading