Java Davis's Blog, page 17
November 11, 2015
Book Review: Write Great Dialogue, Irving Weinman (3 coffee beans)
This is not a road trip book, but many of the Road Trip Writer posse are writers. As a writer myself, a criticism that I frequently receive is that I need to use more dialogue.
This book covers the two sides of dialogue: 1) using it almost exclusively, and 2) using it minimally, interjected into basic story-telling. I appreciate the author’s organization of material. Topics flow well. Another interesting topic that Weinman covered is the misuse of syntax intentionally to create a mood or add an additional dimension.
Some of Weinman’s examples for the use of dialogue seem spot on, easily understood. Other examples, especially quotes from his own novels, drag on and on, out of context from the books they came from.
I recommend this book, and I did go through the whole book, but I also skipped pages and pages of illustrative dialogue.
November 5, 2015
I’ve Got a Secret
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to announce that I won an award. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say for now until it’s officially announced by the organization. But, ….
I WON I WON I WON!
November 2, 2015
December 10 Meet the Author
On Thursday, December 10, BookRhythm.com and BookRhythm on Facebook will be sponsoring a Meet the Author (me). Use this link to see details or sign up to attend.
I’m super excited about this. YAY!
Meet the Author December 10
October 30, 2015
An African Orphanage
An African Orphanage
My friends told me about an African orphanage that needs help. They live on a mountain, and it gets cold there. Hearing about the cold mountain weather surprised me. I had the stereotypical view that Africa is always hot. Thinking about it, it’s a huge continent and must have all kinds of weather across it.
With tons of extra yarn in the house, I knitted and crocheted a bag of scarves for the kids. I meant to do a good deed and get rid of yarn scraps, but it’s more than that now. The orphanage has just had a huge influx of children, especially unwed teens with new babies. So, I’m off to the craft store to buy more yarn, baby yarn. I’m driven to do more for these children, whom I picture shivering with cold. As crazy as it sounds, this is my contribution to make their world a little better.
October 26, 2015
Working the Bucket List
Saturday, I drove a Mercedes-Benz Smart Car, which has been on my bucket list since they first hit the roadways. It’s a two-seater car that kind of looks like the front cab of a mini-bus that was hacked off. Let’s face it; they are adorable.
The Smart Car ride was jolting. The shock absorption sucked, there was no back seat, there was no place to put my purse and my cane with the salesman in the passenger seat, and, well, if I did buy one, the two dogs would have to run alongside. They take high-test gasoline, too. But they handle like crazy, and it really was a fun, short trip.
Why am I telling you all this? It’s not a car ad. It’s a bucket list with one item crossed off.
Cross something off your bucket list before year-end. Tell us what it was and how it went.
October 22, 2015
Book Review: The Way Down
http://theroadtripwriter.com/book-rev...
Book Review: The Way Down, Ardin Lalui (one coffee bean)
A while back, i read Ardin Lalui’s novella, There Is No Otherwise, which was atmospheric, pognant, and evocative. I had high hopes for this novella, The Way Down.
It is the story of a man who is a loser on many levels, in a hapless marriage and a gambler with a large amount of debt to a very bad man. The debt and interest can disappear, plus a $3,000 bonus if only Art would agree to kill Roose’s wife Martha. Art agrees, and thus begins an endless road trip. The road trip starts in California, and as Art gets to know Martha on the way to Mexico, he falls in love. He kills her anyway, comes back to California and continues to mess up his life further. The opening chapter was written the way I would have expected from Lalui, clear and haunting. The rest went from mediocre to ridiculous. I am beyond unimpressed.
Art cracks his victim on the head with a boating oar, and instead of her screaming and crying, she lectures him sweetly about how she understands. After a long conversation, he finishes killing her. Then he proceeds to cross the border back into California, tries to find someone who cares that Martha is dead, tells his wife Constance about it and she sees the mark of Cain on him. Her husband is cursed. Constance runs back to her family in Amish country in Pennsylvania, and Art proceeds to drive across country to rejoin her, spending perhaps $40 in gasoline to drive across the entire United States in a 30-year-old junker car, and falling in love with a different Martha along the way.
Are you bored yet? This is the first time I’ve ever asked Amazon to refund my money for a Kindle book.
Definitely do read There Is No Otherwise (modern Western), and definitely skip The Way Down.
October 17, 2015
Road Trip to the Senior Years
My husband and I took a road trip today through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to visit a recent and growing senior housing development way out in the country. They were was sponsoring an open house. My husband is being dragged kicking and screaming into his older years. He still has a few more years of working life before retirement. He’s ready to retire right this minute; he’s just not ready to get old.
A very important aspect of an open house is the snacks. They sucked. But the place was great. By the time we’re ready, there will be a waiting list 3 years long. It’s hard to find that balance betwen “I’m ready” and “This is the place.”
