Sunday Morning Book Thread - 11-06-2022 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

(HT: Soylent Red)

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material, even if it's nothing more than student papers. As always, pants are required, especially if you are wearing these pants...(it's HAMMER TIME!)

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, eat that leftover Halloween candy the neighborhood kids don't want (Who are we kidding? it was gone November 1!), and crack open a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

Long time lurker "Soylent Red" sent me the following:

I have recently returned from deployment to Germany for a year. During that year, I got to see all manner of wonderful sites all across western Europe in my downtime. Among them was the Boekhandel Dominicanen, a bookstore inside a renovated 13th century cathedral. I bought a swell Dutch cookbook there, chatted up some locals, and drank a nice cup of coffee in the former chancel area. Maastricht is a beautiful city with lots of interesting history, and the Dutch people of Limburg province (in the south and west of the country) are friendly, sensible people. A lot of farmers in that area who are NOT down with zee bugs in zee cold and dark.

NaNoWriMo

Image courtesy of NaNoWriMo.

By now we are well and truly into National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). To the uninitiated, this is the month when both aspiring and experienced writers attempt to write an entire novel of at least 50,000 words over the span of 30 days. Now, I know math is *forbidden* on this blog, but that translates to writing an average of around 1,666 words per day. Or, if you prefer to take weekends and holidays off, that comes out to 2,500 words per day. Put another way, that's the equivalent of writing nearly seven pages per day, double-spaced, 12-pt Times New Roman, with 1-inch margins.

I'll admit that this is an intimidating challenge for novice writers like myself. Although I've done *a lot* of writing over the years in my job as a technical writer / instructional designer, I've certainly never written any fiction of this length. Kudos to every Moron who has successfully written a book, no matter how long it takes.

Apparently the secret is discipline and preparation...Here's a video from a very experienced author on the subject of writing a book in thirteen steps. He's written nearly two hundred books, so I think he knows a thing or two...

I love his writing studio and I especially love his retro keyboard made to resemble a typewriter. I had never heard of Jerry B. Jenkins before starting today's post, but apparently he's the co-author of the Left Behind series with Tim LaHaye. And one of his children created The Chosen web television series, about the life of Jesus Christ.

So, Moron Authors, what is YOUR secret to writing a book?

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BOOKS BY MORONS

We have a couple of Books My Morons today, which is somewhat appropriate considering it's National Novel Writing Month.

First up - Sarah A. Hoyt and Bowl of Red

It's the first indie one of a series started with Baen. Seems to be doing pretty well.
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Bowl of Red (The Shifter Series Book 4)
At the top of a tall mountain, there lives a dragon. And the dragon is the master of all animals.
Okay, let's rewind that. Tom Ormson is a dragon shifter, the scion of a line that was created to rule both Chinese and Norse dragons. But he doesn't want the job. He co-owns a diner with his wife, Kyrie, who is about to deliver their first child.
In fact, they just got married, when the entire shifter-world, which centers on their diner goes insane.
You see, it is a time of Ragnarok, which means all of the shifter clans are in turmoil, with changing leadership. And the lion clan, to which Kyrie belongs has just lost its leader. Poor Rafiel, too, is tormented by very strange dreams and premonitions. Also, the Queen of the Norse dragons has woken, and wants a word with the Great Sky Dragon.
Hold on to your hats. A wild ride is about to begin, with Tom, Kyrie and their friends at the center of it.
When it ends, the world will never be the same again.

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Next - Tom Brosz and Zorya:

I've just published my new YA SF book on Amazon, Zorya.
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17-year-old Zorya lives on blood, is allergic to daylight, and can lift the front end of a car (well, a small car). And nobody in polite modern American society uses the "V" word anymore—the PC term is "Nightwalker."
She's a popular senior at her Nightwalker high school in the California Enclave, with good grades, the newest smartphone, and the latest clothes.
Then her easy life changes drastically. Zorya's flirtation with David, the only human "Daywalker" in her school, gets her exiled from her comfortable home and sent packing to her grandfather in a distant Idaho forest Refuge--without even her smartphone!
There the reluctant Zorya discovers her heritage, learns skills she never needed in high school, and eventually finds out the real reason for her exile: to be trained as a member of a secret organization of Nightwalkers and Daywalkers, with one foot in each world, dedicated to preserving the fragile peace between the races.

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MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Here's some short stories that jump up in my mind when I think about horror:
"The Distributor" by Richard Matheson - evil man sows misery and violence wherever he goes
Could it be Satan? I think I first read it in an Alfred Hitchcock anthology.
"Mimic" by Donald A. Wollheim - this is more of a concept horror story. Deliberate pace establishing the "facts". The ending wants to blow your mind with a "what if this were true" chill.
Probably, impossible to get the full effect since the movie came out, though the movie is almost nothing like the story.
"Oh, Whistle..." by M R James, excellent ghost story. Hopefully, the version you read won't have a spoiler picture of the reveal.
Posted by: naturalfake at October 30, 2022 09:43 AM (KLPy

Comment: Since last week was Halloween, why not share some terrific short stories of terror and suspense? Although there are many good horror novels, I think the genre is at its best in the short story format. The Alfred Hitchcock anthologies were truly excellent in that regard.

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As well, if you've done any reading about Victorian / Edwardian social history, you're likely to have come across the name Eric Horne, who was a servant / butler to the gentry during the later Victorian and Edwardian eras. In 1921, he penned his memoirs, What the Butler Winked At, telling his life 'below stairs.' As you might expect, hardly any of the 'good and great' come off well, most masters and mistresses being demanding, unpleasant and tyrannical.
Despite the title, the book really doesn't have any scandalous stories. Horne later wrote a sequel, More Winks, but I've not read that.
The first part of Horne's book is about his childhood in the England of the 1850s. He struggles to find his way in life and then more or less stumbles into 'service,' but was never really happy:
"No doubt, had I been apprenticed to a trade, I should have made my mark in the world, some trade that required cleverness and brains. Any fool could learn to be a servant, providing he had no spirit of his own and did what he was told, and be meek, humble, submissive. I have often wished I had a trade, making something or doing something and only being paid by results. . .here would be something worth living for. For although I have lived in the service of some of the best families in the land. . .I consider my life to have been simply thrown away, wasted."
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 30, 2022 09:45 AM (AW0uW)

Comment: One of the uglier truths about our "elites" is that they truly regard the rest of us as no more important than a piece of furniture. As long as we are "of use" to them, they tolerate our existence. If we try to get "uppity" and rise above our station, they will gladly stomp us back into the dirt. That being said, there are those who do value good help and reward service accordingly. Think of Samwise serving as Frodo's gardener in Lord of the Rings.

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A blend of sci-fi and horror can be found in John Scalzi's The God Engines. A novella, really, about captive demons that allow faster than light travel through space.
Scalzi is the author of the Old Man's War series. Which is also good but is straight sci-fi.
Posted by: Yawrate at October 30, 2022 10:08 AM (518OI)

Comment: I can't say as I've heard of any of Scalzi's works other than Old Man's War. However, the description above reminded me of a very weird series by Jack L. Chalker: The Quintara Marathon. Three competing galactic civilizations freak out because they discovered real-life evidence of demons. Representative groups from each empire then seek out the demons to ascertain their purpose or possibly control them...

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Bought a signed copy of I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton Trevino at the library book sale. A childhood favorite, it was my introduction to historical fiction and it was the Newberry Medal book of 1965.
Inside was a note from one of the owners' 7th grade teachers, warning his parents he was skipping his work in English. It was dated 1971 and is written in lovely "teacher's cursive".
Posted by: sal at October 30, 2022 10:29 AM (y40tE)

Comment: As I get older (29+), I've started revisiting some of my childhood favorite books as well. Just recently I read Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree, a wonderful tale of adventure and history. It's amazing how well some of these books hold up over the decades since we last read them. For those of you with children and grandchildren, I hope you are compiling lists of books to share with them!

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (474 Moron-recommended books so far!)

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WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

Seeker's Mask by P.C. Hodgell -- Jame has returned to her homeland to discover it is a viper's nest of ancient conspiracies, which threaten to doom her House.

To Ride a Rathorn by P.C. Hodgell -- Jame goes to military academy! And discovers a dark world of secrets, lies, and intrigue...

That's about all I have for this week. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding my Sunday Morning Book Thread. This is a very special place. You are very special people (in all the best ways!). The kindness, generosity, and wisdom of the Moron Horde knows no bounds. Let's keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for improvement, reading recommendations, or writing projects that you'd like to see on the Sunday Morning Book Thread, you can send them to perfessor dot squirrel at-sign gmail dot com. Your feedback is always appreciated! You can also take a virtual tour of OUR library at libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel. Since I added sections for AoSHQ, I now consider it OUR library, rather than my own personal fiefdom...

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 10-30-22 (hat tip: vmom stabby stabby stabamillion) (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hiya Eris !

Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 09:05 AM (T4tVD)

2 I'm already working on stuff for writing, just don't know if it's any good. Anyone think this write a book in a month a good idea? Can you really write a good book from blank page to complete in thirty or thirty one days?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:05 AM (7bRMQ)

3 I've decided to take up the Write a Book in a Month Challenge.

I figure I'll make $92/hr writing a book about making $92/hr online.

All from home!

Posted by: Sarah at November 06, 2022 09:05 AM (oTZbj)

4 Mornin' Perfesser. See you have your hat back on your head. Bit nipply, eh.

Posted by: Eromero at November 06, 2022 09:05 AM (0OP+5)

5 Is this old news and I've missed seeing it for the past several months? %@*)#P*^Y#*(^ Amzon has dropped the Kindle app from downloads and apparently won't even download new book purchases to your PC.

WTF???

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 09:06 AM (llON8)

6 I just fixed the time, so the first 11 comments have an incorrect time stamp.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 06, 2022 09:06 AM (XIJ/X)

7 test

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 09:06 AM (llON8)

8 Regarding NaNoWriMo, I repeat the quote I read in a column decades ago:

"Blank paper is God's way of telling you that it's not so easy to be God."

Best wishes to those of you who attempt this.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:06 AM (Om/di)

9 Hmm, looks like the hamsters juuust noticed the time change, right after a few comments appeared.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 09:07 AM (llON8)

10 There.

Posted by: Eromero at November 06, 2022 09:07 AM (0OP+5)

11 I took a break from "Poker and Pop Culture" to revisit my past with the Executioner series, which I read and collected during my high school and college years. Fittingly, the book I chose -- No. 27, "Dixie Convoy" -- also featured a part of pop culture in the late 1970s, namely the CB radio craze.

That dates the book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

in the light of history, real-life organized crime does not seem to have been as big a threat to the country as that depicted in the Executioner books and similar series. From what I've read, it's not as organized. Serious, yes, and it might have been worse if not for federal law enforcement. I miss not being able to look upon the FBI and Justice Department as the good guys.

How come Bolan never went to Kansas City?

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:07 AM (Om/di)

12 >>> 6 I just fixed the time, so the first 11 comments have an incorrect time stamp.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 06, 2022 09:06 AM (XIJ/X)

Oh it was *you*!!!!

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 09:07 AM (llON8)

13 Secrets to writing, or at least finishing, a book? Write a page a day at the least. That's 250 words; anybody can do that. And in a year you will have a complete manuscript! This takes into account false starts (where you write a scene and then realize it needs something or needs to slant in a different direction, the occasional day off, etc. There will be times, as you reach a minor or major climax, that you will be energized to write 2 or 3 pages, or more. (Those are really fun times.)

The other secret is that the topic, or the story, should be something you are really fascinated by. You don't have to "know" it. Not many of us have been nuclear engineers, for example; few have been cops; and none of us have lived on the Moon or traveled through interstellar space. But it should be something you are ready and eager to *learn* about.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:08 AM (c6xtn)

14 Test.

Posted by: Eromero at November 06, 2022 09:08 AM (0OP+5)

15 Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, I actually got up early enough to catch the Book Thread.

Very nice cathedral pic. The farmers' protests this summer really drove home the point that there are a lot of based Dutch people, it's just the cancer that is Amsterdam drowning them out.

Posted by: Dr. T at November 06, 2022 09:09 AM (tp+tP)

16 testing commenting

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at November 06, 2022 09:09 AM (yikp0)

17 [iIs this old news and I've missed seeing it for the past several months? %@*)#P*^Y#*(^ Amzon has dropped the Kindle app from downloads and apparently won't even download new book purchases to your PC.

WTF???
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 09:06 AM (llON

That's the first I've heard of that.

I'm running the Kindle PC app, ver. 1.39.1 (65323), last updated 11/1/2022 and downloaded and read Schlichter's latest Kelly Turnbull novel Inferno on it.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at November 06, 2022 09:09 AM (ZSK0i)

18 One more trick, and I forget where I picked this up, but as you write, when you reach your day's quota, stop in the middle of a line. Don't stop at the end of a chapter or a scene; it will be much harder to pick up the next day. If you start the scene with half a sentence and leave it unfinished, you will be motivated to finish it tomorrow.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:09 AM (c6xtn)

19 Wow, I thought I accidentally broke the time machine for a second.

Posted by: Dr. T at November 06, 2022 09:10 AM (tp+tP)

20 Hot Coffee!!!...Hot Moon!!! any NASA geek will love it!!!
French Toast sans Pants!!!

Posted by: Qmark at November 06, 2022 09:10 AM (ttO/Q)

21 Good Sunday morning, horde!

Would love to peruse that bookstore in the cathedral, and run my hands over all the stone. And then find a comfy chair (please say there are comfy chairs in there somewhere) and read for an afternoon.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:10 AM (OX9vb)

22 Did I get banned?

Posted by: Eromero at November 06, 2022 09:10 AM (0OP+5)

23 I read The Winners by Fredrik Backman. I really enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy, Beartown and Us Against You; but this is the best of the three. The books tell the story of Beartown and Hed, two small towns in Sweden. They are close to each other in the northern forest, but miles and miles from any other town. Beartown and Hed are hockey towns and the rivalry is fierce, over the top, and sometimes tragic.

Winners takes up the story two years after the end of Us Against You. I liked the book because Backman captures life in a small town. It's an interesting story, populated with great characters and almost every page has an insight into a character or a philosophical nugget. In order to appreciate this work to its fullest, the entire trilogy should be read.

