Les Edgerton's Blog, page 35

Gonna be at the Idaho Writers and Readers Rendezvous!

 
Hi folks,
Well, tomorrow I climb on a little silver bird and fly to Chicago where I run like a madman and catch a bigger silver bird which will take me to Boise, Idaho, where I’m one of the presenters at the Idaho Writers and Readers Rendezvous.
I’m stoked!
They have a feature for the conference where folks can sign up to have lunch with some of us who are presenting and I can’t wait to meet the ones who’ve signed up to break bread with me. Those kinds of things are always great fun and you meet the nicest folks. The first night, I’ll do an hour reading of my work at the Rediscovered Books Bookstore at an event they call “First Thursday.” I’m reading some R-rated stuff so if anyone’s thinking of attending you might want to bring earplugs for the kids if they come along… Just sayin’… 
The main speaker will be author C.J. Box. A few weeks ago, I thought it would be the polite thing to do would be to read one of Mr. Box’s novels so that I’d have a bit of familiarity with his work. After all, we might end up in a bar or restaurant or panel together and it’s just what I try to do whenever I’m asked to make an appearance with others at an event like this.
Well, I read the first novel of his I picked up in a day… and couldn’t put it down! Fantastic writer! I’m just sorry I didn’t discover his work earlier, but jazzed that I now have another writer to follow. To date, I’m just about finished reading the ninth of his books. Every single one has been a pageturner and now I’m dreading the day when I finish the rest of his work and will have to wait for him to write a new one. I’d like to kind of save them and savor them… but dang it! They’re just too good to not plow through the instant I get one and the second I finish another one, I’m off buying another one for my Kindle. If you haven’t read C.J. Box and you like fast-paced thrillers, glom onto the guy!
There are a few other writers who’ll be there I’m familiar with. One in particular is Ron Carlson. I’ve been reading his short stories for many years and he’s just a wonderful writer. Some of the others I’m not yet familiar with but hope to be by the time I leave Boise.
I get to stay with one of my publishers, Aaron Patterson who runs the press StoneGate Ink, at his house. He’s even furnishing me one of his cars! Fantastic host! Except... a car? I thought they all rode mustangs out there...
I’m doing a couple of presentations. One on my book HOOKED and another on the movie THELMA&LOUISE in how it can inform fiction techniques. I also get to critique a couple of writers work and the stories they sent to me are fantastic.
In fact, I think they’ve got so many things planned for me to do, I’m wondering if I’m going to be able to squeeze any bar time in… We’ll see…
See ya when I get home next Sunday night.
Blue skies,Les

CHEATING ON SUBMISSIONS SPACE-WISE--DON'T DO IT

Hi folks,
Earlier today, I posted a comment in a fellow blogger’s post giving her some hints about submitting writing samples as part of her application to an MFA program. I thought perhaps it might be somewhat helpful to others so am expanding it a bit to include submissions to publications and agents. Here’s what I told her and a bit more:
Sarah, I often write recommendations for students and clients and friends of mine applying to MFA programs and I give them a bit of advice they haven't heard before. In the writing sample (of which I've read dozens and dozens and see the same thing done all the time), I see writers trying to use every square inch of the space allowed. Many will "cheat" and fudge their margins or line spacing or font size in an attempt to squeeze in even more. But, that's simply a big red flag to those who read these for admission. All of those tricks are instantly visible to the reader and tell us one thing--that this applicant is lacking in confidence in his or her work. This is a writer who seems to think that the more they provide, the more their ability will shine through. Alas, the opposite will happen. They'll simply look unsure of the quality of their work. The folks who read these are reading tons of other samples also and it's a daunting task. What gets an applicant to the top of the pile and considered very favorably is the person who submits just a bit less than the maximum required. This exudes confidence for one thing. It also elicits a sigh of relief that the reader won't have to read as much. The truth is, any good judge of writing can tell within a paragraph or two if the applicant has talent or not.

If the prose sample asks for say, "15-20 pages" I'd urge the applicant to submit 18 or 19 pages. It will stand out and very positively, as the vast majority of the other applicants will submit the entire 20 pages and use all the little tricks mentioned above. And, if it's a good school, there will be tons of applicants, most of whom will be rejected. One of the reasons (that no one will tell you) is that the person who submits a bit less than the maximum will be viewed much more positively by the reader than the one who crammed every possible space with prose.

Also, a person who fudges with font size, spacing, etc. has violated professional format and that's another big red flag. It instantly identifies the writer as… unprofessional.

Hope that helps! And, good luck!
This is what agents and editors want to do with their letter openers to those who cheat on their submissions formatting...
And…
The same advice applies to writers sending in stories and material to writing contests, to agents, to editors and publishers.
Ask any agent and he or she will tell you the same thing. In their submissions policies it will state clearly that they want “three chapters” or the “first five pages” or "fifty pages" or something similar. Editors will often ask for the same thing. Publications (especially print publications—it doesn’t matter as much for e-publications simply because their space requirements are normally less stringent), will often have similar parameters—for instance, they’ll say they accept stories “up to twenty pages” or some other such amount.
And what happens very often is the same thing I described to Sarah above. The writer will “fudge” the submission by the same techniques. Instead of 12-point type, they’ll make it 11.5 type. Instead of 1-inch margins all around, they’ll “cheat” on the margins a bit. They’ll also cheat on spacing. Instead of sending it double-spaced, they’ll make it 1.5”. Or, if they’re really computer-savvy, they’ll change the spacing to 1.8” or something like that. Sometimes, they’ll even change the font to one that allows more words on the page. That’s a cheating technique that’s particularly… what’s the word?... oh, yeah… dumb…
All in an effort to get more words on the page. The logic they’re employing is that the more they can get the professional to read, the better chance their “genius” will show through and their story will be taken, their entire mss requested.
Well, I hate to burst such thinkers’ bubbles, but that isn’t what’s going to happen, booby! The very opposite will happen. Anyone who reads a lot of material—agents/editors—will spot any of these “tricks” and others just by glancing at the first page. They’ll see what the writer is trying to do and instantly a big red flag is planted in their mind. It simply shows a writer who isn’t sure about his/her work, and feels (wrongly) that the more the gatekeeper reads, the better chance their work has of being accepted.
And, sometimes the submission is fudged space-wise not because of those reasons but because the story they want to submit is just a bit longer than the required maximum. These aren’t folks trying to game the system, but simply to get their work in under the required pages. But, the effect they’re going to have on the reader is the same. A negative impression. To those cheating on the format for that reason, I’d strongly urge them to simply edit the story until it does fit the space requirements. There’s scarcely a story ever published that couldn’t be cut at least somewhat. And, if it really can’t be cut, I’d urge you to just not submit it to that place. The editor isn’t going to assume you cheated for that reason but is just going to assume you fudged it for the same reasons most others do. And, if you cheated this way in a contest, trust that the judges are going to see instantly what you've done and not only won't your submission be considered but you'll be remembered... And, not in the way you want to be remembered. And, the writing community is a relatively small community and people talk and this kind of stuff gets passed around.
The agent or editor who is requesting “three chapters” is just assuming most novels adopt an average length of about 10-20 pages per chapter. What most want are roughly 50 pages. Roughly… They can tell within five pages at the most if it’s any good or not—five paragraphs, actually. Fifty pages just gives a pretty good idea if the structure of the novel is sound or not. And, I’d really urge writers to send the first three chapters and not the three you’ve cherry-picked because they’re your best chapters. That really creates a red flag. The agent or editor knows instantly that the writer is sending these random chapters for that very reason—that the writer feels they’re the best chapters. What that means is that if this is what he/she considers the best… and it’s not really all that great—then the rest probably sucks. And, that leads to… you guessed it… a rejection.
In the case of a large sample—three chapters, etc.—what they really want to see are about 50 pages. If your chapters average three pages, then I’d suggest sending a partial of about 50 pages and perhaps state in your cover letter that because your chapter lengths are unusually short, you thought they really wanted to see about 50 pages. Usually, however, most submission requirements will make that clear by saying something to the effect that they’d like to see “about three chapters or fifty pages.” A hint here. The fiftieth page will often end in the middle of a riveting scene and the temptation is to furnish the three more pages that will include that scene. I’d suggest not doing that, but instead only send say 45-46 pages that do end upon the completion of a scene or chapter.
The main thing that’s crucial here is to strongly advise you to never “cheat” or “fudge” the formatting to squeeze more prose on the page. Professionals will see instantly what you’re doing and the result will be a negative one. If nothing else, they’ll resent what you’re doing. In effect, you’re sending a message that you think they’re stupid enough to not see what is obvious to anyone who’s been reading submissions and manuscripts for any length of time at all. It’s an insult to their intelligence and that’s exactly how they’ll perceive it. To your detriment…
I hate using this saying (because of my name—I’ve heard it a bazillion times…), but in this case: “Less is more.” It really is.
Hope this helps!
Blue skies,Les

