S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 84
July 17, 2014
On the Road
Spending a week traveling the highways and byways of America is interesting stuff. At the moment I'm in Virginia, preparing to cross a few more state lines so I can visit a waterfall I've always wanted to see (but like too many things, never got around to it until now.) I've been reading, too. I decided to pick up random novels from any interesting indie book shops I found on the road, and this has been fun. My most recent purchases are Delicious! by Ruth Reich and The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman from Left Bank Books in Belfast, ME.
If you enjoy stories of foodies, New York City and letter-based mysteries from WWII you should probably go out today and invest in Delicious!; it's a lovely novel that combines all three. I was surprised at how well-written it was, too -- food writers tend to focus more on the edibles in such stories, but this one has as many interesting characters as it does scrumptious dishes. The plot is likewise very well done, with the kind of twisty deftness you don't often encounter outside the genre writing community (and yes, I'd classify it as literary, but thankfully not anywhere near the God awful variety.) I haven't enjoyed a lit hardcover this much since I read The Book of Unholy Mischief.
I'm not yet sure what to make of the Hoffman book, which I finished last night. It's very ambitious, and works hard at being one of those luminous-in-the-dirt kind of stories. A few times while reading it I flashed back to the days when I was wrestling with Allende and Mieville (not a time I've ever wanted to revisit.) The primary setting, a turn-of-the-century freak show, is portrayed rather rosily for the time period -- but then, a lot of elements in the story were. I liked the characters, though, especially some of those who were incidental or had very minor roles. There's a fascinating criminal-turned-liveryman, and a wolf-taming hermit, both of whom steal every scene they're in; I think they're the reason the main characters come off rather trite by comparison. Still, it was a book I'm glad I read; it illustrates why it is important to think carefully about how you balance your cast, and why you should consider limiting how much you try to romanticize wretched situations.
Time to gather my belongings and brave the highway merge lanes. I'll check in with you all again when I have the chance.
If you enjoy stories of foodies, New York City and letter-based mysteries from WWII you should probably go out today and invest in Delicious!; it's a lovely novel that combines all three. I was surprised at how well-written it was, too -- food writers tend to focus more on the edibles in such stories, but this one has as many interesting characters as it does scrumptious dishes. The plot is likewise very well done, with the kind of twisty deftness you don't often encounter outside the genre writing community (and yes, I'd classify it as literary, but thankfully not anywhere near the God awful variety.) I haven't enjoyed a lit hardcover this much since I read The Book of Unholy Mischief.
I'm not yet sure what to make of the Hoffman book, which I finished last night. It's very ambitious, and works hard at being one of those luminous-in-the-dirt kind of stories. A few times while reading it I flashed back to the days when I was wrestling with Allende and Mieville (not a time I've ever wanted to revisit.) The primary setting, a turn-of-the-century freak show, is portrayed rather rosily for the time period -- but then, a lot of elements in the story were. I liked the characters, though, especially some of those who were incidental or had very minor roles. There's a fascinating criminal-turned-liveryman, and a wolf-taming hermit, both of whom steal every scene they're in; I think they're the reason the main characters come off rather trite by comparison. Still, it was a book I'm glad I read; it illustrates why it is important to think carefully about how you balance your cast, and why you should consider limiting how much you try to romanticize wretched situations.
Time to gather my belongings and brave the highway merge lanes. I'll check in with you all again when I have the chance.
July 16, 2014
Lotus Logic
"Writing is a very focused form of meditation. Just as good as sitting in a lotus position."
--Alan Moore
July 14, 2014
Where is PBW?
I'm probably not updating the blog or approving comments (I can't say for sure because I queued this to publish in my absence) but I am having fun somewhere. Hope you are, too.
July 11, 2014
Beneath
I'm still off, but I wanted to share this vid while I'm gone. Short films can be an amazing form of storytelling -- and this one is the best I've seen in a long time (narrated and with music, for those of you at work):
// ArtFX OFFICIEL // To The Other Side from ArtFX OFFICIEL on Vimeo.