Posted by: Zoltan at November 06, 2022 09:11 AM (FlrKV)

24 Where ?
Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 10:04 AM (T4tVD)

@25. Do pay attention, 007.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at November 06, 2022 09:11 AM (ZSK0i)

25 Looks like a time change glitch. I was comment number four, but now number two. And an hour before the thread!

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:12 AM (7bRMQ)

26 Wha' hoppen to my two posts?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:12 AM (c6xtn)

27
g'mornin', book-ish 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at November 06, 2022 09:12 AM (ENBF0)

28 Anybody else finding their posts disappearing?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:12 AM (c6xtn)

29 JT keeps the first and last comment every time I refresh, I guess the new ones fill in somewhere in the middle.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at November 06, 2022 09:12 AM (BF0SU)

30 also featured a part of pop culture in the late 1970s, namely the CB radio craze.

That dates the book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Posted by: Weak Geek

So, historical fiction now, right?

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:14 AM (OX9vb)

31 @15 --

Other way around. We're now back on standard time.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:14 AM (Om/di)

32 Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes. Thanks for the shout-out, Perfesser.

I don't have any writing "secret" except for 'do it.' I spend too much time doing other things (drinking, readinng, prOn surfing) and not enough time writing. It's odd this time around, too, since I have the whole new book plotted out, and yet simply have little interest in the actual writing. What I really need is a week alone in an isolated cabin with no internet connection, no radio and a barely-functional radio that only gets a static-y polka station out of Saginaw to get writing done.

A side note and bleg - I've come off a nasty cold and both of my ears have blocked up. I can 'hear,' but I feel as though they're stuffed with cotton. It isn't wax, I know that. Anyone have any suggestions to clear them?

Posted by: Hope Solo's Globetrotting Squeakhole at November 06, 2022 09:14 AM (AW0uW)

33 Time for church. Will pray for all.

Posted by: Eromero at November 06, 2022 09:14 AM (0OP+5)

34 How come Bolan never went to Kansas City?

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:07 AM (Om/di)

He wasn't a f@ggot?

Posted by: Taggart at November 06, 2022 09:15 AM (7bRMQ)

35 I wrote this last week, but for those people who are doing NaNoWriMo, you need to have at least done 5 x 1666 = 8330 words (more is better) by now. Don't get behind!

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 09:15 AM (PiwSw)

36 And wiped out my first so again
Tolle Lege everyone

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 09:15 AM (xhxe8)

37 I started my short story (if I write well enough, novella if I don't) about a velociraptor artificier in a gunslinger/old west world, and quickly discovered I need work on writing dialogue. So I'm just writing notes on that bit for now and writing the descriptions and narration.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 09:16 AM (nC+QA)

38 Time for church. Will pray for all.
Posted by: Eromero

Thank you !

Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 09:16 AM (T4tVD)

39 Your posts are not disappearing; CBD just kicked the hamsters and made them reset the time.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 09:16 AM (llON8)

40 This week, I finished reading "Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives!" which is exactly what it sounds like: an alternate history in which the archduke was never assassinated and World War I never happened.

The author gives a few different scenarios on what kind of world might have existed; one or two definitely better than ours and one or two as bad as ours, but in different ways. It's way pricier than it should be, and the guy is a lefty who doesn't always keep his biases out of the equation, but he still has a lot of colorful arguments. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Posted by: Dr. T at November 06, 2022 09:16 AM (tp+tP)

41 I've found myself incapable of doing any real reading, nor watching any movies, and I started writing about my recent experiences, because that's almost all that's on my mind.

I don't think it's going to turn into anything with a clear narrative, nor do I think it would be of much interest to anyone but me, but I do like the way I've been writing. When I go back and read it, I can experience a bit of... joy? Relief? From knowing what I'm reading is coherent, and... right.

I appreciate those who write books, it seems like such a daunting task to me, but I do so understand the love for writing.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:17 AM (NWBBy)

42 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:08 AM (c6xtn)

As usual, Wolfus is right on the mark. Write a page a day, and choose a subject you want to live with for at least a year. You don't need to be obsessed by the subject, but you'll never get anything written if doing basic research is a chore.

I disagree about stopping in the middle of a sentence, though. Personally, I find it immensely satisfying to stop at the end of a scene or chapter, especially if the writing is flowing and you can 'see' your way to the end of a particular portion of the story.

Posted by: Hope Solo's Globetrotting Squeakhole at November 06, 2022 09:17 AM (AW0uW)

43 I love this place, time warps and all.

Posted by: Count de Monet at November 06, 2022 09:17 AM (4I/2K)

44 Ok, I did some digging on Amazon and yep, apparently the PC and Mac app versions are currently unavailable. I got my PC copy last May when I b*itched Amazon out over the poor performance of the web-based version of the Kindle reader.

However, the PC app I have does download new books properly and updates itself periodically.

I recall over the years that Amazon has been back and forth on app vs. web-based Kindle reading. It'd be nice if they made up their collective mind.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at November 06, 2022 09:17 AM (ZSK0i)

45 Oh and again
Slowly working on Dennis Prager's Rational Bible Deuteronomy
I don't stack unread books so need to finish it so I can get Michael Walsh's new book

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 09:17 AM (xhxe8)

46 One more trick, and I forget where I picked this up, but as you write, when you reach your day's quota, stop in the middle of a line. Don't stop at the end of a chapter or a scene; it will be much harder to pick up the next day. If you start the scene with half a sentence and leave it unfinished, you will be motivated to finish it tomorrow.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:09 AM (c6xtn)

You think, that's a good stopping place. The Next Day: What was I going to do?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:17 AM (7bRMQ)

47 I am just not into all these fantasy books. At all.

I'm reading "The Battle Of Midway" by Craig Symonds (excellent, if you like granular war history) and Stacey Schiff's bio of Samuel Adams "The Revolutionary", also very good so far.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at November 06, 2022 09:19 AM (7k1wd)

48 >>> 17
==
That's the first I've heard of that.

I'm running the Kindle PC app, ver. 1.39.1 (65323), last updated 11/1/2022 and downloaded and read Schlichter's latest Kelly Turnbull novel Inferno on it.
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at November 06, 2022 09:09 AM (ZSK0i)

Updated, but when did you install it (last time, if you had to re-install for any reason)?

Yes, it's making me a little grumpy. Not at anyone here!

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 09:19 AM (llON8)

49 Very intrigued by KT's mention of the Channel Islands during WWII in her first post yesterday. Specifically concerning Dame Sybil Hathaway of Sark Island. Downloaded her autobiography yesterday. Only a few pages in, although the reviews were all positive, we shall see. "Dame of Sark" is the book's title.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at November 06, 2022 09:19 AM (2NHgQ)

50 Oh, and usual, I am reading Patrick O'Brian. But that's really more in the line of addiction.

Posted by: Huck Follywood at November 06, 2022 09:20 AM (7k1wd)

51 If they're going to convert a cathedral to a bookstore, let's hope that the quality of publications is somewhere above that of your typical Barnes and Noble (Obama / Hitlery biographies and books on trans-ness as far as the eye can see).

Posted by: PabloD at November 06, 2022 09:20 AM (X1JA2)

52 Still traipsing through "America Unshackled". Eh, I'm a lazy reader. But it's very good.

Things are by now heating up to the point that Madison is drafting a declaration of war against Britain. The British ambassador hastens to explain to his government that all the violent demonstrations breaking out in American cities are comprised mostly of "Irishmen, Negroes, and young boys".

Hibernians, Africans, and ragamuffins! Oh my!

I didn't know that the local bog rats were already stirring things up at this early date. But then they were doing it in the Revolutionary War too, weren't they?

Pah! The Irish! *angrily dips snuff, blots nose with lace hanky*

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at November 06, 2022 09:20 AM (Dc2NZ)

53 -- So, Moron Authors, what is YOUR secret to writing a book? --

The secret to writing a book is to want to write it for its own sake. Writing for any other reason is too easily derailed. You might write one for some extrinsic reason, but only the love of your stories and their themes will keep you going.

I know a gifted writer who turned out a first-class thriller because he hoped it would earn him out of his money woes. As good as it was, it didn't sell...and he's written nothing since.

Posted by: Francis W. Porretto at November 06, 2022 09:20 AM (z/nZY)

54 This week, I finished reading "Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives!" which is exactly what it sounds like: an alternate history in which the archduke was never assassinated and World War I never happened.

So, he's really Keith Richards ?

Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 09:21 AM (T4tVD)

55 I've always given a miss to National Novel Writing Month, because I was usually mid-project, or finishing up a book project in time to launch it for the holiday season. I did go full out on my first novel, and wrote it at blazing speed - 12,000 words a week, which meant pretty much a full day at it. I just finished a huge ghost-written job, and now have three of my own projects to finish. Luna City 11, which should launch at mid-month (I'll send the link to the Professor when it goes live), the next Lone Star Sons set of adventures for YA readers, and the half-finished Civil War novel which I have been lagging at for a couple of years, now. Anyway, I was tempted by last week's book thread. I ordered a copy of "Clementine in the Kitchen", which came in the mail yesterday, Juliet Nicholson's "A Perfect Summer" which was available in digital for a very reasonable price and which is half-read, and her follow-up "The Great Silence", which is on the way. I might get around eventually to writing something set in the period just before WW1. I've always hesitated, because it seemed so depressing, all the promise and hope and progress in the 19th century being destroyed in the trenches.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at November 06, 2022 09:21 AM (xnmPy)

56 I started my short story (if I write well enough, novella if I don't) about a velociraptor artificier in a gunslinger/old west world, and quickly discovered I need work on writing dialogue. So I'm just writing notes on that bit for now and writing the descriptions and narration.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 09:16 AM (nC+QA)

Do you think that will work? I'm the opposite, I can do dialog better than the rest. I think, anyway. Only people who've read my stuff can tell me for sure.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:21 AM (7bRMQ)

57 54 This week, I finished reading "Archduke Franz Ferdinand Lives!" which is exactly what it sounds like: an alternate history in which the archduke was never assassinated and World War I never happened.

So, he's really Keith Richards ?
Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 09:21 AM (T4tVD)

The assassin was an Imperial Storm Trooper who got sent back in time (or forward in time?)

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 09:22 AM (PiwSw)

58 One more trick, and I forget where I picked this up, but as you write, when you reach your day's quota, stop in the middle of a line. Don't stop at the end of a chapter or a scene; it will be much harder to pick up the next day. If you start the scene with half a sentence and leave it unfinished, you will be motivated to finish it tomorrow.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:09 AM (c6xtn)

I believe I heard Michael Malice talk about that. Not sure if it was his idea, or something he picked up from someone else.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (NWBBy)

59 You think, that's a good stopping place. The Next Day: What was I going to do?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022

***
Ah, but during the waking part of that 24 hours you'll be thinking about how to end that sentence and what should come next in that scene.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (c6xtn)

60 @40 --

I read the International Herald Tribune's original report on the archduke's assassination. Lengthy piece, but it seemed as if he had been a good guy. (That couldn't be said for some of his relatives.)

I wondered how different the world might have been if the assassins had failed. There was more than one attempt that day.

This book sounds interesting.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (Om/di)

61 -- So, Moron Authors, what is YOUR secret to writing a book? --

Hobbling.

Posted by: Annie Wilkes at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (oTZbj)

62 I was reminiscing of the great era of large coffee table books. What luxury. Heavy books with big color plates of photographs. I got rid of all of mine except for the biography of Stravinsky. Giant pages on slick paper, photos of his color musical sketches, enlargements of his early black and white pictures. From a literary point of view most of them were fluff.
I miss them, but I just don't have the room anymore.

Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (jTmQV)

63 Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading.

Posted by: JTB at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (7EjX1)

64 49 Very intrigued by KT's mention of the Channel Islands during WWII in her first post yesterday. Specifically concerning Dame Sybil Hathaway of Sark Island. Downloaded her autobiography yesterday. Only a few pages in, although the reviews were all positive, we shall see. "Dame of Sark" is the book's title.
Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at November 06, 2022 09:19 AM (2NHgQ)
---

I remember seeing a segment on 60 Minutes ages ago on the venerable Dame of Sark. That ought to be a good read.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (Dc2NZ)

65 as you write, when you reach your day's quota, stop in the middle of a line. Don't stop at the end of a chapter or a scene; it will be much harder to pick up the next day. If you start the scene with half a sentence and leave it unfinished, you will be motivated to finish it tomorrow.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022
*
I believe I heard Michael Malice talk about that. Not sure if it was his idea, or something he picked up from someone else.
Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022

***
It might have been Hemingway, or something attributed to him.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:24 AM (c6xtn)

66 Let's test again
Like we did last summer
Testing the night away!

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at November 06, 2022 09:24 AM (yikp0)

67 This week, I read Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson (a Walt Longmire novel). There is both good and bad.

It's not, IMO, his best work. It feels rushed, like he had to finish cranking it out before deadline. And is every major author required to write a book to Denounce White Supremacy? The white supremacy angle in this story is completely unnecessary. Then he "balances" it by highlighting domestic violence on the rez.

cont...

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:24 AM (OX9vb)

68 I've been watching The Peripheral on Prime. It is very good except I cannot understand what some of the characters are saying especially the Brits. It is based on a book by William Gibson. Should I read the book or will it ruin the series.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 06, 2022 09:24 AM (Y+l9t)

69 So, he's really Keith Richards ?
Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 09:21 AM (T4tVD)

The assassin was an Imperial Storm Trooper who got sent back in time (or forward in time?)
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 09:22 AM (PiwSw)

You troglodytes.

