One of the first aphorisms given to beginning writers is the old ‘show, don’t tell’ claim. Like any ‘rule’ of any endeavor, especially those of creative natures, it has as its basis some helpful advice, yet you also need to understand it, and then be able to understand when to break the rule. Afaik, this rule has its source in the tendency amongst us writers to summarize or to inform […]
Show, don’t tell
More comparisons, music to fiction
One of my more recent large projects is revising a 3DayNovel from a year and a half ago, and, at the same time, revising the sequel that I wrote last NaNoWriMo. These are very plot oriented stories, mysteries, action stories to some extent, and so there is a very definite structure, key points, key activities, key discussions that have to take place. And because of that I notice that I’m […]
Composition; musical and fictional
I was a classical composition major in university who came from a self-taught jazz background. Sometimes I think about the differences between writing fiction and writing music. Music has a life of its own. These days if you compose something you probably have a synthesizer and MIDI and you record what you’re working on into a computer. Then you can have it play a version of what you’ve written, let […]
My Recent Reads
So, with the help of my library’s on-line search and my cell phone’s list of downloads I think I’ve managed to collect a list of all the books I’ve read or listened to on the phone during the past fifteen months. In order of author: 1 The Big Sleep – Farewell, My Love… Chandler, Raymond 2 The Antagonist Coady, Lynn 3 Open City – A Novel Cole, Teju 4 The […]
Writing review: The Writing Circle
I’ve read a lot of novels in the past fifteen months, since discovering Aldiko and the resources of my local public library. Not that I didn’t read prior to this period, but with my smartphone and ebooks I’m now able to read not only in bed, but in the bus, in the bathroom, in dentist’s waiting room, pretty much any time I’m alone or want to be. I’d estimate I’ve […]
Writing with flow
Ah, the holiday season. This year, in spite of not traveling for Christmas, I took more time off work than usual and, combined with not losing hours driving or sitting in the airport/airplane, I’ve had more free time. Some of this time was taken up with things that needed doing; family activities, three days taken up with shopping for a new car, and a good thirty hours or so used […]