Looking for a novel in which cheating doesn't pay? Check out:

Paul D. Brazill talks about noir

Hi folks, Just wanted to share an article that just appeared in the respected blog, READ  WATCH  PLAY written by “The Godfather of Noir” Paul D. Brazill. Mr. Brazill does me the supreme honor of singling out THE RAPIST which, coming from him, means the world to me.
READ  WATCH PLAY
Talking about reading every month in 2013
A Shot of NoirApril 24, 2013tags: crimeread, rwpchatby readwatchplay  ‘Noir is often considered as a genre, or sub-genre, and is usually associated with crime fiction. Really though, it is more like a style of fiction, or even a strain of fiction, rather than a sub-genre that doesn’t have to be limited to crime fiction. Noir winds up becoming a type of fiction that you have to search for and not always find, which is part of what makes a great noir story so rewarding when it is found.’ Brian Lindenmuth – Spinetingler Magazine, Snubnose Press.
Paul D. Brazill


Crime fiction is easily and readily sliced up into sub-genres, especially these days. We have the cozy, the murder- mystery, the detective story, the police procedural, the hardboiled. And it’s also categorised by country too – Scandinavian crime, for example, is expected to be very different to the Italian or French variety.
In the above quote, though, Brian Lindenmuth hit the nail on the head when he talked about noir being ‘more like a style of fiction’. More elusive, perhaps. Like a murder glimpsed from the steamy window of a passing train.
The origins of ‘noir’ as a definition of a sharp sliver of crime fiction goes back to the mid-1940s when the French publisher Marcel Duhamel cleverly packaged American pulp fiction – from the likes of Raymond Chandler, James M Cain, Jim Thompson, Cornell Woolrich – in black covers, as the imprint Série noire. And since then it has also been tied like a noose to the cinematic versions of those books. Films that painted the world with light and pitch black shadows.
Ostensibly crime fiction – or skirting its razor edge – noir is a taste that’s as black and bitter as an espresso or a shot of moonshine-whisky. Noir, for me, is all about mood. And a dark mood at that because, as Otto Penzler once said, ‘noir is about losers’. For writers and fans of noir, we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the abyss between the stars.
So where can you get a shot of noir? Try Derek Raymond,  Maxim Jakubowski, Vicki Hendricks’ Miami Purity, Julia Madeleine, Georges Simenon, Patricia Highsmith, David Goodis, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Albert Camus’ The Outsider, Harry Crews, Nelson Algren, John and Dan Fante, Dorothy B. Hughes, Chuck Palahniuk, Alan Guthrie’s Slammer, Dostoyevsky’s Notes From The Underground, James Ellroy, Graham Greene, Carole Morin, Heath Lowrance’s The Bastard Hand, Ken Bruen’s Rilke On Black, Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square, Tom Wright’s What Dies In Summer, Donna Tartt, Colin Wilson’s Ritual In The Dark, Steve Mosby, Richard Godwin, Megan Abbott, Josh Stallings – who has recently published a ‘noir memoir’ called All The Wild Children. And perhaps the most noir of all, Les Edgerton’s The Rapist, which wears its dark heart on its blood-stained sleeve like a call to arms to the dispossessed, disenfranchised and desperate.
Paul D. Brazill
Paul was born in England and lives in Poland. He is an International Thriller Writers Inc member whose writing has been translated into Italian, Polish and Slovene. He has had bits and bobs of short fiction published in various magazines and anthologies, including The Mammoth Books of Best British Crime 8 and 10, alongside the likes of Ian Rankin, Neil Gaiman and Lee Child. He has edited a few anthologies, including the best-selling True Brit Grit – with Luca Veste. His blog is here.You can follow him on Twitter.

Blue skies,Les

I DO POETRY!

Hi folks,
As those of you who’ve followed my blog for awhile, from time to time I like to include lessons from the writers in my online class and from private clients as I think the issues they face are pretty much the same as all of us face in our writing and providing them here may help other writers.
And, that’s what I’m posting today.
A few years ago, I served for three years as the writer-in-residence at the University of Toledo. I’ve kept in contact with many of my former students and one of my favorite of those students and I have had a series of communications recently that may be of interest and our discussions may also help inform other writers who may be having similar problems. I won’t name her except to call her “K”. K was an absolute delight in my classes. A highly intelligent, dynamic student, she graduated and is currently teaching in an inner city middle school. She and I hope that I’ll be able to appear before her classes next semester, probably via Skype.
Recently, K decided she wanted to try her hand at poetry. I’d seen her fiction—it was extremely good. She asked me if I’d read a couple of her poems and see what I thought and if I thought they were publishable. If maybe I could recommend someone to send them to. I told her I had a friend who edited a wonderful literary magazine and if I felt they were good, I’d be happy to recommend them and her to him. So she sent me these two poems. Here’s what she said and here are her poems.
Hey Les,
Thank you so much for taking the time to look over my poetry. Even if you find that your friend wouldn't like it, it'd be nice to have some feedback from you. I'm always looking to get better. I have to admit, I have no idea what a publisher is looking for. I chose two poems to attach because I couldn't choose which one to include. I have an emotional connection to both of them because they're both poems I wrote after experiencing a miscarriage. I didn't know if it was too personal of a subject to pass along, but sometimes emotional subjects evoke the most feeling, and someone might be able to relate. If they suck, that's totally fine. Please be brutally honest. If nothing else, it was a good release for me in dealing with a tough situation. The first poem I think is the better one, but it also lacks structure. I struggle with rhythm sometimes. Thank you so much again, Les. You've been so helpful and it's been great to reconnect.

P.S. Did I mention that I'm pregnant? lol- I've yet to write a happy poem about it, but it'll come :)

A Moment Of Recognition
A moment of recognitionAs you slowly stroll byA cursory glance over your shoulder…Do my eyes defy?
Inquiry lies upon your browA slight resemblance amongst the mass?A hesitant acceptanceYes… it’s you… alas
Intimate strangers, never having metFamiliar obscurity- finally reunitedNo more questioning, wondering, longingAnticipation and joy ignited
You’ve made it home.Ever so slowly gainingComfort, confidence, acceptance.But you’ve been waiting…
Idly watching, scrutinizing the crowdUntil God grant me accessDesperate to utter the words,“It’s you…alas”
Finally the time has comeFor our worlds to intertwineA sigh of relief, utter satisfactionNow you’re finally mine
The torturous wait,The brokenness of my soulIt’s finally making senseI’ve been molded for this… a chance to become whole
Eternity with you… not just a reverieI will know every inch of youEvery expression, every feelingMy biggest wish has finally come true
You stare quizzically from afarLove, joy, apprehensionShall you approach me?Your feet make the decisionNo longer a mirageA shadow in the distanceYou speak the words aloud,“It’s you…alas.”
It is then that I know…I’ve made it homeYou with your mother And us with our Maker


Consuming Sadness
Sadness knocks at the gates of the heartFirst begging for entry, then demanding accessIts persistence is admirable, yet irritating
It slyly slithers in, seeping into the depths of the soulEvery crevice is filled with its thick, black presenceLeaving no spot left unscathed
All of the joy and happiness are strangled to their deathNo struggle is needed; the victor is clearThe indomitable competitor has won again
Occasionally, the soul puts up a fightall to the glory of sadness;A tease, a mockery- It’s amused by the spectacle
It's all to no avail; there was never any hopeI am its puppet, designed to do its biddingJust a prisoner, succumbing to the torture
Where is the intervening force?A light amongst the darkness?or is the suffering mine alone to endure?
Sadness is all consuming, its presence is everlastingIt stays until I've withered awayNo more resistance...eternal submission
After reading them, here’s what I told her:
Hi K,I looked at your poems and see a couple of things that I think will make it difficult for them to get published, alas.

