Last day of the writers’ conference at Mendocino, CA. I was workshopped today. What thrilled me about the critique of a chapter from my detective novel is that they bought the world. Lots of comments and suggestions were made about … Continue reading
My writers’ conference is moderately interesting so far. Fortunately, I am autodidactic, which means I never met a person I couldn’t learn from. This conference cost a third of what the Taos conference cost last year, and I’d say that … Continue reading
I’ll be appearing next at the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference in Fort Bragg, CA. That’s about 150 Miles north of San Francisco, right on the ocean. For someone from Tucson, it will be a cooling off of 45 degrees F. … Continue reading
An interesting and well-written article at NBC news discussed the recent discovery of earth-like planet Kepler 452b, sometimes dubbed, “Earth 2.0.” http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/could-human-beings-ever-reach-earth-2-0-n399956 Apparently, Earth 2.0 is rocky, moderate in temperature, and could harbor liquid water. It might even have an … Continue reading
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