“Writing the Novel” Lawrence Block
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Lawrence Block is certainly a very successful writer. He currently has 178 books listed on Amazon.com. The introduction starts with Mr. Block telling us why he wrote this book:
>This is a book designed to help you write a novel. It contains the distillation of my own experience of twenty years as a published novelist, plus a considerable amount that I've learned from other writers. My goal throughout has been to produce the sort of book I might have found useful when I set out to write my own first novel.
And he does just that. This is a very entertaining and insightful book. Mr. Block shares many experiences with us as well as much hard learned knowledge. The opening paragraphs sum up these thoughts:
>If you want to write fiction, the best thing you can do is take two aspirins, lie down in a dark room, and wait for the feeling to pass.
>If it persists, you probably ought to write a novel. Interestingly, most embryonic fiction writers accept the notion that they ought to write a novel sooner or later.
The book goes on to tell us why we should write a Novel. The book frequently gives specific advice regarding technique, but more often than not, the book reminds us that there is no right or wrong way - an author must decide what works best for him. In fact, Mr. Block repeats this two sided answer so often, that by the end of the book it's almost annoying. But he gets the point across - what writers do is write.
The list of Chapters shows how the book develops:
* Why Write a Novel?
* Deciding Which Novel to Write.
* Read . . . Study . . . Analyze.
* Developing Plot Ideas.
* Developing Characters.
* Outlining.
* Using What You Know . . . and What You Don't Know.
* Getting Started.
* Getting It Written.
* Snags, Dead Ends and False Trails.
* Matters of Style.
* Length.
* Rewriting.
* Getting Published.
* Doing It Again.
There is a great deal of information tucked in the 200 pages. There is also an excellent section at the end of the book listing several pages worth of More Great Books for Writers.
While this isn't a technical study on any given topic, would be writers should consider this a 'must have' in their library. The book provides great objectivity and motivation.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/32
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Lawrence%20Block
“The Married Man” Edmund White
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Edmund White's latest novel lacks his previous literary wonder. Frankly, it's a drag.
The Married Man is about Austin, a writer and furniture expert living in Paris. Austin is an aging, not terribly successful man living on the periphery of high society and depression.
Very early in the book, we learn that Austin doesn't really enjoy writing and lives in a small furnished apartment on one of the islands on the Seine. He's been separated from the love of his life, Peter, for 3 years. Just after returning to New York, Peter falls ill with full blown AIDS.
Austin is HIV positive, but in good health. We're regaled with the inner monologue of an insecure middle aged gay man living alone in a country devoted to romance. Austin's confident facade is tiring and at times transparent.
Depressed yet? I was and hadn't hit page 20.
The Married Man is very disappointing. In Mr. Waters other books, his writing style is fresh, challenging, exciting to read...you're drawn to the next word. But not in The Married Man.
'The Beautiful Room is Empty' is a wonderful autobiographical novel (second in a trilogy) full of rich language and dramatic imagery. Nocturnes for the King of Naples (highly recommended) is a wonderful prose of complex, dark imagery.
I don't recommend this latest book. The reading lacks his usual 'Gertrude Stein' like poetic style and instead, the dialog and conflicts seem almost self-indulgent.
If you're looking for a downer, I would recommend something better written, like Nathan Englander's 'For the Relief of Unbearable Urges'.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/230
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Edmund%20White
“A River Runs Through It” Norman Maclean
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I avoided all the hype over "The River Runs Through It" movie, and therefore, avoided the book as well. Mistakes do happen!
No, it's not really about fishing. What is it about? I think that is really up to each reader. It's about religion, and greater good. It's about family relationships, and beautiful scenery. It's about being human.
Actually, I read it as a travel book. Not to a place, although there were some wonderful description, but to a time. To the early 1900s when the West, while not exactly wild, wasn't exactly tame either. The first story, which gives the book it's title, is the deepest. But the others give a great sense of what it might have been like to live in the West, when watching for forest fires meant camping just below a peak, and walking two days in to base camp from civilization.
(I did not read the edition with the forward by Annie Poulx, and cannot comment on it, but what a perfect author for a forward!)
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/227
Setting up Mysql on Mac Leopard
I've gone through this to many times to count...and it's always a frustrating search for a good solution to the moved mysql.sock file. Links work fine, but there must be a better way. Finally, I found a clean set of instructions showing how to setup a local configuration file (/etc/my.cnf) to move the sock file back where it belongs /var/mysql/mysql.sock 
http://remysharp.com/2007/10/27/lamp-in-leopard-osx-105-php5-and-apache-22/
Enjoy!
“Anonymous Rex” Eric Garcia
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A terrific read! Very entertaining, unusual and fresh with a sly humor and good story.
A detective story of sorts. In [Eric Garcia's][author] world, Dinosaurs are walking among us. A while back, the Dino population of the world took notice of the annoying apes evolving and made the decision to hide their identity. Now living among the apes are various breeds of dinosaur hiding in very elaborate costumes...including our protagonist Vincent Rubio.
Vincent's having some trouble. His partner was killed recently, and it's thrown him into a funk that's threatening to tear Vincent's life apart if he doesn't snap out of it.
The author does a great job with this story. We aren't bored with reasons why there are Dino's among us...it's not the story, just a fact. Humorous situations and dialog make this a terrific read. A wonderful book and I can't wait for more. Written in a sing-song detective story style with cleaver quips.
>None comes. Instead, Judith McBride nods mutely, anxiety welling in those big brown eyes. "Are you the one?" she says, feet backing her body away in a jittery waltz. "Are you the one who killed Raymond?"