First, I'm not aware of anyone publishing poetry that rhymes any more as in the first one. Other than maybe Hallmark Cards. Or in some Internet journals that publish anything. But not in legitimate and serious literary journals dedicated to quality. That's just kind of been over for many years, at least with serious poets. The chief reason being that when a poet has to come up with a word that rhymes, she sacrifices accuracy for the sake of the rhyme. The heart of all good writing--poetry or fiction--is truth, and if a rhyme is more important than the exact, perfect word, you're at a remove from that truth. Make sense?

The second thing is far more important. You said they're both about a miscarriage but I couldn't tell that from either poem. It could have been about anything sad. This is really crucial. This is what we usually encounter from beginning poets and writers. It's why we constantly preach, "Show, don't tell." What you're doing is writing about your emotion when as the reader, we haven't been privy to what created that emotion and that therefore makes it telling us instead of showing us. And, telling never impacts a person emotionally. Only by living through the event with the character as it unfolds will the reader ever be impacted emotionally. In effect, such poems are saying to the reader: Trust me. I've had a terrible experience (which I'm not going to share with you) and I'm going to tell you how bad it made me feel.

Doesn't work. Alas, will never work. You’re mostly describing an emotion you felt, but you’re leaving out the most important part—showing us the event that led to the emotion. That’s totally absent and it’s the most important part.

Here's what would work. If you wrote a poem about how you and your partner had wanted desperately to have a child and then, miraculously, you were pregnant. If you told us something about the anxious moments before you got pregnant and then took us along as the pregnancy progressed--how you bought a bassinet, baby clothes, painted a bedroom for the baby, tried to decide if you wanted to know the sex or not, considered names--in short, all the things couples do when they're pregnant. And, then, if you showed the actual miscarriage as it happened. How it came suddenly, how it happened, what went on in the home, in the hospital, how your partner reacted, how you reacted, the physical trauma you went through... in short, if you let us see the event as it transpired... then, and only then, we'd feel the emotion you wanted to communicate with the poem. You wouldn't even need to say how sad or desolate you felt. We'd know, just from living through the event with you.

And, that's what good poetry or good writing is. It's showing the event as it happens. If you give us the event, the reader will experience the emotion.

This is so common with beginning poets. I remember teaching in high school and the usual subjects appear in the students' work. Usually some theme on a boyfriend rejecting the writer or the like. Not putting that down at all--it's very real to the person it happens to and is legitimate. But, the mistake the writer makes is in writing about how she feelsand that's simply telling. It doesn't impact the reader in the least. Oh, in a class where people know the person and may even know the circumstances, there may be at least some vocal display of commiseration, but we write poetry and fiction for strangers, not those in our inner circle. At least that's who we write for if we send it out to be published. And, strangers don't know the writer nor the circumstances nor the event, save for what they read on the page. And, to read mostly an account of how the person feels won't elicit emotion. Never, except in a very general and vague way, such as when we hear of a bad traffic accident. We all say: "Oh, my gosh. That's terrible." And then we switch the subject to the sale down at the mall. But we really don't feel much except in a surface, societal way. We certainly don't feel what the reader intended we feel.This is why at a funeral service when the preacher gets up to laud a person he or she didn’t know, most of the time he will offer up well-worn platitudes in generalized sympathetic terms… and eyes glaze over. But… when the guy’s best friend gets up and talks about all the camping trips they made together and how the deceased kept burning the coffee every morning just like he did at home… and how he'd give his last dollar this morning for a cup of that godawful coffee Joe used to make, especially if it was him serving it... then people nod and shake their heads in agreement and feel something. Don’t be the preacher using Sermonette #93 for the occasion—muttering worn-out platitudes, couched in so-called “poetic” language. That doesn’t work for funeral services and it doesn’t work for poetry.

It's so important to know this when writing. It's what we mean when we say, "Show, don't tell." Anything important in a poem or a story has to be written as a scene. Never by telling the reader after the fact how we “feel.”Look at the little YA play Shakespeare wrote, titled “Romeo and Juliet.” If he’d simply given us the couple’s “feelings” without allowing us to live through the event of their deaths and all the circumstances and actions leading up to it and afterward, it would never have been performed on the stage and it certainly wouldn’t have lived on as long as it has in the canon. We feel the emotion only because we were witness to the event. Even as great a writer as the Bard was, if he’d only given us soliloquies expressing their grief, it would have suffered the same fate as any poet’s work that only contains the feelings after the fact—which would have been, “Only available in his room.”

Hope this makes sense! You have a gift with language and if you grasp this, your poetry will soar.

I'll bet good money that when I was laying out the actions in a miscarriage above, you felt emotion, and perhaps even intense emotion. If so, that's because you would have been reliving the events as they happened to you. That's what you need to do in your poem(s). Deliver the event. Not the emotion you felt after the event. That's not for you to furnish. The reader will furnish that if you but provide an account of the event.And, provide a dramatic account, not a melodramatic rendering. That simply means lowering the volume. Let the event itself dictate the emotion elicited. What’s more powerful—the woman whose child has just been run over by a bus who runs out, prostrates herself over her dead body, raises her face to the heavens while shrieking and tearing out her hair by the handful, cursing against an unfeeling God and even (this is a particular yuck for me) showing “a single tear coursing down her cheek,” or, simply having the woman slump to the curb and affecting the thousand-yard-stare soldiers who’ve been in heavy and sustained combat affect? One is melodramatic, loud and brassy and full of clichés while the other is a truly profound reaction to a tragedy. Opt for drama, not melodrama. If told honestly and truly, the event itself will furnish all you need for the reader’s emotion.Finally, you said you sent these poems because you had an “emotional connection” to them and that “I didn't know if it was too personal of a subject to pass along, but sometimes emotional subjects evoke the most feeling, and someone might be able to relate.” Well, K, that’s just about the only reason to write a poem. That’s what poetry is—it’s expressing to the world what happened and how it affected the writer emotionally.That isn’t entirely true. There are perfectly frivolous poems, poems designed to provide a political or social statement; in short, a poem can be about virtually anything that interests or impacts the writer in any way. But what all good poetry has in common is that it’s not a recitation of the writer’s feelings couched in some elevated, melodramatic, “poetical” language. It’s about the thing that created those emotions. Trust the reader’s intelligence—that he or she will “get” the same emotion you did after experiencing the same thing you did. You don’t need to tell us you’re “sad” or that you laughed out loud or that you felt pissed off. We’ll get the same feeling you did if you write the events that led you to that state.
Hope this helps!

Blue skies,
LesK replied:
Hi Les,Wow, Thank you so much for such detailed comments. They definitely help a lot. The first poem is about a woman (me) meeting my child in heaven for the first time. Since I've never seen him/her, I don't know for whom I'm looking. I see the child and finally realize that there's a family resemblance there and it must be my child. I then go through the emotions of waiting for this day to come and how it might feel for the child too... to embrace someone and dive right into a relationship that is unfamiliar. I thought the ending probably gave clarity to the story line by saying, "you with your mother and us with our maker (God)." I guess you're right though... maybe the ambiguity isn't a good thing and I should make it more clear earlier. I guess I thought it added suspense. I also appreciate the comment about rhyme scheme. That sucks because I originally didn't have it rhyming, but I changed it so that it would. I'll change it back. I see how people feel confined by rhyming and they don't effectively get their message across because they're so worried about finding a word to rhyme.