July 9, 2014
Off for Now
I'm taking off for a bit -- be back when I can.
July 8, 2014
Moving to Canada?
Have you ever threatened to move to Canada? I have, a couple times (most recently about a month ago.) The main problem is that it's a big, beautiful country filled with interesting places, so picking one spot to settle would be tough. Thanks to this cute meme over at BuzzFeed, however, you can answer some questions and discover what should be your future Canadian home.
My results:
No matter where I go I'm always going to be a beach girl, it seems. So where should you live in Canada? Take the test and post your results in comments.
(Meme link swiped from Gerard over at The Presurfer)
My results:
No matter where I go I'm always going to be a beach girl, it seems. So where should you live in Canada? Take the test and post your results in comments.
(Meme link swiped from Gerard over at The Presurfer)
July 7, 2014
Match Game Ten
For this Monday's ten things list let's play a game. See if you can match the writer to the fact:
The Facts:
1. Wrote while lying in bed in a white coat. Also composed most of one novel while writing with crayon pieces on cardboard.
2. Used a watch to obsessively time creative sessions to make a quota of writing 250 words every 15 minutes.
3. Let a pile of apples rot in a desk drawer and would open the drawer and breathe in the stench as "inspiration" to work.
4. Ate vanilla wafers as fuel for the muse.
5. Preferred to write letters in purple ink.
6. Wrote in a car while out running errands (someone else was driving, thankfully.)
7. Wrote two novels by typing them on rolls of accounting machine paper and cutting off the pages from the typewriter as they were completed.
8. Wrote nearly all novel drafts on 3 X 5 index cards, which were clipped together and stored in boxes.
9. Wrote while leaning over a refrigerator (yes, that tall).
10. Preferred to write in the bath while eating apples.
The Writers:
A. Gertrude Stein
B. James Joyce
C. Agatha Christie
D. PBW
E. Anthony Trollope
F. Friedrich Schiller
G. Thomas Clayton Wolfe
H. Flannery O'Connor
I. Vladimir Nabokov
J. Virginia Woolf
(The correct answers will be posted in comments at the end of the day.)
The Facts:
1. Wrote while lying in bed in a white coat. Also composed most of one novel while writing with crayon pieces on cardboard.
2. Used a watch to obsessively time creative sessions to make a quota of writing 250 words every 15 minutes.
3. Let a pile of apples rot in a desk drawer and would open the drawer and breathe in the stench as "inspiration" to work.
4. Ate vanilla wafers as fuel for the muse.
5. Preferred to write letters in purple ink.
6. Wrote in a car while out running errands (someone else was driving, thankfully.)
7. Wrote two novels by typing them on rolls of accounting machine paper and cutting off the pages from the typewriter as they were completed.
8. Wrote nearly all novel drafts on 3 X 5 index cards, which were clipped together and stored in boxes.
9. Wrote while leaning over a refrigerator (yes, that tall).
10. Preferred to write in the bath while eating apples.
The Writers:
A. Gertrude Stein
B. James Joyce
C. Agatha Christie
D. PBW
E. Anthony Trollope
F. Friedrich Schiller
G. Thomas Clayton Wolfe
H. Flannery O'Connor
I. Vladimir Nabokov
J. Virginia Woolf
(The correct answers will be posted in comments at the end of the day.)
July 6, 2014
Prompt by Pic
One of my favorite ways of finding story inspiration is to go with my camera to an interesting place and snap shots of whatever grabs my attention. Once I'm back home I go through the pics and choose a couple as source prompts for characters, scenes, etc. Here's a slideshow of my most recent visit to a popular flea market:
If you want to try this, once you've taken the pics scroll through them and make some notes on whatever they bring to mind. Here's some of what I thought while look through my shots:
Parrots: I've read plenty of stories with a single parrot in them, but never a pair -- and if they were talking parrots, they could hold their own conversation, or repeat one they've heard.