Posted by: Dr. T at November 06, 2022 09:24 AM (tp+tP)

70 I started my short story (if I write well enough, novella if I don't) about a velociraptor artificier in a gunslinger/old west world, and quickly discovered I need work on writing dialogue. So I'm just writing notes on that bit for now and writing the descriptions and narration.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022

***
I find dialog, especially snappy funny stuff, to be loads of fun. I've said for years, if I could write nothing but funny dialog and action scenes, and subcontract the rest of a book out, I'd be happy.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:25 AM (c6xtn)

71 readin n stuff

never nto it

Posted by: REDACTED at November 06, 2022 09:25 AM (us2H3)

72 Updated, but when did you install it (last time, if you had to re-install for any reason)?

Yes, it's making me a little grumpy. Not at anyone here!
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 09:19 AM (llON

See @44. May 2022.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at November 06, 2022 09:26 AM (ZSK0i)

73 One more trick, and I forget where I picked this up, but as you write, when you reach your day's quota, stop in the middle of a line. Don't stop at the end of a chapter or a scene; it will be much harder to pick up the next day. If you start the scene with half a sentence and leave it unfinished, you will be motivated to finish it tomorrow.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:09 AM (c6xtn)
---
No. I write episodically - so while I have a scene fresh in my mind I MUST write it down. If I get interrupted and have to stop, it is hard for me to get into the same mental space.

Once I've finished the scene (and the session), I need to recharge anyway. Depending on circumstances, it may take a day or two for me to work out the next phase, and I'll be making notes and thinking of what should happen next.

Because writing is a part-time activity for me, I typically will only start a session of I can get 1,000 words out of it. A good evening is 2,000 words and 3,000 is pretty much the upper limit.

I speak of fiction, of course. Non-fiction works differently.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 09:27 AM (llXky)

74 ... The racist characters are complete caricatures, and laughable.

But the story itself is good. Walt has one of his supernatural experiences, and there are a couple of fun references to other western authors. One character won't come off his tractor until he knows Walt is not the game warden, and another character has a car that is very clearly Philbert's war pony from The PowWow Highway by David Seals.

Three out of five stars.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:27 AM (OX9vb)

75 I know a gifted writer who turned out a first-class thriller because he hoped it would earn him out of his money woes. As good as it was, it didn't sell...and he's written nothing since.

Posted by: Francis W. Porretto at November 06, 2022 09:20 AM (z/nZY)

I'm not doing it expecting money, but I'd take whatever came my way. I'm doing it because I'm bored, unemployed, and have always read and liked books. I want to see if I can do it.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:28 AM (7bRMQ)

76 I started but couldn't finish Gene Wolfe's The Land Across, which is supposedly a fantasy novel -- there are some supernatural elements, but they were offstage more than they were on. Right now I'm rereading, for the first time in many years, Dorothy L. Sayers' first Lord Peter mystery, Whose Body? It's almost 100 years old, 1923. It's contemporary with the 1920s episodes of Downton Abbey, so in contrast to my younger self, I have a good idea of what Lord Peter's world looked like.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:29 AM (c6xtn)

77 Started The Feather Thief about a theft of bird from a British museum. I thought it was going to be about a turn of the last century theft but it happened in the 20-teens. Just getting introduced to the weird obsessive world of fly tying. Who knew there even was such a thing. Great book so far. I've read 8 'reels' of MP4's Theda Bara mystery and it just keeps getting better.

Posted by: who knew at November 06, 2022 09:29 AM (4I7VG)

78 No writing for me. I can speak and read the the English word but my writing leaves much to be desired.

However I do read a lot. I just finished re-reading "The Girl With The Dragon Tatto" series by Stieg Larsson when I found out there were 3 more books written in the series by another author after Larsson had died.
They were good books but they missed something. I think Larsson gave the characters depth that was brought out bit by bit as you read his books. And he really worked on the relationships the characters had with each other. You were drawn to them.
The other author, David Lagercrantz just did not seem to go to that length with the three books he wrote that finished off the series.
Any way, that's my $1.50 (adjusted for inflation and other various sundry items)

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at November 06, 2022 09:29 AM (fe7in)

79 It is based on a book by William Gibson. Should I read the book or will it ruin the series?
--------------------
It's pretty good reading even if you haven't worked out that the nanny is the spy.

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at November 06, 2022 09:29 AM (yikp0)

80 Maybe end the day's writing with a few notes to yourself on what you were thinking?

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:30 AM (Om/di)

81 Anyway, I was tempted by last week's book thread. I ordered a copy of "Clementine in the Kitchen", which came in the mail yesterday, Juliet Nicholson's "A Perfect Summer" which was available in digital for a very reasonable price and which is half-read, and her follow-up "The Great Silence", which is on the way.

Nicholson was my recommendation last week. I've never read Clementine in the Kitchen, though.

Posted by: Hope Solo's Globetrotting Squeakhole at November 06, 2022 09:30 AM (AW0uW)

82 I miss them, but I just don't have the room anymore.
Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (jTmQV)

I'm moving in a month, then will move again sometime in the six months after. I brought a ton (possibly literally) of books a thousand miles, three years ago, and moved all of them (and more!) 8 months ago.

I just don't have it in me to move them again. I'll take some with me, but most go to the donation place. I'm ok with it, I guess, it's the fact that I AM moving again that's the source of my anguish.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:30 AM (NWBBy)

83 Youngest Grandson has developed an infatuation with helicopters at 2 years old. Fotunately Papa did too many years ago. Has me reading The Huey and the Huey Cobra by Bill Siuru every day now (a reference book at best these days).
I can't remember who wrote or when I read it but there is a book out there by a Vietnam Vet that basically teaches you how to fly a Huey as he explains his story about flight school. I need that book for reading with Papa time.

Okay, off to Duckduckgo for another attempt at finding it. Now my new Sunday mission.

Posted by: Reforger at November 06, 2022 09:31 AM (k8TXe)

84 I've read 8 'reels' of MP4's Theda Bara mystery and it just keeps getting better.
Posted by: who knew at November 06, 2022 09:29 AM (4I7VG)

Thank you!

Posted by: Hope Solo's Globetrotting Squeakhole at November 06, 2022 09:31 AM (AW0uW)

85 I'm going through and applying edits to Walls of Men, my book on China. It seems to be going quickly, and my goal is to have a proof printed by the end of the month so it can be on sale for Christmas.

My reading veered into gaming stuff. It's gaming season here in Michigan, and in addition to gearing up for the winter 40k campaign, I picked up GDW's Persian Gulf from 1986 and spent yesterday savoring the rules. I own two other games in the series, and always wanted this one. They used to be really expensive, but with the Middle East relatively quiet, interest has faded. It's fun to read about ZOCs and Combat Results Tables and all the joyful mechanics of my youth.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 09:31 AM (llXky)

86 It's been awhile since I've read Neuromancer or Mona Lisa Overdrive, but I seem to recall that those books went 90 miles an hour, then just stopped. No rising action, no climax, no denouement. Just...stopped.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 09:32 AM (PiwSw)

87 Nobody won the Powerball. Est. jackpot $1.95B

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at November 06, 2022 09:33 AM (3Lw3j)

88 Okay, off to Duckduckgo for another attempt at finding it. Now my new Sunday mission.
Posted by: Reforger at November 06, 2022 09:31 AM (k8TXe)

CHICKENHAWK!!!!!! I remembered as I posted. Mission Accomplished. Now to find it.

Posted by: Reforger at November 06, 2022 09:33 AM (k8TXe)

89 Ah, but during the waking part of that 24 hours you'll be thinking about how to end that sentence and what should come next in that scene.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:23 AM (c6xtn)

True, WA. I have plans, but on my current scifi attempt, I've put it away for a couple of days because I'm not sure which way I want to take it. Started back up again this morning and have added about 1k words.

By the way, how would you classify The Diner Incident? It's not a mystery or crime thriller, maybe a suspense story?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:34 AM (7bRMQ)

90 Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022

***
It might have been Hemingway, or something attributed to him.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:24 AM (c6xtn)

I recall reading how Flaubert, writing Madame Bovary, would obsess over every word, sometimes getting no more than a part of a sentence completed in any given day, and then returning to rework it again and again.

Given that I've only ever read the English translation, I can't say whether it's worth it or not, but strikes me as at least a little bit insane.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:35 AM (NWBBy)

91 I've said for years, if I could write nothing but funny dialog and action scenes, and subcontract the rest of a book out, I'd be happy.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:25 AM (c6xtn)

Perhaps you should write plays instead?

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:37 AM (OX9vb)

92 Thanks for the heads up about Sarah Hoyt's new book. I wasn't aware of the Shape Shifter series but will check it out. Sarah's writing is always enjoyable and the way she infuses humor into the tales is an ongoing treat.

I have a feeling this weeks book thread is going to mess with the book buying budget. (Sigh!)

Posted by: JTB at November 06, 2022 09:38 AM (7EjX1)

93 Can you really write a good book from blank page to complete in thirty or thirty one days?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:05 AM (7bRMQ)

Not and get my Christmas shopping done. Why couldn't they have scheduled it for March?

Posted by: creeper at November 06, 2022 09:38 AM (cTCuP)

94 I've said for years, if I could write nothing but funny dialog and action scenes, and subcontract the rest of a book out, I'd be happy.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:25 AM (c6xtn)

Perhaps you should write plays instead?
Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:37 AM (OX9vb)

Or maybe George Lucas is hiring.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:38 AM (NWBBy)

95 Many of my friends are aware I have written books, but seem oddly reluctant to actually buy any of them. So I gave one of them a copy of The Vampires of Michigan and told him to give it a try.

He was suspicious at first, because he's not into vampires, but I told him it's not what you think, just try it. As I hoped, he's really enjoying it because it's not really about vampires per se, it's about people who live a really long time trying to keep from going crazy with boredom.

He sent me a photo of some text yesterday saying he was laughing out loud because I included the stereotypical rusted Chevy Astro van with Michigan Football stickers covering it in one of my scenes.

I think I may do another book and make it a series, because it allows me to snark about where I live and it's fun to write.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 09:39 AM (llXky)

96 The only childhood book I revisited recently is Go Dog Go, and You will go to the moon. Found them in warehouse 13 (basement) while looking for other things I can't find thanks to the move.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at November 06, 2022 09:40 AM (VwHCD)

97 That feeling where you know you have done your best and you've added something new and good to the world. It's a great feeling.
Alas, then the world fails to fall at your feet...

Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 09:40 AM (jTmQV)

98 78 No writing for me. I can speak and read the the English word but my writing leaves much to be desired.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude

Yeah, same. I'd rather read. I don't feel like I have any stories to tell, for that matter.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:41 AM (OX9vb)

99 The only childhood book I revisited recently is Go Dog Go, and You will go to the moon. Found them in warehouse 13 (basement) while looking for other things I can't find thanks to the move.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at November 06, 2022 09:40 AM (VwHCD)

Go Dog Go is marvelous, due to the (spoiler alert!) twist ending.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:41 AM (NWBBy)

100 By the way, how would you classify The Diner Incident? It's not a mystery or crime thriller, maybe a suspense story?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022

***
There's a crime element for sure -- spying in wartime is a crime. I've got your ms. on my desk at work and will scan it to you tomorrow.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:41 AM (c6xtn)

101 Or maybe George Lucas is hiring.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:38 AM (NWBBy)
---
How dare you question the genius who came up with the "You're soft and smooth, not like sand" scene?!

If I'd been on the set, I would have been weeping with laughter over the "it's hard and gets into eeeeeverything."

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 09:42 AM (llXky)

102 This makes me sad, but I have to leave the thread already to get ready for church, which is starting early for a discussion on "the rumors and untruths" on the United Methodist Church's coming fracture over social issues -- specifically having gay members of the clergy.

In my view, the bishops are trying to push this on the congregations.

I'd hate to have to leave this denomination. I've been a member of my church for more than 30 years. But I have a line that I will not cross.

So sayeth the sinner.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:43 AM (Om/di)

103 Reformer I think I read that long ago, it sounds too familiar

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 09:43 AM (xhxe8)

104 Yeah, same. I'd rather read. I don't feel like I have any stories to tell, for that matter.
Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:41 AM (OX9vb)

Brains are designed differently, and some get the boost of dopamine (or whatever) from putting words together. Others get it from absorbing them (obviously some get it from both).

It's rather sad, the person who gets it from neither, and has to search for it in other things, things that can be harmful.

If you yearn to write though, write here. Or just write your own story, for no one other than you.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:44 AM (NWBBy)

105 I've said for years, if I could write nothing but funny dialog and action scenes, and subcontract the rest of a book out, I'd be happy.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:25 AM (c6xtn)

Perhaps you should write plays instead?
Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022

***
I've tried, but I don't normally get ideas that can be played out in one or two rooms. I write adventure or mystery or fantasy/SF, or the three mixed together.

I don't mean to say I don't find the material that leads up to the action scenes fascinating. If I'm finding them dull, so will the reader. And I work the funny dialog into those scenes where it's appropriate. It's just that the other things are even more fascinating.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:45 AM (c6xtn)

106
I'd hate to have to leave this denomination. I've been a member of my church for more than 30 years. But I have a line that I will not cross.

So sayeth the sinner.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:43 AM (Om/di)
---
My grandparents were lifelong members and were forced out of their church in Royal Oak 20+ years ago. Broke my grandfather's heart. They ended up going to a Congregational church for a while until he died, but his funeral was at his old church.

Turnout was amazing.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 09:46 AM (llXky)

107 If the old saying "write about what you know" is true, then I definitely do not want to write a book. After 20+ years in the legal profession, the last thing I want to think about in my spare time is the law, lawyers, or cases I've handled (even the somewhat interesting ones). Same reason I don't watch law-themed shows. I'd rather claw my own eyes out than read a John Grisham novel, and I have no idea whether he's a good, bad, or indifferent writer.

Posted by: PabloD at November 06, 2022 09:46 AM (X1JA2)

108 I've been reading "John Howe's Ultimate Fantasy Art Academy". It's a compilation of two of his books and combines his tips on what materials to use for drawing fantasy art and how to use them. Some of the best, most practical instructions I've seen. He includes several lessons, of increasing complexity, designed to help the reader develop skills and use their imagination.

The book isn't just helpful. It ties in very well with other how-to art books I have. Howe has a talent not just for drawing but for explaining how and why he does his art.