I like your suggestion about the content of the second one. It does leave the reader in the dark about the situation that caused the sadness. I wrote that one for my students to study personification and other literary elements, so that one was vague on purpose because I didn't necessarily want to share something so personal with them. I see how it doesn't really work.

Again, thank you so much for helping me. It's hard to know how to get better when I don't know what publishers look for.
K

I replied:
Hi K,
I'm so glad you took my comments in the spirit intended--with professionalism! You haven’t changed a bit since our days in the classroom, which is why you were one of the best students.

One thing you said—“I didn't necessarily want to share something so personal with them”--I want to comment on. Any writing--poetry or fiction--that isn't intensely personal--to be honest--isn't worth sharing, imo. And, it’s not poetry. Even with kids. Maybe especially with kids. If we don't expose them to things that are intensely personal, what kinds of models are we providing? In my mind, pretty much meaningless things. If we leave out passion, what is really left? And, not telling passion but showing where it comes from and how it was created.
There are two things that make any writing work. Make it clear and make it interesting. When you say you wrote it for your students to study personification and other literary elements, alas, it doesn’t do either. Personification is when it’s… what’s the word?... oh, yeah… personal. And, if it’s not interesting—and, laundry lists of emotional terms isn’t remotely interesting—then there are no literary elements. Literary elements are techniques used to communicate emotion. They’re not something in and of themselves. They only exist to inform communication. If you’re not communicating, then they’re not literary elements.
What happens in many classrooms is that when kids write anything at all, as teachers we’re overjoyed. Even if it isn’t very good. It’s so difficult to get kids to write or read at all that any effort is welcomed joyously. So, we end up accepting less than what they’re capable of. We also end up not showing them what poetry is really about. We end up assuming they can’t understand or appreciate good writing. That they have to take some kind of “first steps” or something. Ease into good writing gradually. That’s such a major piece of b.s. but many buy into that mindset, unfortunately.
The truth is, the only thing kids do appreciate and understand is good writing. We do them a disservice by thinking they’re “not ready for quality writing.” We end up dumbing down things for them. On a subconscious level, people (including kids) always resent that. The vast majority of people are pretty smart, no matter the age. They know when they’re being talked down to. Or “taught down to.” When they write a poem that’s only about the emotion and don’t give the reason for that emotion, they may bask in the praise on the surface, but kids know what’s phony and what’s not. Most of them have a perfectly good and reliable b.s. detector in their backpacks and know when they’re being shucked, even when the shuck consists of praise. In fact, that’s how most con games are run—by appealing to the mark’s ego. Often, when we’re the ones delivering the praise, we don’t really feel the work is that good either. We’re just ecstatic that little Janie or rambunctious Mark has actually written something that we don’t offer realistic and honest comments for the work, but more for the fact that they actually put pen to paper and got something down. It’s a first step, we think. Except…it’s a first step on the wrong path.
Watch some of the other kids when someone writes a poem about his or her “feelings” without a word about what created those feelings. I’ll bet at least three kids will be rolling their eyes. Another one will be pantomiming gagging. Usually boys. Our response is to chastise the miscreant, but we might be better served in figuring out that they’re just being honest critics, albeit a bit rude. These are folks whose b.s. detectors are on and in working order.
But, have little Janie stand up and read her poem about how her mother never cooked supper and how she spent an hour every night hiding the liquor bottle from Mom and I’ll bet any amount of money there will be a lot less eye-rolling going on. I’ll bet the audience will be transfixed. And many of them relating to their own experiences. And, they’ll learn what real poetry is and I imagine at least some of them will become excited when they see one of their peers can write something that others pay attention to and feel something when they hear it. Especially if Janie never uses a word like “sad” or “desolate” or “sorrow.” Janie won’t have to. The listener or reader will feel all of those things from the event itself. Just like Janie did.
Or, in a different kind of school that you teach in—say a school nestled in a wealthy suburb. Where the Janie there stood up and read her poem about a father who was never there as he had to travel for his job and how he’d missed her dance recital and her twelfth birthday party because of “business.” That Janie doesn’t have to say a word about how bad she feels about not having an active father. The poem does all that and many of her peers will relate. There will be a lot less eye-rolling than if she read some fuzzy piece about her “feelings.” Make sense?
Poetry, just like fiction, is about trouble. Even the poem you told me you plan to write—the “happy” poem about your present pregnancy—will be a much better poem if you include the miscarriage that came before.

K, I'd like to use our email exchanges on my blogpost if you'd consider giving me permission to do so. I wouldn't use your name at all. I think it would help a lot of other writers. If you don't want me to, no problem. I won't!

But...

Blue skies,
Les
Hi Les,You're right about sharing emotional things with people, especially our writing. I guess I just wasn't ready to do so because it was still so recent. I could tell them next year when I share it with them. I also wanted to ask your opinion about adding poetic devices (sound devices, figurative language, etc...) in the poems. When I spoke with my Masters professor, she encouraged me to use more. That's why in that second poem I use personification, alliteration, metaphor, hyperbole, and a couple other things. Is that something you suggest I focus on, or do you think people really look for that?

In response to your question, you can definitely use my poem on your blog. It's very humbling to have it on there for what not to do- haha. I'm just kidding. As a writer, I would welcome advice and examples like that in whatever medium I could get my hands on. So, if I can help with that, then I'd love to. You can share my email too.

Would it be ok to revise the first poem and send it to you again? It probably wouldn't be for awhile, but I want to see if I change it for the better.

KHi K,I’d love to see a revision on the poem! Let me comment on a couple of things you said.First, you have good instincts when you said you “weren’t ready to do so because it was so recent.” That’s a very legitimate concern. Most writers need some distance from truly emotional events to be able to write coherently about it. Unless, they’re the writer Graham Greene spoke of with that “piece of ice in their hearts.” Just wait until you have enough psychic distance and then write it. But, when you write a poem or a story, I’d make sure you had an emotional attachment to it or it may not end up particularly well.As far as your professor’s suggestions, I would take exception to some of the things she advised. For one thing, alliteration is much in disfavor these days. It’s considered somewhat archaic and draws attention to the writer overmuch by making the reader aware that there’s a writer at work behind the words, thereby interrupting the fictive dream. Years ago, we used to see newspaper headlines that used all kinds of alliteration. No mas, as Roberto Duran famously stated. A reporter using alliteration these days would probably be fired unless he was working for the Stumpy Hollow Gazette. Considered very amateurish and just too “cutesy.” I would also eschew hyperbole, at least in a serious poem. It’s really a synonym for melodramatic. If you lower the volume, the effect is infinitely more profound than if you raise it. Let the events speak for themselves—don’t “help” it out by hyperbole. As for metaphor, those are fine. One thing you didn’t mention was symbols. Good. Good writers don’t purposely employ such devices, but let any symbols arise organically out of the work itself and don’t strain to include them. The best symbols and the ones that work are the ones that are original to the poem or story and arise naturally. The ones that don’t work are the ones that are consciously inserted. These are things deconstructionists look for. The artist doesn’t. The artist simply writes a good poem or story.Quality poetry and fiction is always about affecting the reader emotionally, not intellectually.The thing about professors is that they have to have some kind of criteria to judge something. Most of them look for surface things like the aforementioned. It’s what they’ve been trained to do and perhaps all they’re comfortable with. That kind of exposes such a teacher as someone who doesn’t have much faith in their own acumen to judge the quality of work, but depends on these kinds of things. They’re looking at the work in an intellectual light instead of an emotional one. I suspect such a person as being one who hasn’t published much herself, and if so, mostly in obscure places. That may be unfair or even incorrect, but I kind of doubt it.The thing is, writing is based on living languages, English in our case. And, living languages change, mutate, as do tastes in literature. While alliteration, for example, was, at one time, considered a very clever technique, today’s readers are too sophisticated to buy it. It’s like transitions in fiction. It used to be something taught avidly. Today, transitions have adopted movie structure and aren’t signaled like they used to be. Just a couple of examples how both the language and the literary tastes have changed. And continue to change. The problem is, educators in higher education are often behind the times. Just the nature of their jobs… They spend a lot of time, energy and money to learn their body of academia and they’ve invested in it. Makes it difficult for some of them to change sometimes…Hope this helps, K. Thank you so much for letting me use our exchanges.And, send me that rewritten poem! I have a feeling I’m going to want to recommend it to my friend.BTW, I don’t write much poetry, but here’s one I had published in The Blue Moon Literary and Art Review about a year ago. I wrote it shortly after I got out of prison.My Father and Robert Frost/Les Edgerton
            One day I found a volume of poetry by Robert Frost in the prison library at Pendleton and checked it out.            Back in my cell, I read: Home is the place where, when you want to go there, they have to take you in.            When I made parole, I called my mom to tell her my good news. I found out that my dad had never read Robert Frost.            At least not that poem.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this, folks, and that you find it helps inform your own writing.
Blue skies,
Les

A warrior has fallen.

