tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post3555099698299667010..comments2024-03-29T03:36:27.656-04:00Comments on Murder is Everywhere: Paying in GoldOvidia Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749549092493567689noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-38701764357092247242010-02-04T16:03:28.145-05:002010-02-04T16:03:28.145-05:00I agree with everyone. Like Phil, I believe my li...I agree with everyone. Like Phil, I believe my life would be much poorer without the thousands of novels available to me. Like Dan, I find the beginning of the novel more fun than drugs ever were, even at their best, and everything after that less fun than drugs ever were, even at their worst. And like Igor Prawn (of the Sussex Prawns, perhaps?) I agree that the best way to end up as a writer with a small amount of money is to begin as a writer with a large amount of money.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-46253513154846579582010-02-04T07:34:52.193-05:002010-02-04T07:34:52.193-05:00For sure the best way to become a writer is to bec...For sure the best way to become a writer is to become independently wealthy first.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15591062925663360015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-88091947920920396102010-02-01T15:26:11.745-05:002010-02-01T15:26:11.745-05:00I always find starting to write a book a pretty t...I always find starting to write a book a pretty thrilling feeling; the empty page, the plot buzzing in your head, ideas waiting to be set down, everything clicking into place. Then you start writing and it becomes a series of compromises, rewrites and minor agonies. Hope gives way to anguish. <br /><br />You hand it in, shake your head, vow that the next one will be the real killer. Cue empty page etc repeat to fade.<br /><br />Still, beats working for a living!Dan Waddellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04320741202757960766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-18499628963954895952010-02-01T11:54:54.136-05:002010-02-01T11:54:54.136-05:00Very thoughtful piece Tim...thanks for sharing thi...Very thoughtful piece Tim...thanks for sharing this...CaraAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-34548506964168859512010-01-31T18:52:43.110-05:002010-01-31T18:52:43.110-05:00"What surprises me is that anyone ever actual...<i>"What surprises me is that anyone ever actually finishes one."</i><br /><br />Me, too, Tim, but I'm eternally grateful that some of them do.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09974356693812650266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-37470326501662046002010-01-31T15:38:50.381-05:002010-01-31T15:38:50.381-05:00Hi, Roaming Writer -- No, it's bad enough to l...Hi, Roaming Writer -- No, it's bad enough to let go of a book you think is perfect. And then the ARC arrives and parts of it seem really, really lame.<br /><br />Ann Elle -- Thanks. I can't think of anything harder than doing a proper book report on THE RECOGNITIONS. At 900-some pages, with probably 75 characters (Otto is a sort of major minor character), and dense with artistic, literary, and religious allusions, it's a cognitive boulder. In fact the book's first tier of reviewers in the 1950s had no idea in the world what to make of it, and it disappeared without a ripple, to be rediscovered in the 1970s.<br /><br />Beth, you're as right as Solomon. Words are our tools, our limiting devices, and at times our enemies. They can give you a plausible surface when what you're looking for is depth. They can fool you into writing something pretty where what's needed is something beautiful, and they can let you screen your book's failures from yourself behind a web of plausibility. (This is especially true of character inconsistencies.)<br /><br />Love the idea that Poke wants to say some things, and if he does, what he wants to do is speak out on behalf of the disadvantaged.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-46861936456145895882010-01-31T12:52:14.104-05:002010-01-31T12:52:14.104-05:00Words are the most potent force, for good or evil,...Words are the most potent force, for good or evil, in the world. Lawyers use words to condemn or exonerate but juries aren't convinced by words alone; there is evidence and there is the tone of voice and the emphasis placed on words by lawyers and witnesses, there are visual cues in the demeanor of the speakers. The words don't stand alone, and so, neither do the lawyers. Preachers and speakers are actors of sorts, using their voices as instruments and their gestures as stage directions, pointing the audience to where they want them to go. Their words don't stand alone either.<br /><br />In writing a novel, the author only has the words. Writers must have an immense store of courage. It is that leap into the unknown when the book is finally out there, waiting to be judged by people who come to it with an infinite number of expectations, that requires the author to have faith that at least one person will understand.<br /><br />Perhaps writers finish their books because they believe in the power of the story to enlighten, amuse, teach, and expand the horizons of the readers who are hungry for the experience. Authors create their own worlds and then invite strangers to visit. How scary is that? And I think, too, that Poke Rafferty has things he wants to say and he needs you to get the message out.<br /><br />Bethbethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17405199782450351160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-85765019352978658652010-01-31T08:29:12.740-05:002010-01-31T08:29:12.740-05:00You made a book report into a wonderfully creative...You made a book report into a wonderfully creative way to look at writing. Great job.<br /><br />annAnn Elle Altmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02192162600274764681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-9229078514787115832010-01-31T00:05:01.825-05:002010-01-31T00:05:01.825-05:00I accidentally hit publish instead of save on a pi...I accidentally hit publish instead of save on a piece of reflective poetry piece on my blog this week and sent it, naked and unedited into the world. Glad I haven't done that with any books!roamingwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11798304569822903068noreply@blogger.com