Posted by: JTB at November 06, 2022 09:47 AM (7EjX1)

109 In Karl's defense, he was in the pool!

Those pants...reminds me of Miami.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at November 06, 2022 09:47 AM (R/m4+)

110 Yeah, same. I'd rather read. I don't feel like I have any stories to tell, for that matter.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:41 AM (OX9vb)

That's what I thought. I figured I'd only write non-fiction stuff, because that's all I've done - for college and a history writing competition. But once you have a starting point, it seems weird, but further action just pops into my head. The current scifi work was going to be a short story, then a novelette, then a novella, now it's novel length. I keep seeing things fall into place. Maybe I'm wrong, and it's crap. But I won't know until someone else reads it.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:47 AM (7bRMQ)

111 Only a book got a copy couple years ago Hell in a Very Small Place yesterday at War Game Convention got talking to a Game Master who on Friday had a game of Dien Bien Phu. Told him I read that out of the school library probably at age 13. And I think it sent me on a life quest of military history. He said you and me are probably the only names on the ticket taking that out.

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 09:47 AM (xhxe8)

112 I'd hate to have to leave this denomination. I've been a member of my church for more than 30 years. But I have a line that I will not cross.

So sayeth the sinner.
Posted by: Weak Geek at November 06, 2022 09:43 AM (Om/di)

As a fellow Methodist, you have my prayers and sympathies. Our church is in a similar position, though the pastor and membership is conservative enough that I think we'll completely detach if it reaches that point.

This is definitely the leadership's fault; they refused to accept the fact that they lost the vote on gay marriage, so they're trying to push all of us out and then re-do it.

Posted by: Dr. T at November 06, 2022 09:48 AM (tp+tP)

113 By the way, how would you classify The Diner Incident? It's not a mystery or crime thriller, maybe a suspense story?
Posted by: OrangeEnt

It's a little hard to pigeonhole, being a short story, but I think it veers toward spy thriller.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:49 AM (OX9vb)

114 OK, folks, got to wash and shave. Going to meet a friend for whisky and cigars.

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Posted by: Hope Solo's Globetrotting Squeakhole at November 06, 2022 09:49 AM (AW0uW)

115 I have no problem with creating the fabric of the 'these pants', although it looks more appropriate as decoration in a voodoo shaman's hut. I am disturbed about the theory of evolution that someone, after eons of 'progress', thought it would look good as pants for some guy.

Posted by: JTB at November 06, 2022 09:51 AM (7EjX1)

116 87 Nobody won the Powerball. Est. jackpot $1.95B
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at November 06, 2022 09:33 AM (3Lw3j)
---

So I still have a chance to build that offsite library!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at November 06, 2022 09:51 AM (Dc2NZ)

117 Sarah > Katie

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory, hoarder and wrecker at November 06, 2022 09:53 AM (g03CO)

118 As a fellow Methodist, you have my prayers and sympathies. Our church is in a similar position, though the pastor and membership is conservative enough that I think we'll completely detach if it reaches that point.

This is definitely the leadership's fault; they refused to accept the fact that they lost the vote on gay marriage, so they're trying to push all of us out and then re-do it.

Posted by: Dr. T at November 06, 2022 09:48 AM (tp+tP)
---
Some years ago I was an RCIA sponsor and one of the people in the group was a United Methodist who felt so strongly against the gayness that she was becoming Catholic. She was actually a delegate, too, very involved and wondered how her congregation would react when they found out.

During discussions she always had something interesting to say and it was fascinating hearing her describe doctrine from the Methodist perspective.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 09:53 AM (llXky)

119 So, I have the 1995 mini-series of "Pride and Prejudice" on blu-ray dvd and after seeing it I thought it would be good to re-read the book. Was Mrs. Bennett really that big of an idiot? Did Lizzy really fall in love with Darcy when she saw Pemberley?

Yes to the first.

She told Jane that she first fell in love with Darcy when she saw the "gardens of Pemberley." Of course right around that time in the story, Darcy shows up and is completely charming to her and her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner.

I also didn't like that they removed one of the greatest lines: "I could forgive him his pride if he had not mortified mine."

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at November 06, 2022 09:53 AM (C1rbv)

120 Lawrence Block also had a suggestion on how to start a story. You can take the basic premise of a TV show, for example, and as long as you give it its own spin, your own twist, you can get yourself a good and possibly saleable story.

There was an ep of The Fugitive that was a great showcase for Dr. Kimble's honorable character -- but then they ditched it for a car chase scene. I've had in mind a variation on that for many years. Maybe soon I'll try writing it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:54 AM (c6xtn)

121 Some enterprising comedy writer should put out a quick book for the butthurt Dems.

So You're Moving To Canada: What To Know To Fit In

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at November 06, 2022 09:55 AM (BF0SU)

122 Interesting post on the book from the 19th century on being "in service". My mother-in-law was a trained baby nurse, and so was "in service" before her marriage, and she said some interesting things about it. One I recall in particular is how she distinguished between "new money" and "old money". "New money" as a rule treated "the help" badly, perhaps because they wanted to distinguish themselves from the class from which they had recently risen. Old money, on the other hand, generally treated "the help" well, or at least civilly, perhaps because they felt secure in their position. She compared working for old money to being a dog in a family that liked and respected dogs.

Posted by: Nemo at November 06, 2022 09:56 AM (S6ArX)

123 Lawrence Block also had a suggestion on how to start a story. You can take the basic premise of a TV show, for example, and as long as you give it its own spin, your own twist, you can get yourself a good and possibly saleable story.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:54 AM (c6xtn)
---
Yes, you can torment yourself into inactivity by trying to be original. My first book was Battle Officer Wolf - a retelling of Beowulf in space. it was a lot of fun to right, and I had a clear path to follow.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 09:57 AM (llXky)

124 So I still have a chance to build that offsite library!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord

Yes! I dream of buying half of Wyoming (half of the 20% that the Feds don't own) and building a horde compound.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:58 AM (OX9vb)

125 Something cranked up my reader in the past couple of weeks. I was reading Rendezvous with Rama with my Zoom book club and then watched a couple of episodes of The Peripheral on Prime. So I went back and read that book again, then finished Rama, then finished a book by a moron that had been sitting half read in my a kindle app for a year or so, Stanging in the Storm, and then I picked up Schlichters latest "Inferno" and I am a quarter of the way through that.

I don't know what switch flipped but I haven't read like this in a long long time.

Posted by: blaster at November 06, 2022 09:59 AM (pwExq)

126 There's a crime element for sure -- spying in wartime is a crime. I've got your ms. on my desk at work and will scan it to you tomorrow.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 09:41 AM (c6xtn)

Thanks, I appreciate it. Now I think I'm at the point where I have to decide if anything I've written is worth trying to publish. Do I send stuff out, risking a return envelope filled with ashes? How do any of you writers decide it's time?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:59 AM (7bRMQ)

127 I know a gifted writer who turned out a first-class thriller because he hoped it would earn him out of his money woes. As good as it was, it didn't sell...and he's written nothing since.

Posted by: Francis W. Porretto at November 06, 2022 09:20 AM (z/nZY

I commented on that type of scenario previously about the arts and entertainment fields. My comment was basically life is a series of being in the right place at the right time. Of course their is hard work that can make the chances of that happening better.

It evenhappens in science and engineering fields. I'm thinking of Bill Gates and also the typewriter QWERTY.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:00 AM (nQA9k)

128 Yes! I dream of buying half of Wyoming (half of the 20% that the Feds don't own) and building a horde compound.
Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:58 AM (OX9vb)

Can I put in a vote for a warmer place?

Posted by: blaster at November 06, 2022 10:00 AM (pwExq)

129 Speaking TV, the article on the sidebar of how a placeholder cop show outperformed the woke one the network was set on making is pretty amusing - and expected.

I'm working my way through the 1980s The Equalizer series and it's good entertainment. Is it kind of crazy that this one dude kills a new person every week? Sure, but who cares? I don't want realism, I want an escape.

And for the record, I think a cop show set in Vegas with two dissimilar cops driving a hot rod on the strip and having a lovable K9 as a sidekick would be ratings gold.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 10:01 AM (llXky)

130 who felt so strongly against the gayness that she was becoming Catholic.

Wonder how she feels about the current synod reports.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at November 06, 2022 10:02 AM (EXyHK)

131 Yes! I dream of buying half of Wyoming (half of the 20% that the Feds don't own) and building a horde compound.
Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:58 AM (OX9vb)
---

Put my name on that list.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at November 06, 2022 10:02 AM (Dc2NZ)

132 In the Roman Lutheran Church we have a lot of gay bishops. But they are still in "the closet."

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at November 06, 2022 10:02 AM (C1rbv)

133 Sorry both my examples were to show that a lesser product became successful over a better product.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:03 AM (nQA9k)

134 Can I put in a vote for a warmer place?
Posted by: blaster at November 06, 2022 10:00 AM (pwExq)

With a billion dollars, we can build several. With private aircraft for travel between.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 10:03 AM (OX9vb)

135 If you yearn to write though, write here.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:44 AM (NWBBy)

Are you hinting about a story thread? Perfessor? Ace?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:03 AM (7bRMQ)

136 With regard to being a working writer, the best advice I've seen came from P. G. Wodehouse. His three rules for being an author are:

1. Prepare your work space well: desk, chair, light, pen, papers, etc.
2. Put your ass in the chair.
3. Keep it there.

When I worked on a commercial book, I hated the deadline, yet I knew I had to have it or the project would never be finished - at least, not finished in a timely way. I could look at the calendar of the upcoming weeks and tell, nearly to within a day, what my mood would be at that given point in the project: Elation at first, when the ink was still wet on the contract; then despair, when I realized that I actually had to write the damned thing; then roller-coastering as faced and met various sub-deadlines to produce sections and chapters. I always tried to juggle my schedule so I'd have Sundays off, to be with my family and recharge my batteries. And also, I found that I did my best work if I got up early in the morning and wrote before I went to my job: again, that gave me a deadline, so I'd have to buckle down and "git 'er done" and not waste time surfing the web for "research", and left evenings free for the family.

Posted by: Nemo at November 06, 2022 10:03 AM (S6ArX)

137 April I will be a Spring to Summer resident

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 10:04 AM (xhxe8)

138 Can I put in a vote for a warmer place?
Posted by: blaster at November 06, 2022 10:00 AM (pwExq)

With a billion dollars, we can build several. With private aircraft for travel between.
Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 10:03 AM (OX9vb)
---
Will there be hookers and blackjack?

Posted by: Bender "Bending" Rodriguez at November 06, 2022 10:04 AM (BpYfr)

139 those "these pants" are the latest in Bali fashion !

Posted by: runner at November 06, 2022 10:05 AM (V13WU)

140 "New money" as a rule treated "the help" badly, perhaps because they wanted to distinguish themselves from the class from which they had recently risen. Old money, on the other hand, generally treated "the help" well, or at least civilly, perhaps because they felt secure in their position. She compared working for old money to being a dog in a family that liked and respected dogs.

Posted by: Nemo at November 06, 2022 09:56 AM (S6ArX)
---
Ace wrote about how media are like this on certain topics. Guns, specifically. They don't want to know anything about them and get angry when people explain the laws and operation of them.

I think Ford Madox Ford also touched on this - the actual aristocrats liked talking with tenants about farming, asked their advice on raising animals, might even pick up a shovel because they were secure in who they were.

New money abhorred being around their tenants or getting dung on their boots, etc. Evelyn Waugh's wife Laura Herbert, was from an old aristocratic family and her hobby was raising cows to compete in the county fair. Totally at home with the yokels.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 10:06 AM (llXky)

141 I've said for years, if I could write nothing but funny dialog and action scenes, and subcontract the rest of a book out, I'd be happy.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere

Or maybe George Lucas is hiring.

Posted by: BurtTC

A funny thing happened on the way to the Death Star . . .

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:06 AM (FVME7)

142 He said you and me are probably the only names on the ticket taking that out.

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 09:47 AM (xhxe

What? You still have the little pocket on the inside cover with the little card in it?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:07 AM (7bRMQ)

143 Thanks, I appreciate it. Now I think I'm at the point where I have to decide if anything I've written is worth trying to publish. Do I send stuff out, risking a return envelope filled with ashes? How do any of you writers decide it's time?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022

***
Try entering some contests, or find an anthology that is issuing a call for short stories on a theme that matches your story. I've done both. The Writers of the Future contest awarded me an Honorable Mention in their 3rd-quarter contest recently (no money, but it'll look nice on the resume). And an occasional poster here in 2019 was looking for fantasy stories on the theme of family. I sent him 3 stories, and he selected one. The point is, if a legitimate contest or an anthology editor likes your stuff enough to pay for it, then a magazine might.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:07 AM (c6xtn)

144 Can we have a firepole to slide down (like the one in Ghostbusters)?

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 10:07 AM (PiwSw)

145 New money abhorred being around their tenants or getting dung on their boots, etc. Evelyn Waugh's wife Laura Herbert, was from an old aristocratic family and her hobby was raising cows to compete in the county fair. Totally at home with the yokels.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 10:06 AM (llXky)
---
Terry Pratchett (he was British) plays around with this idea in the Discworld novels...Lady Sybil Ramkin is the richest woman in the city of Ankh-Morpork, but she spends her days mucking out stables, as she takes care of sick dragons.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 06, 2022 10:08 AM (BpYfr)

146 I think Ford Madox Ford also touched on this - the actual aristocrats liked talking with tenants about farming, asked their advice on raising animals, might even pick up a shovel because they were secure in who they were.

New money abhorred being around their tenants or getting dung on their boots, etc. Evelyn Waugh's wife Laura Herbert, was from an old aristocratic family and her hobby was raising cows to compete in the county fair. Totally at home with the yokels.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022

***
Then if I win the powerball, I will be more like old money than new.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:09 AM (c6xtn)

147 A.H Lloyd: Please increment your sales number for Battle Officer Wolf by 1.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 10:09 AM (PiwSw)

148 Some enterprising comedy writer should put out a quick book for the butthurt Dems.

-
Butthurt: The Asstounding Story of Tank Abrams

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:09 AM (FVME7)

149 Do you think that will work? I'm the opposite, I can do dialog better than the rest. I think, anyway.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 09:21 AM (7bRMQ)

No idea. I haven't written anything in decades, but suddenly became obsessed with talking velociraptors in an Old West setting.

I guess I'm just suddenly bitten by the writing bug because I just wrote the text for a children's book called Yuu Can Be Anything! about a small orange cat with a big imagination. Unfortunately, it will only work with really good illustrations and I'm decades out from being an even moderately competent visual artist.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:10 AM (phT8I)

150 >>> 44 Ok, I did some digging on Amazon and yep, apparently the PC and Mac app versions are currently unavailable. I got my PC copy last May when I b*itched Amazon out over the poor performance of the web-based version of the Kindle reader.