Hi folks,
A warrior has fallen. Cort McMeel has left us.
Cort was my spiritual brother. We talked often and each time left telling the other we were brothers always before we hung up and we were.
I can’t stop crying. If Cort could only see the instant and immense outpouring of love and respect for him that has already begun and is turning into an avalanche of sorrow for our loss of this truly great man… Already, I’ve received dozens and dozens of emails and phone calls and everyone feels the same sense of immense loss of this most amazing man.
If Cort saw me now, with tears running down my cheeks, he’d grimace and tell me to “man up, dude.” He’d reach over and slap me and then he’d grin and we’d be fine. Above all else, Cort was a man’s man. The kind you don’t often run into these days. He took life by the horns and never gave any quarter. He was a fighter and literally. He was a boxer in the ring and a pugilist against the injustices of life. A true and fierce warrior.
He lies now on his shield, gone to, I hope, a better place. The light of the word has been visibly dimmed. We have lost one of the greats. Cort’s vision--his burning ambition--was to be this age’s John Martin. He had a great start on that ambition and if he’d stayed with us, he would have not only become the Martin of this age, but I know for a surety that he would have passed even this legendary editor in his accomplishments.
He was a brilliant writer. His first novel, Short, was a true original, a literary work of the first magnitude. He was close to finishing his second, Cagefighter, and I hope he had it close enough to being finished that it can be published. He founded one of the premier magazines in literary history, Murdaland, and he often told me he felt it to be his favorite body of work and probably his best legacy. He founded Noir Nation and Bare Knuckles Press and everything he did in literature was just of the very finest order. A brilliant writer and perhaps even a more brilliant editor. He had the best eye for literary quality of anyone I’ve ever been privileged to know, and Cort would rather help another writer achieve success than he himself. He was totally selfless and all he ever wanted was to help deliver to the world great writing.
Perhaps no one will ever know the demons that pursued Cort. I know a few of them, but I’m sure I don’t know them all. I do think I know one thing Cort would have wanted. For those who speak of him to speak with the unvarnished truth. He was as honest a man as I’ve ever known. He was as good of a man as I’ve ever known.
Here’s what I do know.
Cort had a drinking jones. Many of us writer-types have the same problem. Kind of goes with the territory. His was because he cared so much. About truth. About literature. About the world around him. More and more, he felt that he couldn’t win. How do I know this? Because we talked and often. We told each other things we told no one else except our wives.
Three weeks ago, Cort called me while he was on the road, driving home. He was decidedly inebriated. I begged him to pull off the road, park his car, call a cab. Sleep it off. In the midst of our conversation, he gave a little yelp and then laughed and said he’d just swerved and almost hit another car.
Cort, I said. Get the fuck off the road. Now. He just laughed and said he’d make it. He did and told me he was pulling into his drive and was okay.
He’d been battling his alcoholism for a long time. A few months ago, he’d joined AA, but it didn’t stick. He joined AA because he loved his wife and his son and daughter so much. He saw what he was doing to them and to himself and he wanted desperately to conquer his addiction. But, like many of us, it was too powerful a foe to vanquish. In the end, it just crushed his ass. Booze has taken a lot of us. It’ll take more.
I talked to a cousin of his today, George Clark, who was his first cousin but told me he was more like Cort’s brother. They were closer than brothers. We feel the same about Cort. The more I talk to people, the more I find the same thing with their relationships with him. He touched so many lives in such a glorious way. I’m just so thankful I got to know and love him.
But, I don’t think it was alcohol that defeated him. I think it was more that he increasingly found himself in a a world in which it had become clear to him that he felt he wasn’t going to win under his terms. He loved literature more than anything and he detested with every fiber of his being what political correctness was doing to our freedom of speech and our literary canon. He just wasn’t the kind of guy who could live with compromise when it came to something this important.
A week and a half ago, Cort called me and he was clearly not himself. Les, he said, I’ve got a huge, huge favor to ask of you and if you refuse, I totally understand. What was going on was he felt pretty sure he was going to lose his job as a trader. He was handling that and had made up his mind that he was going after a job teaching writing, which he loved. His wife Sharon was fine with that, even though it meant less income than what they’d had.
The problem was, as Cort explained, was that he’d already lost three teaching jobs he’d applied to because the schools had seen the Amazon link for my book, The Rapist, which listed him as writing the foreword. It was the title that caused these assholes to refuse to hire him. None of them had read the book, but the title was offensive to them. Their reasoning, he said, was that if any of the students saw it, they’d think he was promoting rape. This is the level our “educators” have fallen to. He detested it, but felt powerless against these kinds of attitudes.
He asked if I’d be willing to take his name off the Amazon entry. There was no way he’d even consider removing the beautiful foreword he’d written, but he said if he could just take his name off he felt that would remove any future objections and he could secure a teaching job. I won’t go into everything he said, but the gist of it was that he felt awful in even asking me such a thing. We both believe fervently in freedom of speech and both of us detested the political correctness imbecilic mania that’s impacting everything about free speech negatively, but he said he desperately needed a job. He hated asking me to do this, but said he’d never even consider removing the foreword itself—just his name on the Amazon blurb.
I didn’t hesitate a second. Absolutely, I told him. The minute we got off the phone, I emailed Jon Bassoff, my publisher and mutual friend and he took Cort’s name down from the Amazon entry immediately.
Cort is the reason this book even got published. In fact, he’d wanted to publish it when he was with Bare Knuckles Press and when he left BKP, he did everything he could to get it published elsewhere and was ecstatic when Jon Bassoff wanted it for NPP because of the tremendous respect he had for Jon and NPP. He told me he felt like he was doing the same thing as John Martin had when he got Charles Bukowski published in the U.S. with Black Sparrow Press. In fact, in dozens and dozens of our conversations, Cort always compared the two of us to Bukowski and Martin. He was extremely proud of his part in getting this book published. He just felt that he was doing a great thing in getting controversial work into the light of day. I agree and I owe Cort everything. I’m not telling this story for any promotional value in the least, but simply to illustrate how the man thought and his creed.
I don’t know nor do I have any way of knowing this, but I feel as if I’m at least partially responsible for Cort choosing suicide. I don’t know if his job search was thwarted because of his association with my book or not. If it was, then I have some guilt to deal with.
But, I think the educators who would deny a supremely talented teacher and writer a job for this most specious of reasons should carry much greater guilt. Not that they will. Those kinds of folks never do.
A few weeks ago, Cort and I had a conversation on the phone about this letter we were both familiar with. It’s from Charles Bukowski to his editor at Black Sparrow, John Martin. I’m reprinting it here in homage to Cort.
8-12-86Hello John:
Thanks for the good letter. I don't think it hurts, sometimes, to remember where you came from. You know the places where I came from. Even the people who try to write about that or make films about it, they don't get it right. They call it "9 to 5." It's never 9 to 5, there's no free lunch break at those places, in fact, at many of them in order to keep your job you don't take lunch. Then there's OVERTIME and the books never seem to get the overtime right and if you complain about that, there's another sucker to take your place.
You know my old saying, "Slavery was never abolished, it was only extended to include all the colors."
And what hurts is the steadily diminishing humanity of those fighting to hold jobs they don't want but fear the alternative worse. People simply empty out. They are bodies with fearful and obedient minds. The color leaves the eye. The voice becomes ugly. And the body. The hair. The fingernails. The shoes. Everything does.
As a young man I could not believe that people could give their lives over to those conditions. As an old man, I still can't believe it. What do they do it for? Sex? TV? An automobile on monthly payments? Or children? Children who are just going to do the same things that they did?
Early on, when I was quite young and going from job to job I was foolish enough to sometimes speak to my fellow workers: "Hey, the boss can come in here at any moment and lay all of us off, just like that, don't you realize that?"
They would just look at me. I was posing something that they didn't want to enter their minds.Now in industry, there are vast layoffs (steel mills dead, technical changes in other factors of the work place). They are layed off by the hundreds of thousands and their faces are stunned:"I put in 35 years . . . "
"It ain't right . . . "
"I don't know what to do . . . "
They never pay the slaves enough so they can get free, just enough so they can stay alive and come back to work. I could see all this. Why couldn't they? I figured the park bench was just as good or being a barfly was just as good. Why not get there first before they put me there? Why wait?
I just wrote in disgust against it all, it was a relief to get the shit out of my system. And now that I'm here, a so-called professional writer, after giving the first 50 years away, I've found out that there are other disgusts beyond the system. . .
I remember once, working as a packer in this lighting fixture company, one of the packers suddenly said: "I'll never be free!"
One of the bosses was walking by (his name was Morrie) and he let out this delicious cackle of a laugh, enjoying the fact that this fellow was trapped for life.
So, the luck I finally had in getting out of those places, no matter how long it took, hasgiven me a kind of joy, the jolly joy of the miracle. I now write from an old mind and an old body, long beyond the time when most men would ever think of continuing such a thing, but since I started so late I owe it to myself to continue, and when the words begin to falter and I must be helped up stairways and I can no longer tell a bluebird from a paperclip, I still feel that something in me is going to remember (no matter how far I'm gone) how I've come through the murder and the mess and the moil, to at least a generous way to die.
To not to have entirely wasted one's life seems to be a worthy accomplishment, if only for myself.
yr boy,