Red Tin & Ladles: Other than a chef or a pathologist, who would need so many ladles? Since the word ladle comes from an Old English word that means to draw out, could be a fun form of reverse magic wand.
White and Purple Flowers: Pretty, although the shape reminds me of a scorpion preparing to sting someone. What if someone deliberately bioengineered deadly insects to look exactly like beautiful flowers? And then sends you a bouquet of them?
Black Sweater & Brooches: This one is for Dustin: How does a knight wearing only a sweater tunic make himself some armor when he becomes trapped in the dragon's hidden lair of treasure? If you find a lot more brooches, this could be the answer.
Basket of Old Golf Balls, Billiard Ball: Evidence that a golf course also serves as a pool table (of the gods?)
Baby Chicks: A shaman goes to make breakfast, opens a carton of eggs he gathered up in the mountains and discover they've all hatched into newborn (crows, snakes, Yeti . . . )
Golden Apple: Definitely strange to see an apple tree in my neck of the woods. What if it was an orange tree yesterday? What if all the orange trees suddenly began producing a single, perfect golden apple? And what happens when you bite into this strange fruit?
If you want to try this, once you've taken the pics scroll through them and make some notes on whatever they bring to mind. Here's some of what I thought while look through my shots:
Parrots: I've read plenty of stories with a single parrot in them, but never a pair -- and if they were talking parrots, they could hold their own conversation, or repeat one they've heard.
Red Tin & Ladles: Other than a chef or a pathologist, who would need so many ladles? Since the word ladle comes from an Old English word that means to draw out, could be a fun form of reverse magic wand.
White and Purple Flowers: Pretty, although the shape reminds me of a scorpion preparing to sting someone. What if someone deliberately bioengineered deadly insects to look exactly like beautiful flowers? And then sends you a bouquet of them?
Black Sweater & Brooches: This one is for Dustin: How does a knight wearing only a sweater tunic make himself some armor when he becomes trapped in the dragon's hidden lair of treasure? If you find a lot more brooches, this could be the answer.
Basket of Old Golf Balls, Billiard Ball: Evidence that a golf course also serves as a pool table (of the gods?)
Baby Chicks: A shaman goes to make breakfast, opens a carton of eggs he gathered up in the mountains and discover they've all hatched into newborn (crows, snakes, Yeti . . . )
Golden Apple: Definitely strange to see an apple tree in my neck of the woods. What if it was an orange tree yesterday? What if all the orange trees suddenly began producing a single, perfect golden apple? And what happens when you bite into this strange fruit?
July 5, 2014
Steampunk Short Contest
Story Quest Spec Fic e-zine is holding their 6th annual short story contest, and this year's theme is punk & trains: "Trains – particularly the old-time steam and diesel trains, are often wonderful catalysts for adventure and atmosphere. Whether it be romantic, sinister, or creepy, stories set on trains or at train stations can often elevate a good story into a great, memorable one. This year we have a theme, where we want a story of 3k or less, that involves trains in a meaningful, significant way, crafted in some kind of punk sub genre (refer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpun...). Think of westerns on trains, the Orient Express, the Victorian era’s absolute dependency on the train network, and so many more sources of inspiration." Length: 1-3K (firm); No entry fee; Prizes: "Five or Six short listed stories, all of which will be published in SQ Mag in early 2015 – contracts, including payments for unsolicited entries strictly apply. Within the short list, 1st place will also be awarded US$100.00, 2nd place: US$50.00, 3rd place: US$25.00. Authors who submit to the contest must have a PayPal account to receive their rewards (and SQ Mag payments). No reprints, electronic submissions via site form only, see contest page for more details. Submission Period: Opens August 1st, 2014; Deadline: October 31st, 2014.
July 3, 2014
Just Write
Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.
For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post. Also a reminder: after today my Just Write feature will be on hiatus until July 24th.
For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post. Also a reminder: after today my Just Write feature will be on hiatus until July 24th.
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