However, the PC app I have does download new books properly and updates itself periodically.

I recall over the years that Amazon has been back and forth on app vs. web-based Kindle reading. It'd be nice if they made up their collective mind.
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at November 06, 2022 09:17 AM (ZSK0i)

Grrr.

... but thanks, at least I know I'm not hallucinating.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 10:11 AM (llON8)

151 Before you spend any money on John Scalzi's books, just remember that he hates you.
John famously said that "In the role playing game known as The Real World, “Straight White Male” is the lowest difficulty setting there is."

Maybe it was that way for John. It wasn't for me, my two brothers and scores of other folks I know.
I see no reason to give this man any of my heard earned dollars.

Posted by: Chemist at November 06, 2022 10:11 AM (uSps2)

152 There is an Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot story where Poirot gets invited to a Lord's country home during Christmas and finds the Lord to appear to be a prosperous farmer.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at November 06, 2022 10:11 AM (C1rbv)

153 There will be bubbling fountains of ValuRite vodka.

Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 10:11 AM (jTmQV)

154 It's a little hard to pigeonhole, being a short story, but I think it veers toward spy thriller.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 09:49 AM (OX9vb)

I suppose it could, April. I just thought because the woman is the main character, and it's her reacting to the goings on, that it might lean towards suspense.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:11 AM (7bRMQ)

155 Orange Ent, he ment if we could go find that book in our school library

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 10:12 AM (xhxe8)

156 153 There will be bubbling fountains of ValuRite vodka.
Posted by: gourmand du jour

Heh.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 10:12 AM (OX9vb)

157 A.H Lloyd: Please increment your sales number for Battle Officer Wolf by 1.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 10:09 AM (PiwSw)
---
Thanks!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 10:12 AM (llXky)

158 *Weasel gets a range
* There will be a yuge and luxurious kitchen with ample sous-vide equipment. Carrot storage will be safely off-site.
*There will be pet hotels for good doggies and kitties
* swimming pool?

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 10:14 AM (PiwSw)

159 If you yearn to write though, write here.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 09:44 AM (NWBBy)

Are you hinting about a story thread? Perfessor? Ace?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:03 AM (7bRMQ)

Heh, I wasn't, but sure! I was thinking we do quite a bit of writing in these here very comments, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't therapeutic for me to spit out words here, when I can. Those days when I can't, I definitely miss it.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 10:14 AM (NWBBy)

160 Vegas oddsmakers had set the over-under line for today's first Lord of the Rings mention at comment #8-1/2. Scanning the thread it appears the first mention was by the Squirrel in the body of the main post. If you bet the under, you can collect your winnings at the cashier's cage.

(Pro Tip: Always bet the under.)

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 10:14 AM (kXYt5)

161 Gotta move along, horde.

Sharon, if you join us this morning, could you email me (in nic), because I have a question about the continuing Cormoran Strike series. Not sure if I want to continue reading them if a certain dynamic continues.

Thanks, have a good day, horde!

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022 10:14 AM (OX9vb)

162 My stories always start with a dream, a very complete scene with two characters and their backstories, most often their names. Then I can't abandon them, I have to go on.

The past few years I've had to write around my husband's health, so I got up at 4:30 and wrote till he woke up. That's a lot of pressure, and in terms of writing, it helps.

I set a minimum for the day but not a max--if I go over, I give myself exclamation points and stars!

The last thing I do for the day is think for a few minutes of issues/questions ahead. The first thing I do in the morning, before I get out of bed, is review them, to see what my subconscious has come up with during the night.

I have a post-it on the side of my monitor: WRITE THE NEXT SENTENCE!

I have started this month's NANOWRIMO and my word count is not bad. But we're in a very medical place now, and I doubt I'll be able to keep going to the end.

Posted by: Wenda at November 06, 2022 10:15 AM (5KpDr)

163 Nerd alert! I'm reading "The Federation: The First 150 Years" by David A. Goodman. At least in our current timeline we didn't experience WWIII in the 90's. The foundation is very Roddenberrian JFK-era One World, as one might expect.

The Vulcans had us under surveillance for a couple hundred years, and didn't make themselves known until Zephram Cochrane developed a warp capable ship. At that point, the pointy-eared Karens determined that we savages needed a firm and guiding hand, lest we carry our bloody-mindedness out into the galaxy. So they assisted us in renewing our planet still ravaged by the effects of nuclear war. Their guidance lasted for about a hundred years, then they got scared because it only took us a century to snap back, whereas it took Vulcan a thousand years to come back from their planetwide holocaust. Uh oh! Time to put a damper on human scientific endeavor and creativity! Their attempts to subtly squelch Henry Archer's work on FTL travel really explains Jonathan Archer's innate distrust of the Vulcans.

Reading about Trek always makes me want to view all the Trek, but there are only so many hours in the day.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at November 06, 2022 10:15 AM (Dc2NZ)

164 Gas or electric range?

Posted by: Just Wondering at November 06, 2022 10:16 AM (DhOHl)

165 Eris, I think that's the first time I've seen the phrase "pointy-eared Karens".

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 10:17 AM (llON8)

166 erry Pratchett (he was British) plays around with this idea in the Discworld novels...Lady Sybil Ramkin is the richest woman in the city of Ankh-Morpork, but she spends her days mucking out stables, as she takes care of sick dragons.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 06, 2022 10:08 AM (BpYfr)
---
That was something my grandmother explained to me - class is how you act, not who your ancestors were. She was part of the country club set, and said money doesn't impart class, and that by acting appropriately, people would immediately assume you were old money even if you weren't.

A key part of that was always to talk to your service people, engage them, respect their skill and make them feel at ease, which goes back to the original discussion of people "in service."

Plus, you can make some useful friends. The guy who did service on my A/C is now a shooting buddy.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 10:17 AM (llXky)

167 Stephen Pressfield has written a number of really books for writers and some that go beyond just writing. The War of Art is very good .

My favorite titled book is Nobody Reads Your Shit: Why that is and what you can do about it.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:18 AM (nQA9k)

168 Vegas oddsmakers had set the over-under line for today's first Lord of the Rings mention at comment #8-1/2. Scanning the thread it appears the first mention was by the Squirrel in the body of the main post. If you bet the under, you can collect your winnings at the cashier's cage.

(Pro Tip: Always bet the under.)

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 10:14 AM (kXYt5)
---
I think Waugh references are much harder to predict.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 10:19 AM (llXky)

169 No idea. I haven't written anything in decades, but suddenly became obsessed with talking velociraptors in an Old West setting.

I guess I'm just suddenly bitten by the writing bug because I just wrote the text for a children's book called Yuu Can Be Anything! about a small orange cat with a big imagination. Unfortunately, it will only work with really good illustrations and I'm decades out from being an even moderately competent visual artist.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022

***
Most children's books I have run across, recently anyway, are illustrated by someone other than the story writer. Maybe that depends on being taken up by an old-style publisher -- unless you find someone who does illustrations you like.

Talking velociraptors in the Old West --? Sounds like it could be a hell of a lot of fun. I'd want the raptors to have a distinctive way of speaking. Not necessarily an accent, though that could be fun, but their own manner and word choice -- so that even without dialog tags ("He said," etc.), you know who's talking.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:20 AM (c6xtn)

170 [takes dollar, looks around furtively]
Word on the street is, books are a tool of the Reads to undermine regime propaganda.

Posted by: Johnny The Shoeshine Guy at November 06, 2022 10:21 AM (LKwXS)

171 Heh, I wasn't, but sure! I was thinking we do quite a bit of writing in these here very comments, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't therapeutic for me to spit out words here, when I can. Those days when I can't, I definitely miss it.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 10:14 AM (NWBBy)
---
There was a thread a couple of years ago where the Horde basically did a shared writing project on an all-female U-boat. Ace did a reference and then everyone just ran with it. I was weeping with laughter because it was so funny.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 10:22 AM (llXky)

172 I saw these two news headlnes . . .

David Zaslav Open to a Deal With J.K. Rowling on More ‘Harry Potter’ Content

Daniel Radcliffe Opens Up About Why It Was Important To Denounce J.K. Rowling’s Anti-Trans Comments

As I reached that part in Rowling's "Robert Galbraith" Cormoran Strike novel The Silkworm which features a tranny as a cowardly, pathetic, yet dangerous mentally ill "woman". No wonder they're up in arms. Oh, and Danny, the reason it's important to denounce Rowling is that the virtue isn't going to signal itself.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:23 AM (FVME7)

173 Scalzi may hate us. But I still like most his stuff. Check out RedShirts from several years back.

Posted by: Redchief at November 06, 2022 10:23 AM (NAFMy)

174 The new sheriff is a Naashoibitosaurus.

Posted by: Old Geezer Velociraptor in Rock Ridge at November 06, 2022 10:24 AM (DhOHl)

175 173 Scalzi may hate us. But I still like most his stuff. Check out RedShirts from several years back.
Posted by: Redchief at November 06, 2022 10:23 AM (NAFMy)

And just to clarify, isn't he himself a "Straight White Male?"

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 10:25 AM (PiwSw)

176 The biggest money making and IMO easiest writing is children's books. It's the abstract painting of the writing world.

Research what the latest trend is with kids and write a book about it.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:25 AM (nQA9k)

177 National Novel Writing Month is useful to get people past the first big hurdle for authors: finishing. Its easy to start a story, or fifteen stories, and not go much further. To be a writer, you have to get past that tough part where you finish the story and set down your pen, and while I know that sounds obvious, its one of the toughest things to do until you do it.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022 10:26 AM (Ivdso)

178 Gas or electric range?

Posted by: Just Wondering at November 06, 2022 10:16 AM (DhOHl)

Duel fuel for the win.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at November 06, 2022 10:26 AM (VwHCD)

179 It's a little hard to pigeonhole, being a short story, but I think it veers toward spy thriller.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at November 06, 2022
*
I suppose it could, April. I just thought because the woman is the main character, and it's her reacting to the goings on, that it might lean towards suspense.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022

***
All good stories are suspense stories. You want to know how it's gonna come out. Besides, until the James Bond era, spy stories were often about the innocent person -- sometimes a woman, though not always -- caught up in intrigue. Eric Ambler's Journey Into Fear is a perfect example, with a male engineer caught between two deadly factions in WWII.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. combined the adventures of the 2 lead agents with an innocent person in each episode. Usually an attractive girl -- but there were exceptions, like Kurt Russell (age 12) as a boy who gets caught up in Solo's current mission.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:26 AM (c6xtn)

180 John Van Stry's "Portals of Infinity: Bridge of Sighs" (book 11 in the series) just came out yesterday. Been looking forward to this for a while!

Picked it up yesterday for my Kindle, and I'm already 72% through it. Don't let the cover art throw you, it's a placeholder until his cover artist can get the real one to him.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at November 06, 2022 10:26 AM (nRMeC)

181 Speaking of Rowling's novel and also of Anthony Horowitz' novel Magpie Murders (currently being featured on PBS as a series), both feature as major characters novelists and neither present authors in a good light. Both present authors as self absorbed, narcicistic evil doers who live to offend others. Well, I guess they'd know.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:28 AM (FVME7)

182 The biggest money making and IMO easiest writing is children's books. It's the abstract painting of the writing world.

Research what the latest trend is with kids and write a book about it.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:25 AM (nQA9k)

The one sentence per page is kinda nice too.

page 1. See sally
page 2. She goes to school
page 3. Dems control her town
page 4. Her school sucks

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at November 06, 2022 10:29 AM (VwHCD)

183 Long time lurker here. You may not recognize my nick, but I totally always enjoy the witty repartee and erudite discussion of the moron Hoarde. Especially the regulars Charlie's Brown Dildo, Marty Pippins Practically Perfect Porking, The James Manson, and Masterminding Pete. You guys totally amuse me and I feel like one of the gang so to speak. if you may.. As a like-minded individual I am sure you would all enjoy the 160,000 word novel I wrote in college about the adventures of a high school student turned space detective from the year 2875 who gets sent back in time to prehistoric Mars to track down a dragon ghost wizard shapeshifter named Zzloptbengll. The main character is loosely based on me and the plot is loosely based on a fevered dream I had while recovering from malaria. It's a rollicking good read. Please buy it on Amazon or Kindle and leave a favorable review.

Posted by: Aspiring writer who read the How To Market Your Book section at KDP at November 06, 2022 10:29 AM (kXYt5)

184 I would be best in a writer's room tossing around ideas and expanding on other's. aos is definitely like a writer's room,

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:30 AM (nQA9k)

185 "Research what the latest trend is with kids..."
Baby Sharks are the new My Little Pony

Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 10:31 AM (jTmQV)

186 ...their own manner and word choice -- so that even without dialog tags ("He said," etc.), you know who's talking.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:20 AM (c6xtn)

I do too. One of the things that brought my dialogue writing to a screeching halt was the blinding realization that I *hate* dialogue tags. Figuring out how to avoid them without being confusing or gimmicky is now a priority. Which is why I'm only putting in dialogue notes so as not to stop writing entirely while I figure it out.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:33 AM (phT8I)

187 Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at November 06, 2022 10:29 AM (VwHCD)

I'll give you a $100,000 advance for that book !! - publisher to politician who controls what books the school's buy

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:34 AM (nQA9k)

188 Talking velociraptors in the Old West

-
Have you seen the latest global warming propaganda in which a dinosaur appears before the UN to beg us to not become extinct as they did?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3DOcQRl9ASc&t=25s

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:34 AM (FVME7)

189 Research what the latest trend is with kids..."
Baby Sharks are the new My Little Pony
Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 10:31 AM (jTmQV)

A Baby sharks with lasers book should sell millions.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:35 AM (nQA9k)

190 The point is, if a legitimate contest or an anthology editor likes your stuff enough to pay for it, then a magazine might.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:07 AM (c6xtn)

The legit part is what concerns me. Get a story accepted, then they drop it. "Oh, sorry, it didn't work out." Sometime later see your story with a few changes under someone else's byline.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:37 AM (7bRMQ)

191 Posted by: Aspiring writer who read the How To Market Your Book section at KDP at November 06, 2022 10:29 AM (kXYt5)

Hello and welcome ! Don't be shy and continue commenting !

