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Thursday, December 20, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
My Life in Heavy Metal
If anyone’s looking for a good short story collection, I can wholeheartedly endorse Steve Almond’s My Life in Heavy Metal. Most often, short story collections are like records: there’s one or two hit singles and lots of snoozers. But hardly a story falls short of fantastic in Almond’s first book. His taut prose crackles with energy, tremendous heart, and lots and lots of sex. But what saves it from bawdiness or gratuitousness is the exploration of what lies beyond the physical, the uncomfortable interior of emotion. In this interior, Almond deals heavily in human error and takes an interesting look at his characters’ flawed, humanistic propensities.
Speaking of David, accolades must go to our very own for the forthcoming reading of his poem “Life On Earth” by Garrison Keillor as part of "The Writer’s Almanac" from American Public Media. Tune in to your local station on Friday, November 30th or listen to the RealAudio on the webpage. You’ll notice that David shares airtime with such names as Mamet, Swift, and Twain. Not bad company at all.
And if you need any help imagining the conceit...Thursday, November 22, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
NaNo, Anyone?
So, it's November. Is anyone doing anything crazy like NaNo? I'm doing NaBlo instead, which means updating my writing blog each day (vs. working on my novel each day). Who's doing what, and who's skipping the suicidal challenges?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Fred
I remember reading this one a while back, and I don't have too much to add. Again, I really like the voice here and it does a lot to pull me in. I got tripped up a few times by all the sentences beginning with "And/But" and I wonder if an out-loud read through might help smooth things out.
I love your description of the dog and the way you paint out the landscape for me. Though this line was a bit awkward, "Not only was the dog the same color as July grass on the Colorado plains, but he was shorter than the grass would be then, too." You're simultaneously describing him as like the grass, but not like the grass. An easy fix.
I love your description of the dog and the way you paint out the landscape for me. Though this line was a bit awkward, "Not only was the dog the same color as July grass on the Colorado plains, but he was shorter than the grass would be then, too." You're simultaneously describing him as like the grass, but not like the grass. An easy fix.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Rules of the Road
Joe poses a good question about the role of the 'workshopee'.
Because this is a web critique and you don't really interrupt us and we don't really have a time limit, like a real workshop, I think things questions for clarification and questions leading to further discussion of techniques (Like: How should microfiction be handled?) should be allowed. Perhaps discussion of techniques should be made their own post though, because we tend to be long-winded.
However, I am totally against 'defending the work'. Tirades saying that 'we just don't get it' don't work for me. If ten people are off the mark, then it's the writer, not the reader. If one person seems a little lost, I think that bringing them up to speed is okey-dokey.
Any other thoughts on ground rules?
Because this is a web critique and you don't really interrupt us and we don't really have a time limit, like a real workshop, I think things questions for clarification and questions leading to further discussion of techniques (Like: How should microfiction be handled?) should be allowed. Perhaps discussion of techniques should be made their own post though, because we tend to be long-winded.
However, I am totally against 'defending the work'. Tirades saying that 'we just don't get it' don't work for me. If ten people are off the mark, then it's the writer, not the reader. If one person seems a little lost, I think that bringing them up to speed is okey-dokey.
Any other thoughts on ground rules?
Friday, October 12, 2007
My Ancient Computer Sucks!
I apologize for creating an entire blog post to say this, but since I'm very interested in reading everyone's work, I want to make sure everyone reads this. I'm having a problem opening email attachments. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. I would appreciate it if we all could post our stories within the body of our emails. This way I won't have to worry about opening attachments. (I'm sorry for being difficult, but you guys know me. Everything is all about me, and it always has to be difficult.)
P.S. Joe, I would love to read the story you sent out. Would you please resend it, embedded in the email, to the missyshell address ?
P.S. Joe, I would love to read the story you sent out. Would you please resend it, embedded in the email, to the missyshell address ?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Discussion: Thank You
Since Joe was brave enough to send out the first piece (yay!), I guess I'll kick off the converstion.
