Margo Rabb published an interesting article in this week’s NEW YORK TIMES regarding young adult versus adult publishing and how oftentimes there isn’t even a distinction.
Figured since every other blogger and their mother is going to be writing about the latest Batman movie, I might as well throw my hat into the ring. But to be honest, I don’t really have that much to say. At least nothing that won’t be redundant. Just a simple formula:
amazing directing + amazing writing + amazing acting = amazing movie
Truly though, this is the best Batman so far. I loved BATMAN BEGINS, but this latest is even better. While I want Nolan to go and make other movies, I hope he sticks with the franchise. And Heath Ledger as the Joker … well, yes, he’s as good as they say he is. Even better. Beats Jack Nicholson hands down. Kicks the old man’s ass it’s so good. Shame we won’t see that portrayal again.
And of course Aaron Eckhart is great in his double roll. And even though my wife and I quibbled about Maggie Gyllenhaal, I think she was a good choice for Rachel Dawes (in fact, I wish she would have been in the first movie).
First IRON MAN, now THE DARK KNIGHT – finally comic book movies are starting to shine.
I’m thrilled to announce that my strange little piece “Between the Keys” is now up at elimae.
(Major kudos to elimae’s editor Cooper Renner for doing what editors do best: editing. A day after I’d submitted the story he sent it back to me asking what I thought of his nip-and-tuck; he’d managed to cut out 26 words. Might not seem like a lot, but for a flash fiction piece of 124 words, he managed to slice out all the fat and gristle making the story much tighter and more concise and a hell of a lot better than it was before.)
If you have a few moments, make sure you check it out.
Wonderful words from director Guillermo del Toro:
“People tend to think that big things only happen to big people. That 11-year-old girl is powerless. That 12-year-old kid is a nincompoop. The great quests, the great decisions only happen to great people. I think that is not true. The small decisions we make every day define who we are and define the world around us. … I’m interested in the essential importance of the small decision. … You can be a cashier at a 7-11, or you can be the person at the Kentucky Fried Chicken counter. But I bet to you there is a decision every day in your life where you affect somebody else. I bet that is true.”
That’s what I asked myself when I watched this link. Unfortunately for the first writer, yes, it was. I can’t even imagine what I’d do in that situation.
My 55-word story “Thirst” is now up at, well, 55 WORDS. You can read it here.
Not until somewhat recently was I made aware that in flash fiction there are things called drabbles and dribbles. A dribble is a story of exactly 50 words. A drabble is a story of exactly 100 words. No more, no less.
I’ve yet to master the dribble form (I don’t think I will ever write anything as beautiful and poignant as this dribble, which reminds me of a Stephen Dunn poem), but my drabble, called “Take Off,” is up now at BOSTON LITERARY MAGAZINE.
Shoot over and take a look if you have a moment.
Just stumbled across this article that talks about writers feeling pressure from their publishers to produce a book a year. Seems many writers don’t like the pressure. Seems they want to spend three or four years completing one book. My question is … why?
Okay, I’ll admit it – I’d love to spend five years working on a novel, reading it over a thousand times, tweaking this sentence here, reworking that scene there, making it as perfect as can be.
But let’s face the truth here: to be successful in today’s market, where sales are dwindling as people are reading less and less, you NEED to produce at least one book a year.
And it is really that hard?
Say you write 1,000 words a day. Do that every day for a year. What do you come up with? 365,000 words. A typical three-hundred page book is around 90,000-100,000 words. So what happens to the other 265,000???
How unreasonable is this? Even writing five hundred words a day, like Brian Keene mentions in his most recent post, gives you well over the preferred 90k mark. And if you do that consistently, write a solid draft in a couple months, you still have five or six months to rework it to your liking and then submit it to your publisher.
I just don’t get it. This is a business, right? And like every business, you’re expected to perform. If you’re a full-time writer, you should be writing.
Is it really that hard to ask?
(Yes, yes, I know some writers aren’t in it for the money or the readership or whatever else. To them it’s about art and blah blah blah, and while I appreciate that and everything, they’re still getting paid to perform a task, aren’t they?)
Then again, if these big-time writers slack off and produce a book every couple years, it gives newer writers the chance to breakthrough and build a solid readership who can count on them … so yeah, I take it back — big-time writers, take your time. Take all the time in the world.
My flash fiction piece “The Girl Across the Street” is up today at SIX SENTENCES. I don’t know why, but I’ve been on a flash fiction kick lately. This is the first of three flash fiction pieces that will be appearing this month. Others I’ll post when links become available …
Well, okay, it’s not really that sunny. Fact is, it’s mostly dark. And offensive. And outrageous. But that’s just what makes IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA so f-in funny. Just watched the first two seasons on DVD and I still can’t get over how amazing it is.
Don’t get me wrong, I love ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, SEINFELD, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, ENTOURAGE, FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, 30 ROCK, EXTRAS, and THE OFFICE (both US and UK versions). But none of those shows have EVER made me laugh so hard tears came to my eyes.
If you haven’t seen this show yet, get off your lazy butt and check it out.