Hank
I don’t know, but I have to wonder if what Bukowski had to say here was on Cort’s mind somewhat. If so, I just wish he’d stuck it out a bit more. I know he often felt the same way Bukowski did about how life beats one down. He’d had more than his share of body slams. But, Cort was always a man of action and I think he just took the wrong action at the wrong time and only wish he’d waited a bit. I wish I’d been there to perhaps talk him off that ledge. It was that wild Irish temper of his that made him impatient. If something wasn't right, he couldn't wait to fix it. He did the only thing he knew to do and that was to give battle. He was the most courageous man I've ever known and he was also at times the rashest. He'd just say it was the Irish in him. The Irish! God, ya gotta love 'em. You'll also end up weeping for 'em.
But, I wasn’t here for him, and it was a decision he faced and made. He must have felt like all hope was gone and that makes me weep more than anything. That a good man like Cort truly was would be bereft of all hope is the saddest thing I can imagine.
I can’t begin to list all the things Cort did for me. He championed my work to everyone he possibly could. He knew I was broke, so he paid for my wife and me to come to St. Louis to take part in Jed Ayres Noir @ The Bar. This fall, he was going to bring me to Denver to take part in the Noir @ The Bar there. He’s done so much for me and my career and more than that we’d become brothers. And, then, when he really needed a brother, I wasn’t there for him. That will haunt me the rest of my life. Cort wouldn’t see it that way at all and I know that and that makes it bearable.
There’s a lesson here, perhaps. To be aware of our brothers and sisters in life. To be sensitive to their needs and their pain and even if they don’t ask, don’t allow the signs to become invisible, but to reach out and let them know we love them and that we’re there for them.
I’ll miss you, my friend. More than anything. You have been my hero since you came into my life and will always be my hero. Thank you.
Finally, Cort fits Bukowski’s final thought above perfectly. To not to have entirely wasted one's life seems to be a worthy accomplishment, if only for myself. Cort’s was not a wasted life—it just should have gone on longer. Even cut far, far too short, it was a worthy accomplishment. He just did so very much for others. The shame is, he would have done far more for himself.
Rest in peace, my brother. You made a difference in my life and in the lives of many others. You will not be forgotten. Everyone of of who are writers has lost a compadre and we all are less than what we were because of it.
Blue skies,Les
What should help Cort’s family is if people buy his novel Short. They’ll be able to receive the royalties so give it some consideration, please.



 For those of you who may not have known Cort, look above at the photo I have on my blog here. Cort is the guy just behind me with the tough guy hat. He was truly a tough guy. One of the fiercest men I've ever  known. He fought for justice and what's right and what is good. I miss him and always will. He was a majestic, heroic man, bigger than life.

Death of my brother

Hi folks,

I just received word that one of my two best friends in the world has taken his own life. I won't post anything about this wonderful man and my "brother" until I find out all the facts, but the world has lost a great, great writer, my mentor and my champion in all things literary. He was one of the world's best literary minds that has ever existed.

I'm devastated to my core. All I can feel at this time is profound grief. As soon as I find out the entire situation, I'll post more. It may be that his family will need some financial help and if so I may make an appeal to his fellow writers and the readers who loved this man and his work.

At this time, I won't tell his name until I know that it's all right to do so.

Les

Pulp Pusher: PUSHED FOR ANSWERS: Les Edgerton

Pulp Pusher: PUSHED FOR ANSWERS: Les Edgerton: AS HE turns 70 Les Edgerton must be fearing the 'veteran author' tag, but going on the reviews of his latest novel, The Rapist, he might be getting closer to the term 'immortal'.

SHORT STORY REVIEW BY BRIAN PANOWICH

Hi folksBrian Panowich just gave one of my short stories a really nice shout-out and review over at Chris Rhatigan's blog "DEATH BY KILLING" that I'm proud to share with y'all. Death by KillingReviews of Short Fiction

1. Hatpin By Jen Conley
Ms. Conley has consistently turned out some of the best fiction on the planet, and this one over at Shotgun Honey is where my love affair with her stuff began. It’s full of hard as nails female characterization and a lesson in making every word count. Mary Mulligan is my dream girl.

http://www.shotgunhoney.net/2012/05/hatpin-by-jen-conley.html

2. Seeds By Chris Leek
Chris can throw dialogue into any situation, or timeframe, like it’s nobody’s business. From the world of a hardened black jack dealer in Pigeon, over at Grift Magazine, to trailer trash jargon like A Redheaded Woman, at The Flash Fiction Offensive, but nothing compares to the old western revenge tale Seeds, at The Big Adios. You would think Mr. Leek grew up on a mountain learning how to talk by listening to his uncles and cousins while they brewed up another batch ‘o shine. As good or better than any script Sergio Leone worked from.

http://www.thebigadios.com/2013/02/seeds-by-chris-leek.html

3. Pit Stop By Les Edgerton
I bought the first issue of Noir Nation Magazine on a whim, not knowing who Les Edgerton was. It included his story Pit Stop and I read it in a fever. It was full of matter-of-fact straight talk that bowled me over. Not once did it feel like “writing”. That shit is what I had been looking for. Lucky for me (and you) the story was an excerpt from the BEST BOOK I’ve read in years called JUST LIKE THAT. Buy it. Read it. Break something. You’re welcome.

http://www.amazon.com/Noir-Nation-International-Journal-ebook/dp/B005JTMIPW/ref=la_B000APH7SI_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361726865&sr=1-15

4. Folded Blue By John Rector
I know this story was written in 2011, but it’s new to me, so I’m breaking the rules a bit. Sometimes a story taps into something so raw and primal that the reader has no choice but to carry it around with them forever. There’s no un-ringing the bell. It’s yours now, whether you want it or not. That’s Folded Blue by John Rector over at Shotgun Honey. It’s the literary equivalent to a layer of greasy film you can’t scrub off. It’s brilliant.

http://www.shotgunhoney.net/2011/05/folded-blue-by-john-rector.html

5. Push, Push, Push By Ryan Sayles
I’m going to catch a little grief for including Ryan on this list, considering he’s a good friend of mine, and we’ve written a few books together (SEE HERE), but you know what? Fuck ‘em. The guy can write. I’m going to bend the rules a little further by recommending a story no one has read yet except the editors who keep rejecting it. (Yes, it’s that good.) In 2011, Sayles and I both submitted some stories to an anthology that was kicking off, and we both got rejected. I asked him to send it to me, and I can see why it keeps getting turned down.

