Another Blog

Check out another writer's blog at the Writing Space.

Off They Go!

I wrote the cover letters and packed everything up. It's ready to go into the mail on Monday! Now I'm going to reward myself by reading. Right now I'm reading P.S.: A Novel by Helen Schulman. Stay tuned for a review . . .

Revising the Revision

Finally done with the nose-hair story. Done. Done. Done. Dead tired. I need to write the three cover letters & buy envelopes. Tomorrow says the Sandman. It's goodnight time in Bloggerland.

Into the Abyss

The above subject line is where I sometimes think the few pieces I have submitted go. It is odd. I spend all this time writing and revising to send something out. And once I send it, fwoosh! Black hole. One thing I am doing to keep myself reminded that I actually am pursuing my dream is using the Submission Tracker on Writersmarket.com. Of course, one has to pay for a subscription to use it, but a person can add all of the market's information as well as information about the manuscript and what one would like to track (query letter, manuscript). It is a nifty tool that keeps me reminded that my work has not gone into some Orwellian incinerator and that any day now I'm going to be manacled and shuttled off for being a "thought criminal."

Picking My "Nose"

I finished editing the hard copy of "The Fine Art of Nose-Hair Removal." Tomorrow, I just need to make the changes to file and submit it. I intend to submit it to the The Paris Review, Tin House, and Zoetrope: All-Story. Ambitious, I know, but I figured I'd go for the gold the first time around. Thank God for simultaneous submissions!

Blog Alert

Check out this blog I came across. There's lots of varying information on Fides, Cogitatio, Actio. From Christian prayers to ultrasonic squirrels, this site has a lot of interesting information.

Time to Pick Classes

I just got the listing of classes for the New School. So much to choose from! I have to pick one literature seminar and one writer's workshop. Plus, there is a Writer's Life Colloquium where I need to attend eight readings/seminars of my choosing throughout the semester (Joyce Carol Oates and Art Spiegelman are among the speakers. Also, The finalists from the National Book Awards will be doing a reading.) But as for the writer's workshop and lit seminar, I need to choose one professor for each. For the past month I have been trying to read one book from each prospective professor, but I have not quite finished yet. However, I am leaning toward taking James Lasdun for my writer's workshop and Jeffery Renard Allen for my literature seminar. The subject for Professor Allen's seminar is "Shadow Narration." I also like the reading list of books for the class, mainly because I have not read any of them and he recommends a number of additional books on writing itself. Can you tell that I am excited?

Blissfully Sidelined

I am taking a two-day break from my novel to revise a short story I wrote for my graduate-school application. I plan on submitting it somewhere tomorrow. It is called "The Fine Art of Nose-Hair Removal" and here's a taste:

“It seems to me that this article should only be one line: ‘Use a rotary nose-hair trimmer,’” Lloyd Dunkirk slumped in the plush chair in his editor’s office.

Wally Reincastle looked at Lloyd over the top of his glasses, perched on the tip of his nose. “Our research indicated that not too many of our readers use those things, Lloyd. They have been around for a long time and still haven’t gained acceptance. I mean, Christ, you can still get them from the same catalogs as whoopee cushions.”

“Research?”

“And besides, the article is ‘The Fine Art of Nose-Hair Removal.’ If one used an electric trimmer, it wouldn’t exactly be a ‘fine art’ now would it, Lloyd?”

Lloyd stared at Reincastle’s bloated face. “Well, can you give it to someone else? What about Smith or Mulaney? They’re still young pups. I was hoping to work on my ‘Low-Fat Egg Alternatives’ idea.”

Reincastle had closed his eyes and was slowly massaging the lids. “Lloyd, you’ve been doing food articles for over five years now. It’s time to diversify. Do some fitness. Do some hygiene. I’m trying to help you out here. You’re forty years old. You’re never going to move up at Fly Guy Fitness if you don’t diversify.”

“But . . .”

“And besides, I need you on this one. You’re the only one that can pull it off. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to talk to Reynolds. She thinks eyebrow waxing is a relevant topic. Imagine, eyebrow waxing.” He stuck a pen in his mouth and picked up the phone.