Posted by: runner at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (V13WU)

192 Hello and welcome ! Don't be shy and continue commenting !
Posted by: runner at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (V13WU)

Um.....

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (PiwSw)

193 Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:34 AM (FVME7)

Nope. How pathetic. Also, I'm seriously glad we don't have any velociraptors (other than chickens) running around.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (phT8I)

194 Upon recently visiting the young'uns (ages 2 to 5) I wished I had thought of Baby Sharks.
The guy who patented the teenage mutant ninja turtles got the idea from his 5 year old son.
Their minds are amazing. No censorship at all.

Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (jTmQV)

195 > Check out RedShirts from several years back.
Posted by: Redchief at November 06, 2022 10:23 AM (NAFMy)

Read it. That wasn't even the best Star Trek fanfic of the year, much less the best SF novel of the year.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (bW8dp)

196 I'd want the raptors to have a distinctive way of speaking.

-
"Ah, shucks Miss Schoolmarm ma'am, 'twertn't nothing," he growled.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:39 AM (FVME7)

197 103 Reformer I think I read that long ago, it sounds too familiar
Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 09:43 AM (xhxe

Found it and then some. Chickenhawk.
I was like 13 when I first read it and it became a semi constant read until I actually joined the Army. Just ordered it and a couple other the author wrote I had no idea existed. Also had no idea he was in jail for pot smuggling when I was reading it as a kid.

Posted by: Reforger at November 06, 2022 10:39 AM (POI2+)

198 *I love these new commenters ! Their enthusiasm is so endearing !

Posted by: runner at November 06, 2022 10:39 AM (V13WU)

199 >>> 192 Hello and welcome ! Don't be shy and continue commenting !
Posted by: runner at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (V13WU)

Um.....
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (PiwSw)

Heh. The comment seemed a little bit familiar.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 10:40 AM (llON8)

200 > And just to clarify, isn't he himself a "Straight White Male?"
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 10:25 AM (PiwSw)

Yes, he is a pudgy old white dude who lives in the suburbs and spends way too much time and effort on his lawn.

We're not exactly talking Che Guevara here.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at November 06, 2022 10:40 AM (bW8dp)

201 I just finished the last book in the terminal List... Good writing....Can't wait for the new one

Posted by: It's me donna at November 06, 2022 10:40 AM (bs+z0)

202 Unfortunately, it will only work with really good illustrations and I'm decades out from being an even moderately competent visual artist.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:10 AM (phT8I)

You can always pay for the illos, can't you?

I always thought that if only I could draw, the Ds would hate my cartoons mocking them.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:40 AM (7bRMQ)

203 >>> 193 Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:34 AM (FVME7)

Nope. How pathetic. Also, I'm seriously glad we don't have any velociraptors (other than chickens) running around.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (phT8I)

I am positive bluebell the hen and all her other coop-mates are aware of their ancestry.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 10:41 AM (llON8)

204 I do too. One of the things that brought my dialogue writing to a screeching halt was the blinding realization that I *hate* dialogue tags. Figuring out how to avoid them without being confusing or gimmicky is now a priority. Which is why I'm only putting in dialogue notes so as not to stop writing entirely while I figure it out.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022

***
It can be done. See Gregory MacDonald's Fletch, the basis for the old Chevy Chase film. That novel is someting like 70% dialogue, often very funny, with little in the way of tags unless absolutely necessary. E.g.:

"A tag can also be a bit of action, as I'm sure you know." Wolfus scooped coffee from the canister into the basket. "It doesn't have to be 'I said' or 'She whispered' all the time."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:41 AM (c6xtn)

205 > Unfortunately, it will only work with really good illustrations and I'm decades out from being an even moderately competent visual artist.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022

Check out Stable Diffusion. It's going to be a game-changer in this area.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at November 06, 2022 10:42 AM (bW8dp)

206 Reforger -Michael Durant's Night Stalkers could be good, Read In Company of Heros but can't be suitable for kids under 13

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 10:43 AM (xhxe8)

207 Orange Ent, he ment if we could go find that book in our school library

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 10:12 AM (xhxe

I see. I was half expecting you to reply that the most useful piece of equipment in the library was the card file....

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:44 AM (7bRMQ)

208 The frenetic pace of NaNoWriMo is intended to help shut off the internal critic. You know, the little voice that sounds like your third grade English teacher and says you're doing it wrong and it is too hard and you aren't a real writer. If you write fast, the theory goes, you don't have TIME to listen and lo, you have written a book! Doesn't have to be good. Just doing it knocks down a mental block. You'll have ideas of how to do it better the next time.

I know this works because I did the same thing only with short stories. Took a workshop that demanded stories FAST. And my hangup about writing short form was cured!

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at November 06, 2022 10:44 AM (zNcSj)

209 Old West Veloliciraptors was the name of an off, off, off Broadway musical that ran for like five minutes in 1987.

Posted by: Akshually at November 06, 2022 10:44 AM (DhOHl)

210 Grrr.

... but thanks, at least I know I'm not hallucinating.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 10:11 AM (llON

Try complaining to an Amazon rep. No guarantees, but you might be pleasantly surprised.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at November 06, 2022 10:45 AM (ZSK0i)

211 See Gregory MacDonald's Fletch, the basis for the old Chevy Chase film.

-
I see there's a new Fletch film starring Jon.Hamm.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:45 AM (FVME7)

212 Not only does Scalzi hate us and himself, he actively works to cancel others, enjoy his books or not ( they've gotten steadily worse and more politicized over the years) but cerrtainly don't pay for them.

Posted by: Bensdad00 at November 06, 2022 10:46 AM (4dkaG)

213 "I see there's a new Fletch film starring Jon Hamm."
We watched it last night.
Very funny.

Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 10:46 AM (jTmQV)

214 "A tag can also be a bit of action, as I'm sure you know." Wolfus scooped coffee from the canister into the basket. "It doesn't have to be 'I said' or 'She whispered' all the time."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:41 AM (c6xtn)

Thank you so much for that example! That's exactly what I was looking for.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:47 AM (phT8I)

215 It's a rollicking good read. Please buy it on Amazon or Kindle and leave a favorable review.

Posted by: Aspiring writer who read the How To Market Your Book section at KDP at November 06, 2022 10:29 AM (kXYt5)
---
This guy's stealing my gig.

Oh well, time for Mass. Thanks again Perfesser!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 06, 2022 10:49 AM (llXky)

216 Right, dialog tags are useful but should be used sparingly and carefully. If you use one, you almost always should be "x said" and nothing else if you do not absolutely need it. Readers blur over that line without paying much attention to it, its something that they recognize, but don't notice, so the dialog flows well.

Other terms like "he said slowly" or "she drawled with that adorable Alabama accent" or whatever pull readers out of the dialog, and the flow is interrupted.

You can bring up the other stuff (how slow they talk, their accent, etc) elsewhere. And yes, the trick of having a character take an action then speaking immediately associates that person with their dialog without needing a tag.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022 10:50 AM (Ivdso)

217 [takes dollar, looks around furtively]
Word on the street is, books are a tool of the Reads to undermine regime propaganda.

Posted by: Johnny The Shoeshine Guy at November 06, 2022 10:21 AM (LKwXS)

After the movies came out, I read reviews complaining that Johnny wasn't in them, even though the other minor characters were. I always knew Johnny was only a device to move the story along for the tv time. He wasn't needed in the movies.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:50 AM (7bRMQ)

218 "I see there's a new Fletch film starring Jon Hamm."
We watched it last night.
Very funny.
Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022

***
Hamm is much better casting (in my mind's eye, anyway) than Chevy Chase. The original film shoujd have cast Tim Matheson as Fletch instead of as the fellow who "hires" Fletch to kill him.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:52 AM (c6xtn)

219 167 Stephen Pressfield has written a number of really books for writers and some that go beyond just writing. The War of Art is very good .

My favorite titled book is Nobody Reads Your Shit: Why that is and what you can do about it.
Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 10:18 AM (nQA9k)

I too, was going to mention Steven Pressfield.

I'm no writer. I have no stories to tell.

I do however, appreciate the "art" of developing a story, and getting it to paper. I've read a number of his articles on writing, and they make sense to this non-writer.

YMMV...

Posted by: browndog Official Mascot of Team Gizzard at November 06, 2022 10:53 AM (CCSxw)

220
Thank you so much for that example! That's exactly what I was looking for.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022

***
You're welcome. I thought of putting in the brand name of the coffeemaker, but decided, nah.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:53 AM (c6xtn)

221 Another way to handle dialog:
"Eh. Mebbe. Dunno."
"Could you *possibly be less verbose? Do you have a daily word limit, perchance?"
"Could be."
"Be a radical, darling, and use both a subject *and* a verb at the same time. It's a wicked thrill, trust me!"
"Later."

If the reader can tell who is speaking without any dialog tags, you are doing a good job with voice

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at November 06, 2022 10:54 AM (zNcSj)

222 To be a writer, you have to get past that tough part where you finish the story and set down your pen, and while I know that sounds obvious, its one of the toughest things to do until you do it.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022 10:26 AM (Ivdso)

I haven't noticed that happening to me. I've been able to end stories, sometimes you just don't want them to....

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:54 AM (7bRMQ)

223 206 Reforger -Michael Durant's Night Stalkers could be good, Read In Company of Heros but can't be suitable for kids under 13
Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 10:43 AM (xhxe

I'm a Somalia Vet. I lived the aftermath of the Durrant story.

I should do a book about that.

It was a hot and shitty day...

That's about all I wish to remember from that time of my life. As bad as the movies make that place look it is impossible to truly reflect how bad things were over there.

Posted by: Reforger at November 06, 2022 10:55 AM (s9gvl)

224 So You're Moving To Canada: What To Know To Fit In
Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at November 06, 2022 09:55 AM (BF0SU)

Eh?

Posted by: Amy Carter, non-proliferation advisor to the President at November 06, 2022 10:55 AM (WhP3q)

225 Right, dialog tags are useful but should be used sparingly and carefully. If you use one, you almost always should be "x said" and nothing else if you do not absolutely need it. Readers blur over that line without paying much attention to it, its something that they recognize, but don't notice, so the dialog flows well. . . .

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022

***
I will allow my characters a very rare "muttered" or "murmured" if what they are saying is (to my mind, anyway) a funny aside. Otherwise, I stick with "said," "whispered," or "shouted" (though you can often get that one across with an exclamation point, or by another character saying, "Keep your voice down, dammit!").

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:56 AM (c6xtn)

226 San Francisco DA Vows to "Limit the Evidence as Much as Possible" in Paul Pelosi Saga

-
I'll bet he will. Meanwhile, the NYT says you bastards are spreading misinformation about the Pelosi attack.

https://bit.ly/3t2pvoh

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:57 AM (FVME7)

227 I am positive bluebell the hen and all her other coop-mates are aware of their ancestry.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at November 06, 2022 10:41 AM (llON

---
Hogmartin's little hen Alex the Chick is straight up T. Regina. Anger her at your peril.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at November 06, 2022 10:57 AM (Dc2NZ)

228 Hello and welcome ! Don't be shy and continue commenting !
Posted by: runner

*******

Thank you. You and others have made me feel like I fit right in, even though I have never commented before. There are so many commenters that I'm sure I am forgetting some, but Joe Manx, Woofless Aurelius, Anna Purina, that guy who does the funny limericks, A.H. Taylor, Christopher R. Lloyd, , Diagonales, Mort Throckbutton, Stegosaurus Wrecks, the "Hiya guy", "The guy who always says the thing", guy, Berkshire-Draggin' Head. even all the brackert hugs folks! I get such a kick out of all you people.

Posted by: Aspiring writer who read the How To Market Your Book section at KDP at November 06, 2022 10:57 AM (kXYt5)

229 If the reader can tell who is speaking without any dialog tags, you are doing a good job with voice

Right, sufficiently distinct characters can be distinguished in dialog without needing any tags or tricks to identify who is talking. That's a great point.

I'd suggest not doing it for too many lines in a row for several reasons. First, it gets repetitive and its useful to break things up every so often with action or a tag or some sort of event. Also, no matter how careful you are, it can get confusing who is who even if they are very distinct. So it never hurts to slip in something different once in a while to make it clear for readers.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022 10:58 AM (Ivdso)

230 Look who's pro life now!

Ian Miles Cheong@stillgray
Fetterman says he celebrates the demise of Roe v. Wade. Well, okay then.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:59 AM (FVME7)

231 the "Hiya guy", "The guy who always says the thing", guy, Berkshire-Draggin' Head. even all the brackert hugs folks! I get such a kick out of all you people.
Posted by: Aspiring writer who read the How To Market Your Book section at KDP

Hiya

Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 10:59 AM (T4tVD)

232 Once in a while it's fun to make a verb out of a noun. I know, everybody does it now, but with restraint it can be done. I forget who wrote it now, but he had a scene where a character speaks a line, then we get a tag: "He forked veal."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:59 AM (c6xtn)

233 I know that Cormac McCarthy's dialog is a source of irritation, exasperation, and even argument. But I like it. It forces me actively to connect the dialog to the character, rather than just blitz through the conversation.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 06, 2022 10:59 AM (XIJ/X)

234 Upon recently visiting the young'uns (ages 2 to 5) I wished I had thought of Baby Sharks.
The guy who patented the teenage mutant ninja turtles got the idea from his 5 year old son.
Their minds are amazing. No censorship at all.
Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 10:38 AM (jTmQV)

This is also the story of Axe Cop

Posted by: Kindltot at November 06, 2022 10:59 AM (xhaym)

235 Time to get my buns in gear. Gotta rake some leaves.

Thanks Perf and Horde for another great Book Thread.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Live! from the Dungeon of Discord at November 06, 2022 10:59 AM (Dc2NZ)

236 I do too. One of the things that brought my dialogue writing to a screeching halt was the blinding realization that I *hate* dialogue tags. Figuring out how to avoid them without being confusing or gimmicky is now a priority. Which is why I'm only putting in dialogue notes so as not to stop writing entirely while I figure it out.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:33 AM (phT8I)

I sort of don't like them either. One way to avoid it is have only two or three people talking in a scene. You can indicate who's talking by certain phrases they use, or asides.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 10:59 AM (7bRMQ)

237
Thank you. You and others have made me feel like I fit right in, even though I have never commented before. There are so many commenters that I'm sure I am forgetting some, but Joe Manx, Woofless Aurelius, Anna Purina, that guy who does the funny limericks, A.H. Taylor, Christopher R. Lloyd, , Diagonales, Mort Throckbutton, Stegosaurus Wrecks, the "Hiya guy", "The guy who always says the thing", guy, Berkshire-Draggin' Head. even all the brackert hugs folks! I get such a kick out of all you people.
Posted by: Aspiring writer who read the How To Market Your Book section at KDP at November 06, 2022 10:57 AM (kXYt5)

wut am I, chopped liva !!