Because it’s fucking brilliant.

Sometimes the world needs time to catch up to genius, or maybe they’re just scared. The story is one huge chunk of dread that sits on your chest and squeezes the life out of you. You know what’s coming. You know you can’t stop it. And as horrific as the ending is, it had to be that way. It makes sense. The world is a fucked up place. Anyway, all you editors looking for the next greatest thing, go read Push, Push, Push by Ryan Sayles and publish it, so the rest of the world can be in the know. You can reach him at his personal email address ryan.sayles@gmail.com or his private cell phone number 510-379-8640. Again, you’re welcome.Posted by Chris Rhatiganat 9:05 AM 

  Blue skies,Les

FINAL TWO PARTS OF DIALOG POSTS ON KRISTEN LAMB'S BLOG

Hi folks,

Below are the last two parts of the guest blogpost I did at the invitation of Kristen Lamb on her Warrior Writer blog.

Hope they prove of some help in your own writing!


From Kristen's blog...

Les Edgerton & Two Tips to Take Your Dialogue to a WHOLE New Level–Part 3Posted by Author Kristen Lamb in Writing Tips on April 8, 2013
Hey, Guys. You wanted to learn how to write AMAZING, PAGE-TURNING DIALOGUE, so I kidnapped  recruited the best. Les Edgerton has been so generous with his time and talent, and we are SUPER grateful. I promise to release Les back into the wild…eventually.
Take it away, Les!
Thanks for having me back on, Kristen! There were several things I neglected to talk about on dialogue in the first two posts, so I wanted to include them here. There are many other elements of good dialogue than posted here, but these are kind of important.
Now, here are the couple of things I neglected to cover in the first two posts.
Format with Tags
One is the format of dialogue with tags. I suspect that this one will draw as many responses from folks who don’t buy it as there were who resisted using “said” as dialogue tag verbs. It’s your choice—I’m just relaying the mindset of many editors.
It’s very simple. The accepted format for dialogue tags these days is “He/she/name said.” Almost always. What is considered archaic and musty is this construction: “Said he/she/name.”
About the only folks still using this latter format are some older journalists, some writers from other cultures (Canada comes to mind), brand names, and writers who haven’t kept up with current usages. Which leads me to make a big point—brand names—those authors with significant followings—can make every mistake in the book and get away with it.They’re beyond such limitations, simply because their readerships are such that publishers will accept just about anything they publish.Stephen King could probably publish his grocery list and it would hit the bestseller lists… Although, King is such a terrific writer, he wouldn’t (and doesn’t) break very many of these rules and conventions. This is just to make you aware that many times brand name authors aren’t always the folks to go to for writing models. Simply because they can get away with things that unknown writers can’t.
The reality is, King can do things we can’t. Same goes for any brand name author. That doesn’t mean their work is valueless for instruction—it has immense value. There’s a reason they’re popular and it’s almost always the writing. But, always look at it with a grain of salt and become thoroughly familiar with the direction fiction is taking because there are popular authors who haven’t kept up and whose books, if modeled for your own efforts, may work against you.
Whenever I have a student point out an example in a published book that goes contrary to the advice I’ve given them, my first question is: “Is this from a brand-name author?” If it is, then I ask them to consider the source. And to gently let them know that while it may not be fair, it’s the reality that we (unknowns) have to be better in many ways that established writers with significant followings don’t have to be.
If anyone’s parents told them the world was fair, they did them a disservice…
Conflict
The second thing I neglected to touch on is conflict. We all know that there has to be conflict on every single page of a novel for it to work, and this is especially true in dialogue. That’s why Q&A dialogue doesn’t work. There’s virtually no conflict in it.
I advise my novel writing students and clients constantly that the protagonist should never, ever gain anything easily, no matter how seemingly trivial the exchange is. 
An example I give often is to tell them that if they have their protagonist stop a bum on the street to ask directions to a bar she’s pretty sure is a block or two away but isn’t sure in what direction, she should have the bum say something to the effect of: “Whadda I look like, Sweetpea? The frickin’ Chamber of Commerce?” And, then, either give up the info grudgingly or walk off and let her find her own way. The point being, never let the protagonist gain things easily. Never.
In dialogue, when the protagonist is trying to gain information, it should be like pulling teeth. Now, that doesn’t mean there should be a war created to gain a simple piece of information. The writer needs to tailor the conflict proportionally to the value of what she’s after.
In the example above, this is plenty. What she’s after is just a simple direction. It doesn’t rise to the level of WWIII. But… there should be at least a bit of conflict and resistance to gain her answer. 
When the information is valuable, the conflict needs to be ratcheted up in proportion.
This is one of the primary keys to creating tension and tension is the lifeblood of a successful novel. Nothing should be gained easily and the opposition to her gaining it should be proportional to the value it holds. The other primary key to a quality read is to keep posing story questions, one after another after another after another… ad nauseum.
I’ve barely touched on the subject, but hope there’s some food for thought here for most readers.
The main thing is—keep up on what passes for contemporary usages these days and keep those red flags to a minimum. And, remember, no one has ever written a perfect novel. Every single novel ever published has flaws. Perfection is an impossible goal. Can’t be done. Just get it as good as you possibly can and send it out. And begin on a new work and try to make it even “gooder.”
Remember: When you’re green, you’re growing. And, when you’re ripe, you’re rotten. Writing has changed greatly in the past ten-twenty years and it’s going to keep on changing. What I said here—at least some of it—will eventually be outdated. It’s one reason to keep reading voraciously and to keep reading craft books.
Hope this helps!Blue skies,Les
Les, THANK YOU SO MUCH. For my readers, Les will be back tomorrow with some final advice about your writing and your careers as authors, so I hope you’ll join us.

A Final Word from Les Edgerton–Fortune Favors the PreparedPosted by Author Kristen Lamb in Writing Tips on April 9, 2013