I think I'll start big and then go smaller. I loved how there is so much going on in such a small space (page/word count wise). The smallest details reveal quirks about the narrator that usually take a while to unfold: his decision to stop at target reveals that he's impulsive as well as accepting coffee then thinking about the consequences after. I think the characterization was great.
In such a short story, it's hard to incorporate all of the usual plot elements (and I don't necessarily think you should try to cram everything in) so I think there has to be something dramatic to make up for that (not really "make up for" but I can't think of how else to word it). The images seem to fulfill that role: the silver hair on the pillow, the red & white flowers, the crow & the can, etc. I think that could be played up a little more. Make those unique and quite lovely images more powerful, maybe more overtly symbollic? I don't know if that's the route you want to go though, but something to think about.
Now here is the detail stuff. I was confused at the beginning in the transition from Target to hospital; I thought a nurse was cutting flowers at Target. That made me miss that the flowers were impulse, but not necessarily visiting the sister.
Again, thank you Joe for volunteering!
~Lydia
I think I'll start big and then go smaller. I loved how there is so much going on in such a small space (page/word count wise). The smallest details reveal quirks about the narrator that usually take a while to unfold: his decision to stop at target reveals that he's impulsive as well as accepting coffee then thinking about the consequences after. I think the characterization was great.
In such a short story, it's hard to incorporate all of the usual plot elements (and I don't necessarily think you should try to cram everything in) so I think there has to be something dramatic to make up for that (not really "make up for" but I can't think of how else to word it). The images seem to fulfill that role: the silver hair on the pillow, the red & white flowers, the crow & the can, etc. I think that could be played up a little more. Make those unique and quite lovely images more powerful, maybe more overtly symbollic? I don't know if that's the route you want to go though, but something to think about.
Now here is the detail stuff. I was confused at the beginning in the transition from Target to hospital; I thought a nurse was cutting flowers at Target. That made me miss that the flowers were impulse, but not necessarily visiting the sister.
Again, thank you Joe for volunteering!
~Lydia
Monday, October 8, 2007
An Idea
Okay, so the google pages are kinda awkward and we have that whole 'publication' versus 'not publication issue. Here's an idea.
Lydia, you have everyone's e-mail, send a list to everyone that is participating. When we have a piece that needs to be read, we'll send a mass e-mail out. We'll all read them via e-mail and then discuss on the blog. The comments sections are really good for discussion, which is what we're all shooting for anyway.
Whatcha guys think?
Lydia, you have everyone's e-mail, send a list to everyone that is participating. When we have a piece that needs to be read, we'll send a mass e-mail out. We'll all read them via e-mail and then discuss on the blog. The comments sections are really good for discussion, which is what we're all shooting for anyway.
Whatcha guys think?
Monday, October 1, 2007
Stephen King on the "state of the short story"
Anybody read this?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/books/review/King2-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
It seems to be generating some controversy
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/books/review/King2-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
It seems to be generating some controversy
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Discussion of "The Feast of Love"
First: Hello to all whom I haven't heard from in some time. I'm excited to be able to reconnect through this thing. How is everyone?
Second: Hi, Joe! (The circle of people I know is now complete [by my own admission, it's a small circle.]) For those of you who don't know Joe, Joe and I completed our MFAs at Oregon State last June. Now he lives in the Louisville/Boulder area. He's a great reader and a terrific writer, so if he can be persuaded to share some of his fiction, I'm sure we'll all enjoy it.
Third: "The Feast of Love" by Charles Baxter, the man who brought us "Burning Down the House" and "defamiliarization."
So maybe I've cheated with this book. I am only halfway through the novel, but I went to see the film last night. The book is a compilation of first-person narratives held together by the "narrator" Charles Baxter (his "character" name in the novel). I read an excerpt of a review of the book, and apparently, this fragmented style grew out of Baxter's self-proclaimed flaw, an inability to structure a "conventional" and linear work. This--which is similar to Tim O'Brien's "July, July"--must be the easiest way to write a novel, it seems. Perhaps that's only my naivete talking. Still, you write a few stories, string them together with little interstitials...voila! Thoughts? Anyone tried this?
