I hate when I read a book by a well-known and prolific author and find that I really enjoy the writing and the story. Why? Because it means for too long I didn't read the book and I should have. That I had been wasting my time NOT reading the author when I should have been.
That is the case right now with Danile Silva.
My pre-Kindle life revolved a lot more around bookstores than my post-Kindle life has. I remember going to bookstores all the time in the Army and reading, reading, reading. Heck, I read Gone with the Wind when I drove home from the Army by stopping at bookstores and picking up a copy of the book that they had and picking up where I left off. Never bought it, just read it throughout the drive at every bookstore I could find.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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."
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.