Comedy, Music, Photography

That's right, my cousin-in-law, Molly Beck Ferguson, is accomplished in comedy, music and photography. In fact she was just accepted to the Second City Conservatory due to her comedic talents. Check out her photography Web site. Between her and my cousin, James Ferguson, they are quite a power couple!

Minneapolis is Most Literate City

I am not moving to Minneapolis any time soon, but check this out. It is pretty interesting. (Of course they read a lot. There's a lot of sitting by the fire on those cold Minneapolis nights!)

Yahoo! News - Minneapolis ranks highest of the literates, study finds

Writing and Substance Abuse

I once thought that part of being a writer was living a hard life: smoking Parliments, drinking tequila, and passing out with a pad and paper in my hand. Or I thought writing was smoking marijuana and igniting not only a joint, but also my slumbering creativity as if it would pour forth somewhere between me maniacally laughing at a monkey on TV and me buying $15 of Taco Bell just before its midnight closing, but to quote a good Web site on creativity: "People on drugs think they are creative. To everyone else, they seem like people on drugs. "

Today marks the one-year anniversary of my first day of sobriety. In all my years of drinking , not once did I finish a story. All I succeeded at doing was musing about how "someday" I would be a great writer. You may be saying "What about Bukowski, Kesey, Huxley, Burroughs, Poe, Hemingway, Fitzgerald? Weren't they great writers?" Yes, they were. But they could have been better.

There are healthy ways to boost creativity if one just remains open and searches for alternatives. Here are some good articles I dug up:

10 Steps for Boosting Creativity
Chemical-Creativity Link May Be Folklore
Just for Today: Creativity No Excuse for Chemical Dependency

Meditation

I think it is important to meditate on whatever project one is currently working on. You will be surprised what comes to you. This does not have to be palms-up, lotus-position meditation. Cooking, walking, running, and driving, are all very meditative in that they give one plenty of time to think. I was going over what I have written so far as I was driving to lunch today, and the ending to my novel came to me! Just like that! Don't get me wrong; I already had an ending, but this one was better. It tied up all the loose ends and it only took about 2 minutes of focus on my novel's details for me to envision this new resolution.

Slow Start

It was a slow start this week after a weekend of inactivity. I did a mere 200 words today, however, I am comforted by the fact that the words came quickly and easily and my imagination continues to surprise me. I am creating characters without intent and the story is starting to become an organism of its own free will.

I should mention that I am a writer who does not do a whole lot of pre-writing. I have a book map of about 20 words that takes me about a third of the way into the book, but I am starting to blissfully stray away from that structure. I tried doing character sketches for a short story once, but it just did not take. I prefer to keep them in my head where they can be constantly molded and shaped. I am sure some writing teachers are cringing reading this, but my words are more Godspell than Gospel and I do not intend anyone to take them too seriously. To each her own.

The Horned Man

I just finished reading The Horned Man by James Lasdun, who will be teaching at the New School when I attend this fall. I would describe the novel as a comedic mystery of sorts. It centers on a lonely college professor, Lawrence Miller, that thinks that a former professor is sneaking into his office. The rest of the of novel involves Miller's absurd journey to seek out this intruder, who seems to have a grudge against Lawrence. Very humorous, very odd, very puzzling. A well-written book that I reckon I will have to read again someday to fully understand. If anyone has read this, let me know what you think. Side note: I hear Mr. Lasdun is a very good poet as well.

Obsession With Cooking

Okay, I am aware that I went overboard Saturday night and cooked a lot more than I needed to. We could feed Noah, his family, and the animals for forty days and forty nights and still have enough food left over for the post-flood party. Much of the food I cooked was a creation of my own anxiety and was the fault of no one else. My girlfriend had encouraged me to keep things light, but instead I kept the light on in the kitchen into the wee hours of the night while I prepared dish after dish. The time spent could have been used for writing. Tonight should provide for more hours of writing . . . we're eating leftovers!