“Cogito ergo sum / Sum ergo scribo”
(pardon my poor Latin: but the idea should be clear)
Though I didn’t know it then, I can recall the moment writing captured me. I was only about four or five years old. My mother was teaching me to recognize and write the alphabet. I was caught up in the adventure of learning how the symbols had meaning, how they could fit together. “Cat” and “dog” made me smile in recognition, and I made my mom show me “peanut butter”. It was a long word and it somehow looked right to me.
It was when my mom started showing me how to write my own name that it happened. I looked at my scrawling, misshapen, name on the paper and suddenly it hit me. There on the page was “Davy” and under that “David”. Both were my name – were me. Somehow seeing my name on paper captivated me. It seemed somehow magical and wondrous that those letters meant “me”. It was eager to learn what else the magical alphabet could tell me. That sense of awe and wonder led me to read early, read hungrily, and read for knowledge.
Soon after this I became enthralled by the ability of words to tell stories. My dad had told me how his family would listen to the radio and of the fantastic stories he would hear. A local radio station would rebroadcast some of them on the weekends and my dad and I would sit and listen. He would fill in the gaps and tell me how his family would sit around the radio and listen to Fibber Magee and Molly, Amos and Andy, The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Mystery Theater, and others. I was hooked. Not only did I want to hear them because my dad loved them, but my young imagination seemed to grow while I listened.
My dad and I would listen and he would point out sounds in the background to help me “see” what was happening. He would ask me about the story afterwards and we would talk about what I had seen in my mind while I listened. The combination of a love of stories and a love of writing meant that I entered kindergarten already able to write not only letters, but simple words as well. From there I never looked back. By fourth grade I was reading near high school level and by sixth I was reading at a 12.0 grade level (the highest the test ran to).
I read everything I could get my hands on and actually asked for a dictionary as a Christmas present in the fifth grade. I made up stories constantly. Acting them out with my brother or friends and narrating as we went along. The first time I tried to write a make-believe story myself was in the sixth grade (I still have it). Seeing it written down and stapled like a book awoke in me the desire to, one day, actually have a book of my own written and published.
That dream has awoken and slumbered in cycles ever since….
(more to come………)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Kurt Vonnegut's 8 rules of short story writing
Just read this posted on another forum( ) and thought it would be useful archived where I (and others) could get it easily. Some very good advice in this list. Not always easy to follow, but worth trying.
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time wasted.
2. Give every reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do two things – reveal character or advance action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters,makeawful things happen to them – in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible, as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
“Flannery O’Connor broke all these rules except the first, but then great writers tend to do that.” -- K. V.
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time wasted.
2. Give every reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do two things – reveal character or advance action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters,makeawful things happen to them – in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible, as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
“Flannery O’Connor broke all these rules except the first, but then great writers tend to do that.” -- K. V.
Monday, February 25, 2008
On reading and its connection to writing.
Good readers make good writers / good writers are good readers
The above is a syllogism for the literary crowd. While there are bound to be exceptions this holds true enough of the time to equate with common sense. While there is the occasional writer who rarely reads as an adult I would venture to say they all would admit to tons of reading when younger. Reading captures the imagination like few other endeavors can. Whether fiction, poetry, educational, or biographical there is almost always a deeper level of interaction and intimacy when you read a book than when you watch a movie. A good story buries itself deep as you read it and becomes part of you. While there are some movies that can lay claim to our hearts and imaginations it seems that more often than not it is a book that does so. We will often watch movies in groups or at parties, but a cherished book is almost always a private affair.
Reading has the potential to expand not only your imagination but your education as well. I believe that the wider a person’s reading ranges the greater the potential for not only creativity, but also the ability to communicate. Whether by spoken or written words an avid reader will develop both a greater vocabulary and an intuitive understanding of its use. In this wise a good reader will develop an ear for good writing. Furthermore, they will more than likely be able to not only recognize it on a written page, but be able to put it there themselves.
What drives someone to write? I do not speak of that which must be written for a job or communiqué, but that which would be termed optional or perhaps even recreational. An author’s life can be a difficult one fraught with doubt and rejection. Long hours of labor are put on display for the judgment of others who may not think the endeavor is justified.
So why Write?…..that is a thought for another time as mine is at an end for now.
The above is a syllogism for the literary crowd. While there are bound to be exceptions this holds true enough of the time to equate with common sense. While there is the occasional writer who rarely reads as an adult I would venture to say they all would admit to tons of reading when younger. Reading captures the imagination like few other endeavors can. Whether fiction, poetry, educational, or biographical there is almost always a deeper level of interaction and intimacy when you read a book than when you watch a movie. A good story buries itself deep as you read it and becomes part of you. While there are some movies that can lay claim to our hearts and imaginations it seems that more often than not it is a book that does so. We will often watch movies in groups or at parties, but a cherished book is almost always a private affair.
