An Analogy That Says Alot

It's an analogy that says alot without saying much. At first blush this might not mean much. It might even seem inadequate or not descriptive enough, but for anyone, like me, who has been in the military and felt this feeling, it's perfectly adequate and descriptive enough.

Losan’s captain, a forty-sevenyear-old German named Hans Groder, had been the box ship’s master for eight years, having spent ten months out of every one of those years at sea. A tougher schedule than his previous job— captain of a German Navy Type 702 Berlin-class replenishment oiler— but the pay was much better and the stresses much fewer. Better still, Losan was a blue-water ship, a nice change for Groder after twenty-two years of navigating the labyrinthian waters around Eckendorf and Kiel Naval Bases. Such a pleasure to simply point one’s bow into the Atlantic and steam away with hundreds and thousands of feet beneath your keel and not a speck of land on your radar. Of course, on his more introspective days Groder indulged that sense of melancholy all sailors and soldiers feel once they’ve left military life behind, but on balance he enjoyed his life and the autonomy it allowed.



Clancy, Tom; Blackwood, Grant - Dead or Alive

The key statement is this one:

Of course, on his more introspective days Groder indulged that sense of melancholy all sailors and soldiers feel once they’ve left military life behind

Perfectly descriptive enough for anyone who has felt that melancholy.

Zinsser Again?

I ran across yet another article in the WSJ about William Zinsser this one by Edwin Yoder Jr. entitled On Writing Well and Other Joys. Before this week I'd never heard of Mr. Zinsser. Now, he seems to be omnipresent.

The article is fun to read, I don't know if I'd like the book though. Mr. Zinsser seems to be manufacturing is own chactacter, a trait I don't care for, so I doubt if I'd enjoy his writing. I might try it though.

The author calls himself "a child of the Eastern establishment," and certainly some of the standard indicia are there. He went to Princeton and taught for a time at Yale. He never goes out without a hat, and it isn't a baseball cap; it is a Panama in summer and a wide-brimmed Borsalino in winter. His jacket is from J. Press and no doubt displays the patina of loving wear and patched elbows. He is a lifelong New Yorker who walks to his office from an apartment. 

Nope, I don't think we'd get along swimmingly. Despite that there was this one snippet that started my grey cells to churning.

As for our hypnotic love affair with electronic toys, he deplores what it has done to manners. He doesn't use email and is offended by the term "snail mail," patronizing as it is to the dedicated workers of the U.S. Postal Service who get our checks and bills to us on time.

I don't have much love for the USPS, but I think it would be fun to try and go a year without using a computer, a cell phone, a blog, an email account or anything. That would be a fun book to write. Would my job be willing to provide me funds for it? Doubtful. And what about all the readers of this blog? Where would you go for insight on arcane WSJ articles?

The Kill Zone Again

I'm re-posting another blog post from one of my favorite blogs, The Kill Zone. This one is Essential Characteristics of a Thriller Hero by Jodie Renner in which she interviews Lynn Sholes. It was a good article to read, but I have some slight disagreements with this statement.

The hero or heroine of a suspense-thriller, like the protagonist of any popular bestseller, has to be impassioned, unique, and likeable enough for the reader to want to latch on and follow them through their journey, worrying about them and cheering them on through their challenges. So it’s important to take the time to create a charismatic, passionate, complex, sympathetic main character, so readers connect with him or her immediately.

Following this she provides a bulleted list of all the characteristics necessary for a hero in a thriller. I don't know. Although I can't immediately think of any (I'm sure once I give it more thought they will come to mind) but some of my favorite heroes and the most fun to read about are anti-heroes. The bad guy who has to do the right thing and the conflict that goes on regarding that.

I do think that in terms of writing and connecting with the reader she hits the nail on the head when she says:

"it’s important to take the time to create a charismatic, passionate, complex, sympathetic main character, so readers connect with him or her immediately."

On Writing Good

There was a decent little article yesterday in the Word Craft section of the WSJ called In Writing, First Do No Harm by Ben Yagoda. It's not earth shaking by any means. Nor did it have any fundamental messages that could be cut and pasted into this forum. It was just a good all around article about the demise of simple, effective writing.

He does mention a book by William Zinsser entitled On Writing Well, which I think I will add to my to be read list. If it has an many little, prescient, defuse nuggets as this article it will be well worth reading.

That's the Reason!

I knew there had to be a reason that the eagles rescuing the company in The Hobbit was such a strong memory. I gave it some thought and realized that the image below was what was on my old 6th grade book. With that on the cover, how could I not remember that episode well. 

