R.C. Sherriff's 1931 novel, The Fortnight in September, is about a happy family on a pleasant seaside vacation during which nothing really bad happens. Try selling that to a publisher. But when you think about it, it's actually a tantalizing premise. Pretty much all fiction illustrates what happiness isn't. It's much harder to write a … Continue reading The Fortnight in September
Writing
Narrative Distance
In my last post on writing in omniscient, I didn't want to get into talking about POV transitions, since I thought the topic deserved its own post. There are plenty of articles out there on how to avoid head hopping, so I won't get into that. Instead I'll focus on 'zooming in' from your omniscient … Continue reading Narrative Distance
Omniscient—Do You Dare?
One time at a writing workshop, someone asked the speaker for tips on writing in omniscient. His response: Unless you're Tolstoy, don't do it. Well, call me Tolstoy. The thing is, I really wasn't trying to swim upstream. I had to rewrite my novel in omniscient. Doing so cut it down to a manageable size, … Continue reading Omniscient—Do You Dare?
Fun, Fear, and Flamenco
Here's an update on what I've been doing instead of blogging... A few hours ago I got that peculiar feeling that I was being watched. I twisted around on the couch and saw a baby black bear peeking in through the screen door only a few feet away from me. (Sorry, no photos.) It was … Continue reading Fun, Fear, and Flamenco
The Challenges in Writing a Philosophical Novel
A while back I did some Googling to find out whether someone out there had written a book similar to mine, and in my research I came across Charles Johnson's novel, Faith and The Good Thing. Too good to be true. He too makes use of the most powerful centerpieces in Plato's works: The Allegory of the … Continue reading The Challenges in Writing a Philosophical Novel
Diotima's Ladder 