Posted by: Pat Eh at November 06, 2022 11:01 AM (us2H3)

238 If memory serves, Charles Webb's novel The Graduate was extremely heavy on dialogue (and I think a lot of it made it into the movie). And Gregory McDonald's dialog in the Fletch books is terrific. Agree that Tim Matheson would have been much better casting for Fletch than Chevy Chase (and am I the only one who immediately flashed on Anthony Zerbe in full Lt. Trench mode when McDonald introduced his Inspector Flynn character in a later Fletch book?).

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 06, 2022 11:01 AM (a/4+U)

239 There are distinctions between a writer and a storyteller.

And an author is something else altogether.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:01 AM (kXYt5)

240 Special FX. Trying to make the Fetterman/Obama/Biden rally look like it drew a crowd.

https://bit.ly/3t2pOzr

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 11:02 AM (FVME7)

241 even all the brackert hugs folks! I get such a kick out of all you people.

Posted by: Aspiring writer who read the How To Market Your Book section at KDP at November 06, 2022 10:57 AM (kXYt5)

Do not forget the huge and mostly untapped market among Nigerian princes!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 06, 2022 11:02 AM (XIJ/X)

242 Posted by: Aspiring writer who read the How To Market Your Book section at KDP at November 06, 2022 10:57 AM (kXYt5)

wut am I, chopped liva !!
Posted by: Pat Eh at November 06, 2022 11:01 AM (us2H3)

I THINK HE FORGOT A LOT OF PEOPLE.

Posted by: BEN ROETHLISBERGER at November 06, 2022 11:02 AM (PiwSw)

243 Muldoon, could you expand on what you said at #239?

Posted by: Wenda at November 06, 2022 11:03 AM (5KpDr)

244 That's about all I wish to remember from that time of my life. As bad as the movies make that place look it is impossible to truly reflect how bad things were over there.
Posted by: Reforger at November 06, 2022 10:55 AM (s9gvl)

I kept that in mind when I watched the movies based on what others such as yourself have said. And I don't know what it smelled like but that's one of the things I also thought about.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:03 AM (nQA9k)

245 Muldoon, could you expand on what you said at #239?
Posted by: Wenda at November 06, 2022 11:03 AM (5KpDr)
---
I sense a limerick opportunity here...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 06, 2022 11:04 AM (BpYfr)

246 There are distinctions between a writer and a storyteller.

And an author is something else altogether.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:01 AM (kXYt5)

A good story is a fine and wonderful thing, and the idea that it is in some way unbecoming of an "author" to grab his readers with a rollicking good tale is a sad reflection on the current state of affairs in the publishing world.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 06, 2022 11:04 AM (XIJ/X)

247 Muldoon, could you expand on what you said at #239?
Posted by: Wenda

You just want a Limerick !

Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 11:04 AM (T4tVD)

248 Thank you so much for that example! That's exactly what I was looking for.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:47 AM (phT8I)

Hmm, might do that myself!

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:05 AM (7bRMQ)

249 Just wrote another 1164 words. Will it ever see the light of day, be shared with anyone else?

Probably not, but it sure does feel necessary to write it.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:07 AM (XfBY/)

250 I will allow my characters a very rare "muttered" or "murmured" if what they are saying is (to my mind, anyway) a funny aside. Otherwise, I stick with "said," "whispered," or "shouted" (though you can often get that one across with an exclamation point, or by another character saying, "Keep your voice down, dammit!").

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:56 AM (c6xtn)

That's what I was thinking. But that one place I've looked into to submit a story said not to use exclamation points. Maybe they want you to indicate that some other way.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:08 AM (7bRMQ)

251 There are distinctions between a writer and a storyteller.

And an author is something else altogether.

I understand what you're saying and I agree. Louis L'Amour is a storyteller. Elmore Leonard is a storyteller. Dostoyevsky is a writer. There's a difference.

But the difference is style and method, not quality, a good storyteller is just as valid and important as a grande author. The tales of brave Ulysses are just as important as the novels of Victor Hugo. Lord of the Rings and Fafhrd and Gray Mouser are both great book series, even if one is literature and the other is storytelling.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022 11:09 AM (Ivdso)

252 I was going to write a novelty book titled The Sounds of Silence . Of course it would be made up of blank pages but bound very nicely. 😀

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:09 AM (nQA9k)

253 Look who's pro life now!
Ian Miles Cheong@stillgray
Fetterman says he celebrates the demise of Roe v. Wade. Well, okay then.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 10:59 AM (FVME7)

I demise Joe v. Wayne celebrate now life lump good!

Posted by: Fetterman's Neck Gunt at November 06, 2022 11:10 AM (R/m4+)

254 Muldoon, could you expand on what you said at #239?
Posted by: Wenda

********

Actually I was hoping others might weigh in.

To me a writer is a self-defined entity, I am a writer, let me think up a story that I can write. Could be plot driven, character driven, theme driven.

Though I have written some books, I don't consider myself a writer. I don't HAVE to write. I enjoy telling stories.

I guess an author is more of a high-toned or well-known writer, who sells books because of who he or she is. Not all (but many) writers aspire to be an author.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:10 AM (kXYt5)

255 Your damn fault!

Biden Pre-Blames Republicans for Recession

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 11:11 AM (FVME7)

256 Muldoon, could you expand on what you said at #239?
Posted by: Wenda

You just want a Limerick !
Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 11:04 AM (T4tVD)

There once was a writer named Lenny,
Who loved the storyteller, Jenny.
Then along came Arthur,
Himself, an author,
Whose stolen book earned every penny.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:11 AM (XfBY/)

257 One of the best ways to learn how to write dialog is to read great dialog and absorb it, let is settle into the back fo your mind, and study it to see how they did it.

Robert Parker is pretty good with dialog, but not great. Writers like Elmore Leonard, Loren D Estleman, Dashiell Hammett, and William Shakespeare all are masters of dialog. If you can do it, studying great plays helps too; plays are almost entirely dialog and they help you learn how to craft a great conversation and how to make great characters.

Its a bit of a cliche, but it is very true: great writers are great readers.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022 11:12 AM (Ivdso)

258 I was going to write a novelty book titled The Sounds of Silence . Of course it would be made up of blank pages but bound very nicely

My lawyers will be in contact.

Posted by: John Cage at November 06, 2022 11:13 AM (nfrXX)

259 "She's so hot!" he ejaculated.

Yeah, don't do this.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at November 06, 2022 11:13 AM (bW8dp)

260 My lawyers will be in contact.
Posted by: John Cage at November 06, 2022 11:13 AM (nfrXX)

Hah . I forgot about that piece of 'music' .

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:14 AM (nQA9k)

261 "She's so hot!" he ejaculated.

Yeah, don't do this.

I don't get it.

Posted by: Tom S. at November 06, 2022 11:15 AM (nfrXX)

262 Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:10 AM (kXYt5)

Sounds right to me. A yarn-spinner does it verbally.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:15 AM (7bRMQ)

263 Robert Parker is pretty good with dialog, but not great. . . .
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022

***
Parker's early Spenser stories do have top-notch dialog. He got kind of formulaic later, but the first few books are dynamite.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:15 AM (c6xtn)

264 Georgette Heyer is the master of quick, memorable characterization and also dialogue. Really, if you are struggling with this find one of her books (she did mysteries as well as regency romances) and study.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at November 06, 2022 11:15 AM (zNcSj)

265 108 I've been reading "John Howe's Ultimate Fantasy Art Academy". It's a compilation of two of his books and combines his tips on what materials to use for drawing fantasy art and how to use them. Some of the best, most practical instructions I've seen. He includes several lessons, of increasing complexity, designed to help the reader develop skills and use their imagination.

The book isn't just helpful. It ties in very well with other how-to art books I have. Howe has a talent not just for drawing but for explaining how and why he does his art.
Posted by: JTB at November 06, 2022 09:47 AM (7EjX1)

That actually looks pretty cool. I used to draw a lot, but fell out of the habit. Every so often I think about getting back into it, but never follow through.

...Of course, I need to increase my shelving capacity before I buy even more how-to books. I already have multiple books just sitting on tables...

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 06, 2022 11:16 AM (Lhaco)

266 A plug for Martha Wells - Murderbot Diaries

Posted by: DaveA at November 06, 2022 11:17 AM (FhXTo)

267 She's so hot!" he ejaculated.

Yeah, don't do this. ------

Looking at you Toobin

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:17 AM (nQA9k)

268 I kept that in mind when I watched the movies based on what others such as yourself have said. And I don't know what it smelled like but that's one of the things I also thought about.
Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:03 AM (nQA9k)

That's what I think about when I see morgue scenes in tv and movies. Even without a body, morgues have a very noticeable, pungent oder.

Many people find it intolerable.

Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022 11:18 AM (BdMk6)

269 You just want a Limerick !

******

Oh, Ojay, since you asked

What's the differeence? a limerick

A.A. Milne was Chris Robin's father
Not a writer but a well known author
A literature sort of feller
Not a simple story teller
He wrote tales of Pooh, saying "Oh bother!!!"

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:18 AM (kXYt5)

270 "She's so hot!" he ejaculated.

Yeah, don't do this.
Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at November 06, 2022

***
The odd thing is, 100 years ago, maybe ever 60-70, that would have been just fine.

Avoid the "said-isms": "'You're kidding,' he laughed." It's impossible physically to laugh a word, or to "choke" one, etc. Instead I use:

"'You're kidding.' He laughed."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:19 AM (c6xtn)

271 A storyteller likes romantic movements.
A writer makes movements "romantic."
An Author declares The Romantic Movement.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 06, 2022 11:20 AM (x61Im)

272 32 Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes. Thanks for the shout-out, Perfesser.

A side note and bleg - I've come off a nasty cold and both of my ears have blocked up. I can 'hear,' but I feel as though they're stuffed with cotton. It isn't wax, I know that. Anyone have any suggestions to clear them?

---

I've had good results with NAC (N-acetylcysteine), which thins mucous, helping to clear out lungs, ears, sinuses.

Posted by: Interesting Times at November 06, 2022 11:21 AM (ieN7O)

273 That's what I think about when I see morgue scenes in tv and movies. Even without a body, morgues have a very noticeable, pungent oder.

Many people find it intolerable.
Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022

I think it was Poul Anderson, SF writer extraordinaire, who said that he tried to get at least 2 of the 5 senses into a scene. Usually sight, of course, but sometimes touch, and even smell. For my part, smell is a very vivid sense and can communicate a *lot* to a reader.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:21 AM (c6xtn)

274 Nanowrimo is NOT about writing books! It is about discipling yourself to write every day, good or bad.

And yes, I completed it one year. On a typewriter as part of the typewriter brigade. And I still like my story.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at November 06, 2022 11:22 AM (Kwjzk)

275 A storyteller likes romantic movements.
A writer makes movements "romantic."
An Author declares The Romantic Movement.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver

*******

That's a very good way to state it.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (kXYt5)

276 A storyteller likes romantic movements.
A writer makes movements "romantic."
An Author declares The Romantic Movement.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver

Suddenly, his pants fell down.

Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (T4tVD)

277 That's what I was thinking. But that one place I've looked into to submit a story said not to use exclamation points. Maybe they want you to indicate that some other way.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022

***
Did they mean not to use them in narration, or not to use them in dialog? The first rule I can understand, but sometimes an EP is perfectly acceptable in dialog.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (c6xtn)

278 276 A storyteller likes romantic movements.
A writer makes movements "romantic."
An Author declares The Romantic Movement.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver

Suddenly, his pants fell down.
Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (T4tVD)

And then the murders began.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (PiwSw)

279 And I don't know what it smelled like but that's one of the things I also thought about.
Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:03 AM (nQA9k)

It smelled like shit and rotten flesh. A dead mouse in the shop will send me back there. My first reaction to the Black Hawk Down movie was 'The skinnies ain't skinny enough and this should have been filmed in smellovision.'

Other than a couple 20 or so pot shots at us for the first two weeks there we never got into any "shit". I was way to much of an Empath for what we did there. Hell they were going to charge me for sharing my breakfast with the Skinnies we had filling sand bags for us.
I truly feel sorry for anyone having to grow up in that shithole. Ilhan Omar included. She was in the camp a few miles North of where we were at and I saw how that camp was. I didn't understand the word poor until that era for me.

There are no truly poor people in America.

Posted by: Reforger at November 06, 2022 11:24 AM (I97c5)

280 Suddenly, his pants fell down.

Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (T4tVD)

In front of the hottest woman in town.

"How did that happen?" He ejaculated.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:24 AM (7bRMQ)

281 I just finished Sean McMeekin's Russian Revolution and it was well-written and fast-paced. But depressing-- because there were so many points between 1905 and 1920 when the Bolsheviks were on the verge of being wiped from history, only to be saved-at every point--by the venality, stupidity and conniving of their enemies, from the aristocrats to Kerentsky to the SDs to the Whites to the Western Allies. What an awful bunch.

This brings me to my next point. The Democrats are on the verge of becoming almost a rump party. They are about to get ravaged red and deservedly so, while the GOP looks strong for 2024. I believe Don and Ron had an unwritten, unspoken gentleman's agreement that Trump was going to get 2024 and after that , it would be De Santis all the way. TWELVE years of rule is not far-fetched.
But this isn't even good enough for Ryan and The Bush Family who are trying to goad DeSantis into running in 2024, hoping to kill MAGA once and for all.

And stupid Trump takes the bait.

They'll tear the Party to shreds and allow the Democrat another reprieve.

Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:25 AM (mR6Gs)

282 "It is about discipling yourself to write every day, good or bad."