>Wonderful. Now she thinks I'm her husband's murderer. If she screams, it's all over--I wouldn't lay odds against the notion that those two slabs of dino meat from the elevator are still waiting just outside the door, eager to burst in, beat me into burger, and toss me seventy-eight stories to the bustling street below. I can only hope that my blood and brain matter splatter into a pattern of enough artistic merit to properly complement the building's architecture. Then again, if we can avoid the situation altogether . . .
>I gently open my hands to display their lack of weapons. "I'm not a killer, Mrs. McBride. That's not why I'm here."
>Relief slides across her features. "I have jewels," she says. "In a safe. I can open it for you."
>"I don't want your jewels," I say.
>"Money, then--"
>"I don't want your money, either." I reach into my jacket; she stiffens, closes her eyes, ready for the bullet or the knife that will send her to meet her husband in dino Valhalla. Why hasn't she screamed yet? No matter, I pull out my ID and toss it at her feet. "My name's Vincent Rubio. I'm a private investigator from Los Angeles."
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/127
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Eric%20Garcia
“Showboarding to Nirvana” Frederick Lenz
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Snowboarding To Nirvana is a sequel to Surfing The Himalayas. World class snowboarder, Frederick Lenz, continues sharing his quest for enlightenment.
Frederick again hooks up with the Buddhist monk Master Fwap, and the new character, a mysterious Oracle, and continues his adventures in the Himalayas. Master Fwap continues teaching Frederick in Buddhism. He original took up this journey to improve his snowboarding, but is beginning to realize the improvements in his life.
The author, in the beginning, states that the events of the story are factual, but told around a fictional story.
The audio book is good quality, easy to listen to and enjoyable. This is not a deep discussion of Buddhist techniques, but a light hearted and inspiring story.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/217
Adventures in SciFi Publishing
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I ran across the [Adventures in SciFi Publishing][asp] podcast because of a mention and replay on the Mur Lafferty, [I Should Be Writing][isbw] podcast. The two hosts, Shaun Ferrel and Sam Wynns present author interviews, news about the science fiction industry and discuss what is going on their own writing lives.
If you haven't discovered podcasts yet, this is a great place to start.
[isbw]: http://isbw.murlafferty.com/
[asp]: http://www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com/
“Trials of the Monkey” Matthew Chapman
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In 1925 John Thomas Scoopes, a High School teacher in Dayton, TN was tried in court for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution contrary to a recently passed Tennessee law. The trial was a media freak show full of bombastic speeches and self-righteous characters.
Many books have been written about the Scoopes trial, not so much because of the content, but because of the amazing cast of characters. William Jennings Bryan, a three-times Democratic Presidential Candidate, one-time Secretary of State, and at the end of his career, an evangelical fundamentalist. George W. Rappleyea, an Engineer in the failing town of Dayton saw the commercial importance of the trial to his little town. And to round out the cast, Clarence Darrow, possibly the best know lawyer in American history, certainly one of the most significant.
[Matthew Chapman][author] is the great great grandson of Charles Darwin. He originally set out to write a journalistic report of the re-enactments of the Scoopes Trial held in Dayton every year, but somewhere during the writing that changed and a story about Mr. Chapman came out.
Much like the trial, the book is paradoxical and funny while at the same time showing great depth and raising many provocative questions to the reader.
The book is well written and very engaging. I highly recommend it.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/45
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Matthew%20Chapman
“The Case for Christ” Lee Strobel
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I understood that this book was written by a cynical journalist who believed as a result of his investigation. While this may be true, the book was written several years after his conversion, and is not presented in an unbiased manner.
Let's begin with the time factor. The author's bio on the back cover indicates that the author has been a Christian since 1981, but this books is copyrighted in 1998. The last chapter of the books states that the author went to books and research materials in his quest, rather than to experts as he did in this book. I would have been more interested in a collection of those research materials than I was in the interviews with the experts.
At the end of each chapter there are 'study' questions, which are really aimed at bible study groups, or groups of Christians. The whole tilt of the questions is 'How does this help you believe more strongly in Christ.' For example, after a chapter on possible corroborating evidence, the questions include 'What do you consider to be the most persuasive corroboration that Yamauchi [the interviewee] talked about'?
The chapter on dissenting evidence also pointed out the author's bias. Rather than go to an 'expert' who was a dissenter, the author went to an 'expert' who could rebut the dissent! Why, in a truly unbiased work, would you not go to one of the dissenters? Then, if needed, go to the rebuttal expert.
I had high hopes for a book that was objectively written, but this one is not it. Because the author's belief system so clearly taints the product, I can't put any faith in his conclusions. He may be right, but I would have to do all of the research for myself, as I don't trust him to be fair to the evidence. It's unfortunate that he is so obviously biased; an unbiased examination of the 'reality' of Christ would have been interesting. As it is, while the investigation the author undertook may have been without a slant, this book is definitely slanted. Perhaps it is just as well that the author did not disguise his bias; if he had, I might have placed my trust in his report, without realizing his bias.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/37
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Lee%20Strobel
Google Docs to Post to Blog
Very interesting! I've been using Google Docs more and more, and I just noticed the blog features. You can (supposedly) create a document in Google Docs and post this document directly to a blog. In fact, that is how I'm writing this post.
The setup was pretty easy. Log in to Google Docs (https://docs.google.com) and click on the settings button in the upper right hand corner. About halfway down the page is an option for Blog Settings.
You'll need to know a little about your blogging software or website, but there is plenty of help. My seetings look something like this the image to the right.
Overall, the process of writing the post using google docs is very simple. Once the blog settings are tested and saved, open a document to edit, click Share, Publish as Web Page, Post to Blog.
The Blog Post is published, and you have the option to republish any changes if needed.
Not bad. Will certainly make writing posts on the road easier.
One glitch so far...the title of the post isn't set to the title of the document. Maybe there is a work-around.
Enjoy!