Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 90

'Sweat, drudgery . . . but you love it'

“Writingis sweat and drudgery most of the time. And you have to love it in order toendure the solitude and the discipline.” – Peter Benchley

Born on this date in 1940, Benchleymade his mark with the his breakthrough novel Jaws, subsequently madeinto a blockbuster movie by Steven Spielberg. Several more of his works also were adapted for cinema, including TheDeep.

Benchley was the third generation ofBenchley authors. His father wasNathaniel and grandfather Robert, one of the founders of the famed writinggroup known as the Algonquin Round Table. Despite that, Peter struggled to get his foot in the publishing door andwas a part-time freelancer when he pitched his idea for Jaws, “one final attempt to stay alive as a writer.” It was on the bestseller list for nearly a year and he never lost his writing focus again.

Much of Benchley'swriting beyond his novels was of conservation of our oceans. That led tothe establishment of the annual "Benchley Awards," recognizing those who havededicated their lives and work to those conservation efforts.

Shortly before his death in 2006,Benchley said that while he didn’t have “personal” experience with a GreatWhite Shark much of everything else he wrote was based on things he knew agreat deal about. “Ideas for my storiescame to me based on my life.”

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Published on May 08, 2024 05:47

A Writer's Moment: 'Knowing' history; writing for effect

A Writer's Moment: 'Knowing' history; writing for effect: “Fiction should be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the author doesn't know the answer.” – P...

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Published on May 07, 2024 06:24

'Knowing' history; writing for effect

“Fictionshould be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the authordoesn't know the answer.” – Pat Barker

Patricia Mary W. (“Pat”) Barkerwas born on this date in 1943, an English writer whose Regeneration Trilogycollectively has often been cited among the 10 Best Historical Fiction works inEnglish literature. Winner of numerousawards, she generally focuses her writing on themes of trauma, survival andrecovery.

Barkergrew up as a voracious reader in a working class neighborhood inYorkshire. She studied international history at the London School ofEconomics and turned to writing in her mid-30s. After early failures (her first 3 novels were rejected), she broke ontothe scene in 1982 with Union Street,the first of 3 books set in the Yorkshire region of her youth.

Barkerwon the 1983 Fawcett Society Prize for Fiction for Union Street. In 1993 she won the Guardian Fiction Prizefor Eye in the Door, and in 1995 she won the Booker Prize for TheGhost Road. Her writing style often incorporates realhistorical figures with those she creates.

“When writing about historical characters Itry to be as accurate as possible, and in particular not to misrepresent theview they held. With a real historical figure you have to be fair, and this isnot an obligation you have in dealing with your own creations, so it is quitedifferent.”

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Published on May 07, 2024 06:22

A Writer's Moment: Just 'know what you want to say'

A Writer's Moment: Just 'know what you want to say': “If you have a craftsman's command of the language and basic writing techniques you'll be able to write - as lo...

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Published on May 06, 2024 05:49

Just 'know what you want to say'

“Ifyou have a craftsman's command of the language and basic writing techniquesyou'll be able to write - as long as you know what you want to say.”– Jeffery Deaver

Born in Illinois on this date in1950, mystery/crime writer Deaver earned a journalism degree from theUniversity of Missouri then went on to a law degree at Fordham before startinghis writing career as a journalist.

Deaver said he gravitated towardjournalism first because he was editor of his high school literary magazine anda reporter for the school paper. Butafter some fulltime work on a newspaper, he switched back to law and practicedthat before embarking on his very successful and award-winning career as anovelist.

Deaver’s formula is to first do anextensive outline. “The outline is 95percent of the book,” he said. “Then Isit down and write, and (for me) that's the easy part.” In fact, he said it’s so easy for him towrite that he can even do it in the dark. “I can touch-type,” he said.

Several of his books have been madeinto films, including The Bone Collector and The Devil’s Teardrop. And his book The Never Game is the basis for the new TV hit series “Tracker.”

