Darius Jones's Blog: A Writer Begins, page 8

What’s in My Bag? (Bookstore stop in Staunton)

[This is the first in a continuing series: “What’s in My Bag?” where I describe my recent purchases at a bookstore.]

Good ideas were meant to be stolen. I’m stealing this idea from the legendary Amoeba’s record store in L.A. But instead of sharing what records/CDs I bought, I am going to share the books I bought at a bookstore during a road trip. So, here we go…

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Where: Staunton, Virginia. Including Black Swan Books and others.

When: September 2019 [I will update with more precise date...

The Craft: How Writing a Novel Is Like Climbing a Mountain

[This is part of a continuing series on the art of writing fiction.]

And now, back to the craft of writing fiction.

Did you ever think about how writing a novel (or any longer piece) is like climbing a mountain? I have.

I have long struggled with how much to plan out what I write. The whole old controversy between “Plotters” and “Pantsers”: those who have to “plot” out every scene and those who just jump in a go “by the seat of their pants.”

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I quickly found out that I’m more of a Plotter. Especially, when it comes to shorter works....

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Darius Is Now on Instagram

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I have no idea why a scopophobic writer would join Instagram. But, OK, I have and you can find me at the same place you find me on Twitter:

dariusjoneswrit

So, go and check it out and get, errrrr, images from a writer. (Why would anyone want that?) Everything you ever wanted, right?

See you next time!

Darius

Tales from the Ragged Mountains: Tracking Poe Through a Tour of Virginia

First, I am doing much, much better in body and mind after last month’s scare. I don’t want to dwell on it, other than to say “I’m much better.”

Now, with that out of way, I want to dive back into life and the gathering autumn. For me this season has always been a time of rebirth and renewal, of turning to new and different things as we look forward to the promise of a new year. And what better way to celebrate than to get out there and enjoy the change of weather?

“…It was night in the lonesome October
Of...

Tales from the Ragged Mountains: Tracking Poe Through an Autumn Tour of Virginia

First, I am doing much, much better in body and mind after last month’s scare. I don’t want to dwell on it, other than to say “I’m much better.”

Now, with that out of way, I want to dive back into life and the gathering autumn. For me this season has always been a time of rebirth and renewal, of turning to new and different things as we look forward to the promise of a new year. And what better way to celebrate than to get out there and enjoy the change of weather?

“…It was night in the lon...

On Being Shot

A writer — and, I believe, generally all persons — must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art. – JL Borges

Writing weaves in and out of our life. It weaves in and out.

So this happened. It actually happened.

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I was at my p...

The Craft: How to Avoid Self-Sabotage in Fiction Writing

This writing gig can be hard at times, Folks. But along the way, you start picking up little tricks to keep you going and stay productive. Here’s a big one I’ve recently learned…Let’s see if I can explain…

A while back I was tearing through my latest story, just ripping through words. Adding up word counts, keeping the plot arcs going, all that. I hit a new section, things slowed down and then slowly, almost imperceptibly ground to a halt. Don’t know why. Was I burnt out? No. Did I not outlin...

Writing Update & Podcast Recommends

Hey everyone.

It’s good to be back on the blog. I don’t have much to report or even say right now. Honestly, the blog has left me feeling a bit wrung out lately. I feel there are (bloggish) things I want to say, yes, but I really don’t feel the motivation to say them right now. So, that’s where I’m at.

But…but…I have been writing. Writing, writing, writing. Of course, it’s not in the context of a blog, it’s a story. And stories are my thing. What I want to be writing. And the good  news is th...

The Craft: Do You Write Characters or Do You Write People?

[This is part of a continuing series on the art of writing fiction.]

When you write fiction, do you write characters or do you write people? I mean do you write about and through a character or do you write about someone you once knew?

And when you write, say, an action scene…is it something you’re entirely making up in your head? Or is it based on something you once experienced?

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I’ve done both. But lately, I’ve change my thinking on the subject. I used to think, “Well, I’m writing fiction....

Rare B-Sides: Gogol’s “The Portrait”

[This post is part of a series on literary works that deserve a wider audience.]

Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these…But, we return once again to a Rare B-Side of world literature. This time, it’s Nikolai Gogol‘s “The Portrait.”

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I love me some Gogol. I’ve raved about him in other places (like my Twitter feed, some cafes and a few bars). He’s a too-often neglected 19th century Russian writer, a sort of Russian Edgar Allen Poe. But that is a gross over simplification!

Let’s...