I like that methodology. There have been musicians that compose one song or one theme per day every day. (Brazilian composer Hemeto Pascoal did this) At the end of the year you may have 6 or 10 worth keeping, but that is 6 or 10 you wouldn't have had otherwise.

Posted by: gourmand du jour back in the fog at November 06, 2022 11:26 AM (jTmQV)

283 Did they mean not to use them in narration, or not to use them in dialog? The first rule I can understand, but sometimes an EP is perfectly acceptable in dialog.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (c6xtn)

It's Saddlebag Dispatches. I'm not sure if they meant at all or just in narration.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:26 AM (7bRMQ)

284 Suddenly, his pants fell down.
Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (T4tVD)

And then the murders began.
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 06, 2022 11:23 AM (PiwSw)

The body was discovered in a room that was locked from the inside.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:26 AM (XfBY/)

285 In front of the hottest woman in town.

"How did that happen?" He ejaculated.

*********

In front of the hottest man in town.

"How did that happen?" he queried.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:26 AM (kXYt5)

286 I do too. One of the things that brought my dialogue writing to a screeching halt was the blinding realization that I *hate* dialogue tags. Figuring out how to avoid them without being confusing or gimmicky is now a priority. Which is why I'm only putting in dialogue notes so as not to stop writing entirely while I figure it out.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 10:33 AM (phT8I)

Back when I wrote fanfic--I mean, aspired to be a writer, one of my tricks was: a) Start the paragraph with the first sentence of a character's dialogue. b) Close the quote tag, and write sentence describing how the character was acting while speaking (ie, Jacob sunk into his chair in exhaustion.) c) Re-open the quote tag and finish the rest of that character's dialogue. It sometimes worked to avoid over-using "said," and it also allowed me to push the movement of the scene at the same time.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 06, 2022 11:27 AM (Lhaco)

287 In the 60's, "Tom Swifties" came perilously close to becoming an established humor genre. ISTR Readers Digest pushing the idea pretty hard.

"I married a man with oil wells," she gushed.
"I love aircraft carriers," he said, enterprisingly.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 06, 2022 11:29 AM (x61Im)

288 Back when I wrote fanfic--I mean, aspired to be a writer, one of my tricks was: a) Start the paragraph with the first sentence of a character's dialogue. b) Close the quote tag, and write sentence describing how the character was acting while speaking (ie, Jacob sunk into his chair in exhaustion.) c) Re-open the quote tag and finish the rest of that character's dialogue. It sometimes worked to avoid over-using "said," and it also allowed me to push the movement of the scene at the same time.
Posted by: Castle Guy at November 06, 2022

***
Exactly.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:29 AM (c6xtn)

289 In front of the hottest woman in town.

"How did that happen?" He ejaculated.

*********

In front of the hottest man in town.

"How did that happen?" he queried.
Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:26 AM (kXYt5)

In front of the hottest dude in a dress...

"How did THAT happen," he transitioned.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:30 AM (XfBY/)

290 Back when I wrote fanfic--I mean, aspired to be a writer, one of my tricks was: a) Start the paragraph with the first sentence of a character's dialogue. b) Close the quote tag, and write sentence describing how the character was acting while speaking (ie, Jacob sunk into his chair in exhaustion.) c) Re-open the quote tag and finish the rest of that character's dialogue. It sometimes worked to avoid over-using "said," and it also allowed me to push the movement of the scene at the same time.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 06, 2022 11:27 AM (Lhaco)

I use that technique.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:30 AM (7bRMQ)

291 214 "A tag can also be a bit of action, as I'm sure you know." Wolfus scooped coffee from the canister into the basket. "It doesn't have to be 'I said' or 'She whispered' all the time."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 10:41 AM (c6xtn)

I guess I second that opinion! I should have read further down the thread before offering my (nearly identical) two cents.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 06, 2022 11:30 AM (Lhaco)

292 Write an entire book using olfactory descriptions.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:31 AM (nQA9k)

293 "Tom Swifties"

******

This room needs more flowers," he said lackadaisically.

" I agree," she replied morosely.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:31 AM (kXYt5)

294
There are no truly poor people in America.
Posted by: Reforger at November 06, 2022 11:24 AM (I97c5)

THIS!

Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022 11:32 AM (BdMk6)

295 In the 60's, "Tom Swifties" came perilously close to becoming an established humor genre. ISTR Readers Digest pushing the idea pretty hard.

"I married a man with oil wells," she gushed.
"I love aircraft carriers," he said, enterprisingly.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 06, 2022 11:29 AM (x61Im)

Boy's Life magazine published those in their joke pages. My favorite part of that magazine.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gen X Ne'er-Do-Well at November 06, 2022 11:32 AM (UQUAY)

296 "It is about discipling yourself to write every day, good or bad."

-
I really liked Dean Koontz' nonfiction book about his dog, A Big Little Life, but it was disappointing in one way. He described his writing which consists of doing it like a job with regular hours and whatnot. I thought he had sold his soul to get publish so much but turns out it is just hard work.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 11:32 AM (FVME7)

297 Write an entire book using olfactory descriptions.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:31 AM (nQA9k)

It smelled like a wet, falling down empty metal building, full of rusty equipment....

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:33 AM (XfBY/)

298 I had hopes that Robert Crais' new book with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike would be as good as the others, but Crais seems to have lost his touch.

Anybody read it and liked it?

Maybe it's because we listened to it and the voice actor was no good, but I tried to listen THROUGH it to focus on the lines. Nope. Crais flubbed this one.

Posted by: Mr Gaga at November 06, 2022 11:33 AM (4ZE6o)

299 [iIt is about discipling yourself

Oh, I doubt that. --Thomas

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 06, 2022 11:35 AM (x61Im)

300 "Most people don't like my laugh," he snorted.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:35 AM (XfBY/)

301 Another writering point that I am struggling to get across to my writing group members is to visualize the space your characters are moving in and understand how that constrains their movements. One of my group has a scene set in a small rustic hut in which 5 assailants fight with the Kung Fu-like hero. Six people fighting in a space the size of an apartment bedroom today? No! I've recommended that he reduce the number of bad guys, and get his hero and his opponents outdoors. The hero would want the extra room to move anyway. And if 2-3 are fighting, they are going to bump into furniture, which needs to be part of the action.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:36 AM (c6xtn)

302 "She had hoped to marry a fellow hedge fund manager, but Wall Street broke her."

Is this a Tom Swiftie, or something else?

Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:36 AM (mR6Gs)

303 It smelled like a wet, falling down empty metal building, full of rusty equipment....
Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:33 AM (XfBY/)

It would just be an excuse for me to use the word petrichor.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:36 AM (nQA9k)

304 292 Write an entire book using olfactory descriptions.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:31 AM (nQA9k)

Her looks matched the smell of venereal wart medicine.

Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022 11:36 AM (BdMk6)

305 I just fixed the time, so the first 11 comments have an incorrect time stamp.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 06, 2022 09:06 AM (XIJ/X)

How about fixing the weather, too? I could use another 20 degrees F.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 06, 2022 11:36 AM (QyEjh)

306 She had hoped to marry a fellow hedge fund manager, but Wall Street broke her."

Is this a Tom Swiftie, or something else?
Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:36 AM (mR6Gs)

I would say a pun.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:37 AM (nQA9k)

307 broke her."

Is this a Tom Swiftie, or something else?

Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:36 AM (mR6Gs)

broke her = broker

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:38 AM (7bRMQ)

308 How about fixing the weather, too? I could use another 20 degrees F.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 06, 2022

***
You can have 20 or even 30 of mine.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:38 AM (c6xtn)

309 "Is sodomy illegal?" he asked, half in earnest.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:39 AM (kXYt5)

310 'I'm going to file a lawsuit against you ! ' he claimed.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:40 AM (nQA9k)

311 " I can't find my dog", she muttered

Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:40 AM (mR6Gs)

312 "Your entreaties to the Virgin Mary won't help you now," he preyed.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:41 AM (XfBY/)

313 I can't find my dog", she muttered
Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:40 AM (mR6Gs)

"I can't find my cat ! " she hissed

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:42 AM (nQA9k)

314 How about fixing the weather, too? I could use another 20 degrees F.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 06, 2022 11:36 AM (QyEjh)

It is unseasonably warm here, and I don't like it! I love autumn weather, but this is more like late spring.

Yuck.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 06, 2022 11:42 AM (XIJ/X)

315 Dem Rep. James Clyburn: Republican Win Means “End Of The World”…

-
Gosh, Jim, and all this time I've just been hoping for the apocalypse! Immanentize the eschaton!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at November 06, 2022 11:42 AM (FVME7)

316
"My sister is hotter than yours," Homer related.

"Yeah, but my still makes more corn likker than yours," Jed retorted.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:42 AM (kXYt5)

317 "I'm not trying to be funny", he joked

Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:43 AM (mR6Gs)

318 "All right, dammit. I guess I gotta do it."
"Do what?"
"Take down the damn wall clock in the kitchen and set the time."
"That doesn't sound so hard."
"Wait'll you try putting it back on that tiny nail."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:43 AM (c6xtn)

319 "I was lamenting the end of the Book Thread," he cried.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:44 AM (7bRMQ)

320 "When and where, I prefer to shorten my homilies," the priest surmised.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:45 AM (XfBY/)

321
311 " I can't find my dog", she muttered
Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:40 AM (mR6Gs)

Make it more colorful: "I can't find my dog", she grunted like a wounded warthog.

Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022 11:46 AM (BdMk6)

322 It is unseasonably warm here, and I don't like it! I love autumn weather, but this is more like late spring.

Yuck.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo

In a coupla weeks, we'll know who to blame !

Posted by: JT at November 06, 2022 11:46 AM (T4tVD)

323
"I can't find my cat ! " she hissed
Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:42 AM (nQA9k)

A very wealthy cougar was trying to seduce a handsome, but very poor shepherd.
"I'll buy you a sheep herd", she purred....

Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:46 AM (mR6Gs)

324 A great line in the current episode of The Fugitive. Gerard, the police lieutenant obsessed with Dr. Kimble's capture, has located Kimble, who is in a hospital bed. Gerard walks in and says, "As soon as you're extradited, I'll take you back to Indiana myself."

Kimble glances at him. "Are you going to strap me to the fender of your car?"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 11:46 AM (c6xtn)

325 Make it more colorful: "I can't find my dog", she grunted like a wounded warthog.
Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022 11:46 AM (BdMk6)

"Don't criticize my doggerel!", he barked.

Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:48 AM (mR6Gs)

326 "Is sodomy illegal?" he asked, half in earnest.
Posted by: Muldoon at November 06, 2022 11:39 AM (kXYt5)

Glad I wasn't sipping coffee just now.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Gen X Ne'er-Do-Well at November 06, 2022 11:48 AM (UQUAY)

327 "I can't find my cat!" she hissed.

I know you're joking , polynikes, but in fact one of the commonest errors I see is characters hissing sentences that have no esses to hiss!

Posted by: Wenda at November 06, 2022 11:49 AM (5KpDr)

328 "Return fire!" he shot back.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:49 AM (7bRMQ)

329 "My cartography would be most excellent, except I'm terrible at spelling," he chortled.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:52 AM (XfBY/)

330 325 Make it more colorful: "I can't find my dog", she grunted like a wounded warthog.
Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022 11:46 AM (BdMk6)

"Don't criticize my doggerel!", he barked.
Posted by: JoeF. at November 06, 2022 11:48 AM (mR6Gs

Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022 11:53 AM (BdMk6)

331 "I'm not joking, that cement's broken," he cracked.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 11:54 AM (7bRMQ)

332 "I want to speak to your manager ! " she said caringly.

Posted by: polynikes at November 06, 2022 11:56 AM (nQA9k)

333 "I've been framed, I've earned quite a lot of money for my original works," the counterfeiter proclaimed.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 06, 2022 11:57 AM (XfBY/)

334

John Scuzi is a vile bag of used douche fluid, and even mentioning on this website contaminates our very existence. He should be burned alive atop a pile of his so-called works. And then we could take turns excreting on his ashes.

Posted by: Just Sayin at November 06, 2022 11:59 AM (w9YuY)

335 The kittens are sleeping tangled up together. I guess my worry about the big one hurting the little one was completely unfounded.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 06, 2022 12:00 PM (c6xtn)

336 It's the end of this yarn as he pulled the thread

Nood

Posted by: Skip at November 06, 2022 12:01 PM (xhxe8)

337 "Don't you dare do that in my mouth", she mumbled.

Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at November 06, 2022 12:02 PM (BdMk6)

338 As she let herself down on the WC she was reminded that England expects every woman to do her duty.

Posted by: JEM at November 06, 2022 12:03 PM (sE+oK)

339 "The thread's over? Well, that stinks!" he sniffed.

Thanks for the thread, Perfessor.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 06, 2022 12:06 PM (7bRMQ)

340 Posted by: Castle Guy at November 06, 2022 11:27 AM (Lhaco)

Thank you. That explanation, along with Wolfus's example, should help a lot. I need to write them down so I can refer to them repeatedly.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 06, 2022 12:32 PM (nC+QA)

341 He got kind of formulaic later, but the first few books are dynamite.

That's true overall with Robert Parker. He had a decent run of Spencer books then they turned into a formula, an annoying pattern. One chapter of Spencer actually doing things. Next chapter talking to Susan about doing thins and cooking. Next chapter Spencer doing things. Next chapter talking to Susan about doing things and cooking... on and on repeated in that exact manner.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022 01:23 PM (Ivdso)

342 Desantis didn't want to be seen with Trump at the rally, probably on the advice of Paul Ryan. Desantis fired the first shot.

Posted by: Eskimo at November 06, 2022 01:24 PM (L498I)

343 Among the gratuitously evil things Scalzi did was to re-write H. Beam Piper's 'Little Fuzzy.' And make it Woke.

Posted by: RNB at November 06, 2022 05:08 PM (DjjZJ)

344 Among the gratuitously evil things Scalzi did was to re-write H. Beam Piper's 'Little Fuzzy.' And make it Woke.

Well that is a pretty lousy thing to do.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at November 06, 2022 07:53 PM (Ivdso)

345
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Posted by: Kristy Francis at November 07, 2022 05:34 AM (sCWsP)

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