Today, is Les Edgerton’s last post in this series. We’ve been extraordinarily blessed to learn from him, so I hope y’all will give him a digital hug or round of applause. Les will soon be teaching on-line classes for WANA, so I’ll let you know when those are available.
Take it away, Les!
All of the points we’ve covered in this dialogue series are intended for one purpose only—to help writers avoid the red flags that improper dialogue can create for agents and editors… and readers.And that’s what they are—red flags. That doesn’t mean that breaking any of these “rules” or conventions will doom your mss from being taken, but it does mean the presence of them can cast a negative light on your work. And, I imagine we all want to avoid that!
Also, there will be a great many examples of novels that break these precepts. There are many reasons for that. Contrary to popular opinion, novels don’t make it into print simply because they’re quality writing. There are many other factors at work. Factors that the writer may or may not have control over.
For instance, novels are published because the author has made a personal connection with a publisher. When an editor knows someone and likes that person, it’s not uncommon for that person’s book to be taken over another more worthy one. Happens all the time.
Or, an author may have had one or more successful novels already published and the current one may not be as good as the mss lying on the same desk as an unknown author, but the lesser quality novel will be taken. Again, happens all the time.
Sometimes, even though the novel breaks all kinds of rules, something in a novel like this may simply appeal to an individual editor. Maybe it’s the voice. Maybe it’s the setting—my first novel was taken by accident because of its setting. The Death of Tarpons had been rejected 86 times before I sent it to the University of North Texas Press.
That’s EIGHTY-SIX times!
That was in the days of snail mail submissions, where you had to pay the postage for the mss to the editor and also provide return postage. That was during a time when my family ate a lot of beans and really couldn’t afford to buy the tons of stamps I needed. I had made my mind up that once I reached 100 rejections, I would “retire” the manuscript.
What happened was that it landed on the desk of UNT’s publisher, Fran Vick. Unbeknownst to me at the time, UNT had never before published fiction. If I’d known that, I never would have sent it. 
Anyway, Fran’s secretary had unwrapped the day’s mail and as it by chance happened, mine was the first mss on Fran’s desk. Her normal routine when presented with a fiction mss, was for her to not even read it, but just stick a standard rejection notice in it and have her secretary send it back.
Luck was on my side!
As Fran related to me later (I’ve just revealed a happy ending and taken all the tension out of this, haven’t I!), her secretary was bringing her her morning cup of coffee and something happened where she had to remake the pot. That gave Fran an extra five minutes or so before she began her “official” day, so, for want of anything else to do, she picked up the first page of my novel and began idly to read it. If it wasn’t for her secretary’s failing to deliver her that cup of coffee, none of what happened next would have ever happened.
It’s what she read on that first page that induced her to keep reading. The novel was set in Freeport, Texas, the town I grew up in. Like most first novels, it was an autobiographical, “coming-of-age” novel (there’s a cliché for ya!). The thing is… Freeport was Fran’s hometown!
What editor can resist reading about their own hometown, especially when that town is a tiny burg like Freeport? A New York City editor, glancing at the first page of a mss and seeing it’s set in NYC isn’t going to be nearly as intrigued as an editor from Freeport, Texas reading a novel set in… Freeport, Texas!
As it turned out, Fran also knew my grandmother who was prominently on the page immediately and was instantly drawn into the story and read it all the way through, got on the phone, and offered to buy it.
So, there’s luck involved sometimes. Although, the book was well-written, so it also pays to be ready for luck when it appears. Fortune favors the prepared! The book went on to be well-reviewed and sold very well and earned a Special Mention from the Violet Crown Book Awards.
The point is, there are so many factors out of your control that can lead to or prevent publication. But, there are factors that you can control and among them are adhering to contemporary writing styles and conventions. And that is the impetus behind these precepts. To help you avoid many of the red flags that may prevent your mss from getting a fair and thorough reading.
Okay? Best of luck to all of you and your writing endeavors!
Blue skies,Les
Les, THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH. We really appreciate you taking so much time from your packed schedule. Kristen Lamb
And there you have it, folks. Hope you enjoyed the posts.
BTW, so far, THE RAPIST has garnered 22 reviews on Amazon and every single one has been five stars! I'm stoked! Blue skies,Les

GUEST POST ON WARRIOR WRITERS ON SUBTEXT

Hi folks,

Below is Part II of the guestblog I did for Kristen Lamb for her blog Writer Warriors. It contains an exercise teachers can use for their writing classes on how to write dialog with subtext (off-the-nose dialog). Hope it helps!

Click HERE for the post on Kristen's blog, along with the comments which were amazing.

From Kristen's blog:



Les Edgerton Shows How to Write Amazing Dialogue–Part 2 AN EXERCISE


I hope you guys enjoyed Les’s guest post yesterday. Today, Les is offering a bonus…an EXERCISE to help you develop your skills for writing killer dialogue.
Take it away, Les!
Exercise on Subtext
This exercise is primarily for the teacher teaching basic writing principles, although perhaps even more advanced writers may get something out of it. It’s an exercise I use in my “on-ground” classes when I’m teaching at a college.
It represents a very basic example of dialogue that’s not “on-the-nose” or a Q&A exchange, to show students a very easy to understand example of how off-the-nose dialogue works and how subtext informs the dialogue more than the actual dialogue.
I usually have two students come to the front of the room and read the following script. Then, I ask the questions that follow. It’s a simple exercise, but I’m happy to report that most of the students really enjoy coming up with their own exchanges, which is part of the assignment.
If anyone uses this in an actual class, I’d love to hear your feedback. (Also, you may want to write your own example—I admit this isn’t deathless prose, but hey! I wrote it in about five minutes. Gimme a break…)
DIALOGUE EXERCISEShe: The Bentley’s baby was cute, wasn’t it?He: I don’t think I saw it. I was in the kitchen with the guys all night.She: Well, she was a cute little baby.He: Great. Women think all babies are cute. Ever heard a woman say someone’s kid was ugly? I mean, except for Shrek’s parents’ friends?She: Brad and Gena seem so happy.He: They should be. He just got a promotion.She: Silly! I mean the baby.He: There goes the promotion. The raise part of it, anyway.She: I think they’ll manage. Babies are worth a sacrifice or two.He: If you say so.She: Look at it practically. Their little girl will probably take care of them in their old age.He: That’s a great tradeoff. Let’s see… take care of a kid for 22 years—I’m including college—and they stick you in a home for your final three years. Probably use your own money to fund your own old folks’ home. Sounds like a good deal.She: It’s not like that.He: Yeah. Whatever.Silence for a few seconds.She: Samantha.He: Huh?She: Samantha. They named her Samantha. I think that’s cute. I wonder if they’ll call her “Sam.”He: They ought to call her “Stinky.”She: What?He: You heard me. “Stinky.” The kid smells.She: All kids smell when they make a mess. You smelled. Besides, how would you know if she smelled? You said you stayed in the kitchen.He: All kids smell.She: Then you change their diaper.He: Yeah. There goes the entertainment budget.She: You mean the beer budget.He: So?She: So is if you cut out a few beers, you’d have plenty of diapers… and lose a few pounds…He: You sayin’ I’m fat?She: I’m saying diapers don’t cost that much. A six-pack or two.He: Maybe. But how many six-packs does it cost to send a kid to college?She (laughing): About what you go through in a week!He (mutters): Must be a cheap school. All the classes on the Internet? The school’s in the Caribbean?She: She’ll probably get scholarships anyway.He: That’s cool. That means she’ll spend all her time partyin’. End up pregnant.She: She’ll be way too smart for that.He: Like her mom was?
Who were this man and woman really talking about? What did the woman want? What did the man want? Did either of them come right out and say what they were really talking about?
This is dialogue that isn’t “on the nose.” It’s one way good dialogue is written. What’s important is what isn’t said–the subtext. The subtext is the real message that’s under the surface of the actual dialogue spoken.
This is what I want you to write (in teams). Two people talking about something that is really being expressed in subtext—dialogue that’s not “on the nose.” You can pick any subject you want for them to discuss (within reason!). Whatever they’re really talking about can’t be mentioned. After you deliver your dialogue, the class will attempt to guess what it is you’ve really been talking about.
Time: 2-3 minutes performance time per person. I’d rehearse this so your team falls within the time limit. That’s where I’ll take the most points off, for being short of the minimum.
Notes: You don’t need to memorize the exchange but can read off your script.
Bonus points: Your team can gain bonus points if you use props and/or costumes. (I’ve had some really original costumes and props show up…)
Hope this helps understand better what subtext is and what off-the-nose dialogue is. Write solid subtext dialogue and you’ll draw comparisons to folks like Elmore Leonard!
Bonus tips: Nothing to do with dialogue but just two tips to becoming a better writer.
1. Don’t show a “single tear coursing down the cheek” of a character. It isn’t dramatic; it’s a cliché. It’s a moronic cliché. Plus, it makes the reader wonder if the other tear duct is clogged or if only one tear shows a person with some kind of half-ass control over their emotion where they can control one eye but not both at the same time…
2. Don’t ever write a sentence like: I wonder if he’ll like me, she thought to herself. I mean… who else does a person think to other than themselves? Unless it’s a sci-fi novel and people can think to others…
These two things are my personal bugaboos in writing. I throw up in my mouth whenever I encounter these puppies! Sometimes, I do more than just choke up a bit of bile. At times, I’ve hurled chunks when encountering these in a student’s work… Just sayin’…
Thank you Les for this wonderful exercise. I am trying to twist Les’s arm for a Part Three on Monday, so here’s hoping [image error].
Kristen Lamb
Les Edgerton is the author of HOOKED,  THE RAPIST, THE BITCH and others.

Thanks for reading, folks. Hope it helps give you another way to see subtext.
Blue skies,Les