Not surprisingly, the film eliminated the narrator character and combined some of his introspective, wise traits with that of another character. Too literary, I guess. Also, the characters felt a bit thin to me. Because the novel devotes 300+ pages to shaping and crafting these folks, there are some things that a few well-placed images and lines of dialogue just can't quite accomplish.
It's been said/written that the book is about "love in all of its miraculous, transforming manifestations." Or something like that. But what a bunch of shortchanging bullshit, really. The novel delves much deeper into uncertain psychological ground. Love as terror. Love as a form of myopia. Love as self-loathing, among all other things. Because--and only because--these characters are so specific and finely shaded, the book takes on larger significance and earns a worthiness of the use of "love."
I guess I should provide a bit of a concrete plot summary. Baxter, as the narrator and author, encounters several people (in his town of Ann Arbor, Michigan--relocated to Portland, Oregon, in the movie connected to his friend Bradley W. Smith. There's Bradley's first wife, Kathryn, who falls in love with another woman and his second wife, Diana, who's been in love with another man since before she met Bradley. Then there's Bradley, Jr., Bradley's dog; Bradley's neighbors Harry and Ethel, whose grown son calls to spew curses and demand money; Bradley's coffee shop employees, Chloe and Oscar; and a slew of what might be termed more minor characters, all of whom are, by turns, changed, slayed, elated, denied, created by love.
Long live the short story, even if this is the only way to preserve it.
Second: Hi, Joe! (The circle of people I know is now complete [by my own admission, it's a small circle.]) For those of you who don't know Joe, Joe and I completed our MFAs at Oregon State last June. Now he lives in the Louisville/Boulder area. He's a great reader and a terrific writer, so if he can be persuaded to share some of his fiction, I'm sure we'll all enjoy it.
Third: "The Feast of Love" by Charles Baxter, the man who brought us "Burning Down the House" and "defamiliarization."
So maybe I've cheated with this book. I am only halfway through the novel, but I went to see the film last night. The book is a compilation of first-person narratives held together by the "narrator" Charles Baxter (his "character" name in the novel). I read an excerpt of a review of the book, and apparently, this fragmented style grew out of Baxter's self-proclaimed flaw, an inability to structure a "conventional" and linear work. This--which is similar to Tim O'Brien's "July, July"--must be the easiest way to write a novel, it seems. Perhaps that's only my naivete talking. Still, you write a few stories, string them together with little interstitials...voila! Thoughts? Anyone tried this?
Not surprisingly, the film eliminated the narrator character and combined some of his introspective, wise traits with that of another character. Too literary, I guess. Also, the characters felt a bit thin to me. Because the novel devotes 300+ pages to shaping and crafting these folks, there are some things that a few well-placed images and lines of dialogue just can't quite accomplish.
It's been said/written that the book is about "love in all of its miraculous, transforming manifestations." Or something like that. But what a bunch of shortchanging bullshit, really. The novel delves much deeper into uncertain psychological ground. Love as terror. Love as a form of myopia. Love as self-loathing, among all other things. Because--and only because--these characters are so specific and finely shaded, the book takes on larger significance and earns a worthiness of the use of "love."
I guess I should provide a bit of a concrete plot summary. Baxter, as the narrator and author, encounters several people (in his town of Ann Arbor, Michigan--relocated to Portland, Oregon, in the movie connected to his friend Bradley W. Smith. There's Bradley's first wife, Kathryn, who falls in love with another woman and his second wife, Diana, who's been in love with another man since before she met Bradley. Then there's Bradley, Jr., Bradley's dog; Bradley's neighbors Harry and Ethel, whose grown son calls to spew curses and demand money; Bradley's coffee shop employees, Chloe and Oscar; and a slew of what might be termed more minor characters, all of whom are, by turns, changed, slayed, elated, denied, created by love.
