Second Weekend Free

I believe this is the second weekend in the past three and half years where I didn't have some looming deadline, or homework due, or something to do. 

Usually on weekends, I wake up early, have some coffee and read a novel with Sadie. Pet a cat if she comes over and needs a lap. Eventually, after a chapter or two, Sadie comes over for a skritch and a head scratch, and I get up. I head upstairs and start working on homework.

Back to Novel Writing

Now that I'm through with classes . . . man that still seems weird to write . . . I guess when something has been a daily part of your life for 3 and a half years . . .  when it goes away, it's a bit of a loss. 

Regardless, now that I'm through with those classes, I'm thinking of . . . I'm going to get back into my novel writing. It won't be immediate. I still have to finish my dissertation, but just the experiment and the report on it over the course of the next few months is nothing compared to taking 6 or 7 Masters and PhD level classes every year. 

Not the Martian

I remember reading The Martian when if first came out. It was a terrific novel. It was geeky but sci-fi-ish. It was raw but well-written. It was fresh and interesting. 

Then the movie came out. It was good. But nowhere near as good as the book. 

No Characters in Ripcord

I don't have time for bad books anymore. What am I? Almost 50? Close enough were I can say I am 50! Let's say 50. That's a good deal past half my expected expiration date. Who wants to spend the few remaining days I have reading bad books. 

Some bad books I have to read . . . for work? . . . for school (hopefully that's coming to an end soon) . . . for other myriad reasons. But if I read for fun . . . I don't want to waste my reading time on bad books. Ripcord, it's a good book about a battle, but it's a horrible story. 

What's that mean?

Essentials for Novel Writing

Thayer Rules are my little way of cataloging things I hear from James Thayer's podcast Essential Guide to Writing a Novel. Thayer is a wealth of information. Its presentation is a bit long and slow but there are nuggets in there that are incredibly worthwhile. Additionally, in episode one he references positively Donald Maass. I love Donald Maass.

The rule I liked today was "Characters don't engage in small talk." 

A Great Line About Fantasies

Every now and then I run across a line that resonates. I put them all in my Great Lines group  . . . see HERE. Or if you'd like to see the other "great lines" you can click the label on the right of the navigation bar. 

This one hit me. I don't know why, but it did. Maybe I've come close to fulfilling my fantasies and realized it wasn't what I thought. Maybe it's the context, where he realizes that the girl he used to fantasize about really isn't what he wanted or needed in life. Maybe it's all of that. 

Love These First Lines Posts!

I've written alot about the importance of first lines. When I first started writing about them, I didn't think they were as important as so many authors and reviewers believe. I'm a convert. I now see that they are important. That's why I created this group on all the first lines I come across and have grouped them so they can be easily accessed . . . Click HERE or you can always find the hyperlink on the right navigation bar. 

I'm on book 4 of WEB Griffin's The Corps series. Personally, I'm more impressed with his Brotherhood of War series, but I'm stuck in the middle of this series, so I have to see it out. 

Red Flag Talking?

I dated someone years ago who would persistently and consistently ghost me . . . then I guess, the term is . . . she would Zombie me. What's ghosting and zombieing? Ghosting we all know . . . a form of confrontation and conflict avoidance? Sure. But being a zombie? Someone who comes back from ghosting. In this case, she would pretend that nothing had happened. Just say, "I'm back." 

The worst part of this was at each part of the comeback/zombie process, it was like coming back starting fresh. We were always at square one again, or worse . . . behind square 1 . . . square 0. 

The Smiths or the Book?

I never know if first lines are the first lines of Chapter 1 . . . or first lines for the book, . . . in this case first lines of the Prologue. 

Personally, I think the Prologue first lines are the ones that matter. It should be the first lines that open the entire book. We may all skip the preface in a nonfiction book, but in a novel? 

First Frost

My brother recommended a book for me. He knows that I love Dick Francis novels, and he felt that the Frost series was right up a similar alley. To a degree he was right. 

It's a fun book. Hate the cover, but the writing, and the style, and the small village in England is all there. No horse racing of course, but it's a fun book to read. A curmudgeon police detective is a good foil for the reader to follow.