Many of his nearly 4 dozen novels feature a trickending or multiple trick endings, a technique that has both endeared himto and frustrated readers. “Ibelieve,” he said, “my responsibility as a thriller writer is to give myreaders the most exciting 'roller coaster ride' of a suspense story I canpossibly think of.”

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Published on May 06, 2024 05:48

A Writer's Moment: 'Feeling a sense of momentum'

A Writer's Moment: 'Feeling a sense of momentum': “ I think what gets a poem going is an initiating line. Sometimes a first line will occur, and it goes nowhere; but oth...

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Published on May 04, 2024 06:11

'Feeling a sense of momentum'

“I think what gets a poem going is an initiating line.Sometimes a first line will occur, and it goes nowhere; but other times - andthis, I think, is a sense you develop - I can tell that the line wants tocontinue. If it does, I can feel a sense of momentum - the poem finds a reasonfor continuing.” – Billy Collins

Born in the Spring of 1941, Collins is the former U.S.Poet Laureate. Internationallyacclaimed and honored he has authored 18 books of poetry and editedhalf-a-dozen more. Inducted into theAmerican Academy of Arts & Letters he spends part of his “retirement” yearsteaching in the MFA program at Stony Brook University in Southampton, NY.

For Saturday’s Poem, here isCollins’,

Morning

Why do we bother with the rest ofthe day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best—
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso—

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins—
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows—
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse

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Published on May 04, 2024 06:10

A Writer's Moment: 'Make ordinary words do extraordinary things'

A Writer's Moment: 'Make ordinary words do extraordinary things': "The real art is not to come up with extraordinary clever words but to make ordinary simple words do extraordinary...

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Published on May 02, 2024 14:54

'Make ordinary words do extraordinary things'

"Thereal art is not to come up with extraordinary clever words but to make ordinarysimple words do extraordinary things. To use the language that we all use andto make amazing things occur.” – Graham Swift

Born in London on May 4, 1949 Swift's writings - especially his novels and short stories - have won much praise and numerousawards. His book Last Orders won the BookerPrize and another, Waterland, was a finalist for that prestigious award. Waterland, Last Orders and two others of his 11 novels -Shuttlecock and Mothering Sunday -have been made into well-received movies

A meticulous and deliberate writer,Swift decries those who say he writes too slow. Besides his novels, he's authored 2 collections of short stories and an award-winning book of essays, portraits, poetry and reflections on his life in writing. He said it can be dismaying for a novelist to compare theslowness of the writing with the speed of the reading because often a writer agonizes for days at a time in crafting a single paragraph. "Literature," he said, "is the voice of the human heart."

"Novels, in my experience, are slow in coming, and once I've begun them I know I have years rather than months of work ahead of me."

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Published on May 02, 2024 14:51

'Any dream will do'

“Everywriter I know has trouble writing.” – Joseph Heller

Born in New York City on May Day,1923 Heller was an unknown writer when he pitched his manuscript for Catch-22 to editor Joseph Gottlieb atSimon & Schuster. While unsure aboutthe book’s concept, Gottlieb decided to give it a chance and the rest, ofcourse, is history. Catch-22 notonly became one of the all-time bestselling novels, but also a successful movieand permanent term in the world's lexicon.

Catch-22refers to absurd no-win choices, particularly in situations where, regardlessof the choice, a negative outcome is a certainty. A simplified example would be: To apply for a certain job, you need to haveexperience in that job. But in order togain that experience you first need to get the job.

Heller wrote the book to reflect someof the absurdities he saw while serving in World War II. He intended to call it Catch-18, but found out author Leon Uris was about to publish hisbook Milas 18. To avoidconfusion, Heller changed his title and two “stars” – himself as a writer andhis title – were born.

His second novel SomethingHappened also was a bestseller and he was off and running in a stellar writingcareer. Despite the accolades he earned, Heller never considered himselffamous.

“I want to keep my dreams, even the bad ones,” hesaid, “because without them, I might have nothing all night long.”

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Published on May 01, 2024 06:03