Writing and writing and writing

Haven't had much to say here at woofreakinhoo about my new novel. That is the thing about working on a project with a long timeline - you just kind of bury your head into the work, and a year later you come up for air. With various stops and starts to focus on other work, I think I have been working on this new one for about a year. Although, the idea for it, and the first few chapters actually began in the fall of 2009.

Hard to believe that much time has went past.

The last six months I have been following a much more intense daily writing schedule. So I am excited to report that I am on the verge of finishing the first draft. For those who don't work on novels, that might not seem a big deal - but for those that do, I think you understand the massive undertakings of writing a long narrative.

I used to have a had time telling people what my first novel was about (Correction Line). This one might be easier... maybe. For now I will just say it is about a boy in 1973 growing up against the backdrop of the Watergate hearings. Oh, and the early history of LSD.

Now if you read that and went - oh, another coming of age story (yawn) - hopefully you leaned in a bit when I mentioned Watergate and LSD. If anything, it has been a ton of fun to write. And I would add, it is definitely not your usual coming of age tale.

Stay tuned.

So whattya reading huh?

Always lots of books on my bedside - currently I am deep into Isabel Allende's Island Beneath the Sea. I am enjoying reading what feels like familiar territory. I used to read a lot of South American fiction, notably Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This book seems placed in that genre, with a bit of Graham Greene thrown in (probably because it reminds me of The Comedians, also set in Haiti).

And then there is the stack I am always trying to get to: Anne Lamott's Plan B - which I am enjoying my wife reading in bed and laughing out loud.

There is the rare and weird Lansdale book - Flaming Zeppelins - where my fave author tackles some steampunk.

I also have a writing craft book on the go (as I always do) - this one: Thanks, But This Isn't For Us, by Jennifer Morrell - I am really liking her style. There is not new information in it, but some good reminders of why books get rejected. I love her subtitle: A sort of compassionate guide to why your writing is being rejected.

The "sort of" eludes to her sense of humour. My work hasn't "all" been rejected - but as a writer, I get more than my share.

So how about you dear woofreakinhoo reader - what have you got on the go? Feel free to share.

Rules

Posting this as a reminder to myself - these really hit home for me.

Zadie Smith's rules for writers

(from the Guardian UK)

1 When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.

2 When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.

3 Don't romanticise your "vocation". You can either write good sentences or you can't. There is no "writer's lifestyle". All that matters is what you leave on the page.

4 Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can't do aren't worth doing. Don't mask self-doubt with contempt.

5 Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.

6 Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won't make your writing any better than it is.

7 Work on a computer that is disconnected from the ­internet.

8 Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.

9 Don't confuse honours with achievement.

10 Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.

Watching Luke

Great books require repeated readings to really be appreciated - I read somewhere that if you want to understand a book you should read it seven times. I couldn't think of any books I have read that many times (except maybe, Cat in the Hat), but I do know of movies I have seen at least that many times.

Last night I watched Cool Hand Luke for maybe the 12th time (approximately). This is a movie where I know every scene, and a lot of the dialogue. And like a great book it continues to reveal things. Now, there are many essays and pieces of film criticism on the internet about the symbolism of this film (just google the title and Christian and you will see what I mean), so in this short post I am not going to name all the cross symbols, communion symbols, and assorted scriptures that may or may not be referred to (the screenwriters have consistently denied such allegorical claims). Rather I'd like to talk about "following."

Regardless of your religious bend, Cool Hand Luke's story is familiar. It is a story about a leader that rises, gathers followers, is eventually rejected, dies (sorry: spoiler), and the followers are left with only their stories. What struck me on this viewing was the needs of those followers, in this case the prisoners - an apt metaphor if there ever was one. They needed someone to rise above to show them the way. When Dragline (Luke's prison mate, in George Kennedy's best role of all time) asks, "Well, what are we going to do now?", I am reminded of Frodo saying he will take the ring, but he doesn't know the way. It is in our nature to look to leaders to show us the way - and we all need those leaders, from the weakest to the strongest personality types. Just as true, we will turn away and reject those leaders when they fall. Luke succumbs to the Boss - he cries out to not be hit anymore, and that his mind is right. It is a hard scene to watch, both because of Luke's pain, and because of the rejection of his followers - who we believe would react the same way to the beating down. Luke comes back to the bunkhouse, stripped of his humanity, physically and emotionally demoralized. His cry, "Where are you now?", is chilling.

I couldn't say what this taught me about myself, how this parable of a movie works on my soul (as I think the great movies do). But during Holy Week, as I ponder the life of a carpenter a couple of millennia ago, I find myself asking the world, and more importantly, myself, "Where are you now?"



Get to work! (And the Ghost of Nixon)

I mean this in a good way, and I am saying it to myself.

I am about 50k into my new novel, and enjoying it a lot (even though I know there is much, much more work to be done.).

So what's it about? Oh, the 70's, and early LSD testing, and Watergate, and falls from grace - that sort of thing.

It is on my mind a lot, and I find it interesting that I see so many connections in the things I read, watch and hear. Notably, the ghost of Richard Nixon seems to be lurking around every corner. I was reading a friend's blog about the recent movie The Lincoln Lawyer. Also on her blog (thanks Cheryl), I found a link to a documentary on the 70's film actor John Cazale. That, of course, led me to Wikipedia to review the career of one of my favorite character actors - who only made 5 films, all nominated for Best Picture... quite a record.

Then I found an article on 70's charactor actors called Natural Born Plumbers. And guess who popped up? Yep, Tricky Dick is always lurking. Turns out that many of these great actors were channelling the various personas of Nixon. Read the article and you will see what I mean.