Reading has the potential to expand not only your imagination but your education as well. I believe that the wider a person’s reading ranges the greater the potential for not only creativity, but also the ability to communicate. Whether by spoken or written words an avid reader will develop both a greater vocabulary and an intuitive understanding of its use. In this wise a good reader will develop an ear for good writing. Furthermore, they will more than likely be able to not only recognize it on a written page, but be able to put it there themselves.
What drives someone to write? I do not speak of that which must be written for a job or communiqué, but that which would be termed optional or perhaps even recreational. An author’s life can be a difficult one fraught with doubt and rejection. Long hours of labor are put on display for the judgment of others who may not think the endeavor is justified.
So why Write?…..that is a thought for another time as mine is at an end for now.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Reading as an addiction.
OK. So you read the title of this little piece and probably had one of three reactions. You either said to yourself “huh”, “nah”, or “yeup”. We are all taught as children that ‘reading is fundamental’ and to many it is also primal. Lets first take a look at those who said either “huh” or “nah”.
“Nah”
Those who read by necessity would answer this way. People who generally read only what and when they need to. I am not talking about those who cannot read but those who just don’t ‘get it’. High School and College can be torturous to this group with all the assigned reading and book lists. They may do well and graduate with high honors but that is not the point. This group simply prefers other methods of communication and expression to reading. It seems slow, tedious, and unproductive to many in this group.
“Huh”
Casual readers would answer this way. Those who can occasionally get into a good book and may enjoy the Sunday paper fit this group. Those who read out of boredom or to be in the know about some hot topic or author would also fit this category. Reading is an exercise for many of them, a way to keep their mind active or learn something they think important. Others consider reading an occasional ‘treat’ to be indulged in or see it as the lesser of two evils (such as commuters who read to avoid eye contact with other passengers).
“Yeup”
Genetic readers would answer this way, people for whom the written word holds a compulsion. This group considers it almost an obligation to read what others have taken the time and trouble to write down. Cereal boxes and the Surgeon General’s warning are equally compelling to this group. They often consider the written word to be the highest form of communication; after all it is one of the things that separate us from the animals. The conscious thought and intent, intelligence (hopefully) and intimacy of reading what another’s mind and heart have produced drive this group to read whatever they come across.
Now you may find pros or cons to membership in each of the groups above. That is not the point of this little meditation. Enticing you, the reader, into consideration is. Which group do you belong to? Why? Are you straddling two groups at once?
Remember: “Reading is Fundamental”, so shouldn’t you give it a bit of thought now and again? The ability to read is one of the cornerstones upon which our world is built. Knowledge is passed down, dreams are shared, and tales are told. A commonality is established that allows us to understand not just who we are now, but who we were then. The ability to look ahead is predicated upon knowledge of the past; otherwise how would we know which direction is ahead for us?
“Nah”
Those who read by necessity would answer this way. People who generally read only what and when they need to. I am not talking about those who cannot read but those who just don’t ‘get it’. High School and College can be torturous to this group with all the assigned reading and book lists. They may do well and graduate with high honors but that is not the point. This group simply prefers other methods of communication and expression to reading. It seems slow, tedious, and unproductive to many in this group.
“Huh”
Casual readers would answer this way. Those who can occasionally get into a good book and may enjoy the Sunday paper fit this group. Those who read out of boredom or to be in the know about some hot topic or author would also fit this category. Reading is an exercise for many of them, a way to keep their mind active or learn something they think important. Others consider reading an occasional ‘treat’ to be indulged in or see it as the lesser of two evils (such as commuters who read to avoid eye contact with other passengers).
“Yeup”
Genetic readers would answer this way, people for whom the written word holds a compulsion. This group considers it almost an obligation to read what others have taken the time and trouble to write down. Cereal boxes and the Surgeon General’s warning are equally compelling to this group. They often consider the written word to be the highest form of communication; after all it is one of the things that separate us from the animals. The conscious thought and intent, intelligence (hopefully) and intimacy of reading what another’s mind and heart have produced drive this group to read whatever they come across.
Now you may find pros or cons to membership in each of the groups above. That is not the point of this little meditation. Enticing you, the reader, into consideration is. Which group do you belong to? Why? Are you straddling two groups at once?
Remember: “Reading is Fundamental”, so shouldn’t you give it a bit of thought now and again? The ability to read is one of the cornerstones upon which our world is built. Knowledge is passed down, dreams are shared, and tales are told. A commonality is established that allows us to understand not just who we are now, but who we were then. The ability to look ahead is predicated upon knowledge of the past; otherwise how would we know which direction is ahead for us?
Announcement of the opening of The WordCraft Café website!
OK folks!
At long last I have ventured out on the Web with a site of my own!
See you there!!
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