I’ll admit it; I have been known to resort to using a drink as shortcut when describing a character in fiction. It’s easy to say, “She ordered her usual dirty Martini” OR “He smiled as he took his first sip of his favorite single malt Scotch” —as both evoke an impression of the character in a minimum of words. In fiction, as in real life, the guy who drinks domestic beer directly from cans does not live the same kind of life as a wine connoisseur with a 100 bottle wine fridge. The draw of the drink gambit is in
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The Dance & the Dancers
Anyone who knows me knows I dance Argentine Tango. They might not know that I started social dancing with Ballroom, Latin & a lot of Swing and even a little Country & Western dancing first. Each dance—from the slow, sensual boil of a classic Rumba with its rolling Cuban motion to the high-energy frenzy of a Charleston-accented Savoy Lindy Hop—has a character that has an impact on the dancer. I was thinking about that the other day as I sat at the side of a dance floor at a Milonga (Tango dance) checking out the clothes, shoes and expressions on
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The Tyranny of Advice
Recently I’ve dipped my toe in the world of blogs about blogging and it’s led to some interesting thoughts about why, how and from whom I take writing advice. There’s an amazing amount of posts on what to blog about, how to write a post when you’re ‘blocked,’ why illustrations are necessary etc. etc. etc. Most of it is mind-numbing—either too obvious or directed at non-writers—and some of it is silly. A good deal of the blogging advice is applicable to a limited audience. Is it an audience of one? Maybe a bit larger, but for every truly helpful bit
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Individuals & the Hive
Individual and collective consciousness are often the subject—or backdrop—of science fiction stories. It’s difficult for me to contemplate a HIVE mentality without thinking about the BORG of Star Trek the Next Generation fame. When Captain Picard is absorbed into their collective it was the perfect example of a strong individual being consumed by a group. Real life has another manifestation of the hive and it’s the mob mentality that enables—and encourages—people to do terrible things as part of a group, things that they would never consider doing on their own. Members of a mob riot, loot, lynch, trample over other
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Legend Tripping
I ran across an Atlas Obscura video about one of my favorite oddball tourist attractions—Highgate Cemetery in London. The video was about a “vampire panic” in 1970 with rampaging teenagers, armed with stakes and crosses, hunting for vampires in the famous, Victorian graveyard. The story was wild and I couldn’t help but wonder how contemporary social media—known for both accelerating the spread of rumors and disseminating calls to action—would have raised the panic to a volcanic frenzy. The video described the teens’ motivation as ‘Legend Tripping.’ It’s an interesting phenomenon, a self-fulfilling, self-fueling, game of telephone in which rational thoughts
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Howl at the Moon
Lena put it together first. She was playing with the moon phase App on her iPhone during Professor Adler’s lecture on Spinoza, and realized that the professor never scheduled anything on the evenings, or even the late afternoons, of full moons. “Maybe he’s a werewolf?” Lena giggled as she posed her question. She’d already asked Rado to email her his class notes as they shared a late, post-class breakfast in the cafeteria. He never refused her. She was his best friend and, as far as Rado was concerned, she was the prettiest girl on campus. “Not one full moon?” Rado
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Dangerous Adverbs…
A few weeks ago, I read a blog post listing words to remove from your writing: really, very, literally, etc. (primarily but not exclusively adverbs). It was an interesting list and I see the advantage of removing these extraneous words from descriptive text. But my fiction involves a great deal of dialog and I want my characters to sound like real people. That means they may default to “you know what I mean”; “that’s literally the problem”; “really, really, really” and the dreaded “like.” We all fall into lazy or nervous speech patterns that are less-than-stellar. In my efforts to
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Scary Places Close to Home
A spooky house on the hill, the ruins of a castle, an abandoned theater, a mysterious cottage in the middle of the woods, and an isolated lighthouse—all of them are classic scary places where dark stories are often set. But there are plenty of less exotic story-worthy locations much closer to home. You just have to keep your eyes open and you will spot them. There is one in my neighborhood that never fails to send a shiver down my spine. It just reeks of danger! Where is this nexus of horror? It’s the hallway where the bathrooms are located
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Writing in the Dark
Is it the long nights of the season? There is definitely something in the air and it is called NOVEL WRITING. I’m fast & furious as I round the corner on page 250 in my mystery novel-in-progress. It’s still a first draft—solid, but a little sloppy and perhaps a little loopy, too. The change of season has accelerated my progress. It’s write, write, write until THE END. I began this draft in the spring, took a few weeks off here and there when I was traveling and now it’s a straight shot to the last page. I have a few
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To Finish or Drop—That is the Question!
For years I finished every book I started reading. Sometimes, it made me miserable. I take that back. It often made me miserable. Spending hours and hours wanting to run away from the characters in a book is a ridiculous proposition. Unless you’re in mid-flight and have nothing else to read—there is always an option. Close the book and pick up another one OR click ‘remove from device’ and select another electronic book from your queue. It’s as easy at that, but… For years I resisted that option. I forced myself to read until ‘The End’ because I felt I
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