I'm sure there is some deeper discussion that could be had about images being more influential than words or "a picture speaks a 1000 words" but I'm just glad I solved the mystery.

The Hobbit

The last time I read The Hobbit must have been back in 6th grade. I feel like I've read it since then, but can't remember when. I definitely remember reading it in 6th grade. The passage that resonates the most is the point where the eagles swoop in and safe Bilbo and the rest from the whargs and goblins who are having a meeting just beneath them in the fields. I don't know why this was so poignant, but I remember distinctly where I was when I read that chapter. Stuck with me all these years.

That being said, much of what is in The Hobbit stuck with me. I appreciated it all so much more this time. I was only reading it because I wanted to read the novel prior to seeing the new movie. Despite my motivation, I loved reading every moment.

I only marked one passage.  Not exactly sure why I marked it. Obviously Tolkien was inputting his theme here, but what's particularly interesting are the ties that line has with the audio book I'm listening to about the rise of Glock. This one:


If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

Tolkien, J.R.R. - The Hobbit

Knowing why Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings trilogy and having read about the misdeeds of Glock, I think it would be quite easy to write another trilogy on the same theme. Same song different century. Great fun to read and reminisce though.

A Repost I Completely Agree With

There is a fan in my life who tries to influence me to write humor as well. I demur for the same reasons outlined in this post from The Kill Zone by PJ Parrish entitled Writing Funny.

The snippets I agree with are as follows:

 (A)ny idiot can tell a joke. But very few can tell one for 250 pages. 

I've found, after several days of writing that this is particularly true.

The Vegas Book went into cold storage. We went back to writing our gritty Louis books. Then about a year ago while I was cleaning the office, I found the Vegas Book on an old external drive. Yeah, I opened it. You know what they say about letting your manuscript "bake" a while before you go back in and read it cold, how this will help you rewrite with a clear eye? The Vegas Book had turned into Limburger.

This too I've found to be true whether dealing with humor or with novels in general.

Humor? Well, I shant completely discount it, but until I get the gumption up to try, I'll leave it to the pros. Still it was a good article for anyone who writes.

Morning Again

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I have a penchant for noting, highlighting and re-posting quotes and passages about the morning. I believe that "Morning Quotes" occur far more often in literature than afternoon, evening or mid-morning quotes combined.

To that end I offer this little ditty from the novel I'm reading right now:

The sea was mostly flat, with a slight chop, and high above Arlie could see the sun, a fuzzy pale circle, trying to burn its way through the clouds. Be bright and hot within the hour, he thought.

Clancy, Tom; Blackwood, Grant - Dead or Alive

So, not so much a "Morning Quote" as a nautical quote, maybe I'll need to make that its own catagory, but for now, it's still one more tick in my favor.

BACK!

Sorry it's been so long. I was out skiing with the family for a few days, then last week I spent getting back into work. That being said I ran across a quote that did a lot for me and I hope that anyone reading this who needs a helping hand up, in the form of a motivational quote, will enjoy this.

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Calvin Coolidge

Maybe I Read Too Much

I've started to notice that most of my posts fall into one of three categories  first lines, last lines or book reviews. I'm wondering if I'm reading too much. That being said, I've decided that 2013 is going to be all about the thriller. No more Dickens, no more Christie, no more anything but military style thrillers. There is a reason I'm going all thriller which I'm sure I'll expound on in this space as soon as I finish with all these first lines, last lines, and book reviews. To that end I offer the next first line:

LIGHT TROOPS— Eleven-Bravo light infantrymen, according to the United States Army’s MOS (military occupational specialty) system— are supposed to be “pretty” spit-and-polish troops with spotless uniforms and clean-shaven faces, but First Sergeant Sam Driscoll wasn’t one of those anymore, and hadn’t been for some time. The concept of camouflage often involved more than patterned BDUs. No, wait, they weren’t called that anymore, were they? Now they were called “Army combat uniforms,” ACUs. Same, same. 

Driscoll’s beard was fully four inches long, with enough flecks of white in it that his men had taken to calling him Santa— rather annoying to a man hardly thirty-six years old, but when most of your compatriots were an average of ten years younger than you . . . Oh, well. Could be worse. Could be “Pops” or “Gramps.”

Clancy, Tom; Blackwood, Grant - Dead or Alive

I like Clancy's early works, but have been cautiously hesitant about his later ones. I suspect they're a bit more "fluffy." Still, having read the opening sample before buying I was happy with what I read (perhaps due to the fact it was about some 2nd Battalion Rangers in Afghanistan). Now, a quarter way in, I'm starting to see fluff.