Long live the short story, even if this is the only way to preserve it.
The Discussion of Lydia's Poem
Okay, it looks like I'm going to start this one off.
Lydia, as you know, I adore your poetry, and this poem is no exception. I love that it feels like a photograph or painting of the event. The power of the horses juxtaposes nicely with the weakness of a man about to commit suicide. And I adore the phrase "apricot skied;" it's the perfect description!
I am, however, left questioning why grandpa would choose to commit suicide in the horse pen. At this point, I can see why the horses might kill him, but I'm not seeing the love, that comfort level, that would make a person feel that dying with the horses is the right thing.
Also, the section (3rd stanza, I think) that says "Brushed but saddled/Patted but spurred, grazed but corralled" feels a little off. The idea of love and control/freedom/slavery at odds with each other starts to come across, but is not as strong as it could be. Perhaps its the use of the word "but"? I'm not sure, but I know that this idea is probably the most important of the poem, because it really explains the rest of it--why the horses kill him and why he feels this is the place he should die.
(One further note, just a trifle--horses have hooves, not paws.)
Lydia, as you know, I adore your poetry, and this poem is no exception. I love that it feels like a photograph or painting of the event. The power of the horses juxtaposes nicely with the weakness of a man about to commit suicide. And I adore the phrase "apricot skied;" it's the perfect description!
I am, however, left questioning why grandpa would choose to commit suicide in the horse pen. At this point, I can see why the horses might kill him, but I'm not seeing the love, that comfort level, that would make a person feel that dying with the horses is the right thing.
Also, the section (3rd stanza, I think) that says "Brushed but saddled/Patted but spurred, grazed but corralled" feels a little off. The idea of love and control/freedom/slavery at odds with each other starts to come across, but is not as strong as it could be. Perhaps its the use of the word "but"? I'm not sure, but I know that this idea is probably the most important of the poem, because it really explains the rest of it--why the horses kill him and why he feels this is the place he should die.
(One further note, just a trifle--horses have hooves, not paws.)
Friday, September 28, 2007
A Note on Intellectual Property
Sorry I'm so spastic about setting up this blog. I was just thinking some of you may be worried about your writing being out on the web. Once we have our blog going we can make it so that this blog is only viewable by the people we choose. However, publishing the Google pages does put your intellectual property on the www. I guess we can put some kind of copyright note on those pages, but there's never any guarantee online. Suggestions?
Google is God..
...Or the Devil
I found a sort of stopgap solution to my ealier roadblock (screw work, right?) and it cometh from Google. I guess they have this free webhosting service in beta and I'm going to use that. I guess there are two ways we can do this. You guys can either send me the text of your writing and I can publish it on the Google site. You'll each have a page on the Google site with your writing and you can just drop the link to your site into your blog post. Or maybe I can do something fancy and get the links permanently on the page. I'll look into it and give it a test run. This is getting interesting, huh?
I found a sort of stopgap solution to my ealier roadblock (screw work, right?) and it cometh from Google. I guess they have this free webhosting service in beta and I'm going to use that. I guess there are two ways we can do this. You guys can either send me the text of your writing and I can publish it on the Google site. You'll each have a page on the Google site with your writing and you can just drop the link to your site into your blog post. Or maybe I can do something fancy and get the links permanently on the page. I'll look into it and give it a test run. This is getting interesting, huh?
Minor Roadblock
I just realized there's not really a way to upload attachments here, is there. Is there?! That's fine for us poets, but not so fine for you fiction writers. I don't mind longer sized posts, but it would be nice to be able to share documents some how. I've already seen some encouraging things in my preliminary Google sweep. I'm at work right now, but I will use my sleuthing skills to see what I can find out about getting around this. Rule to live by #3: Don't panic.
Some Updates
Here's what's new on campus:
Juan - who's getting settled in nicely.
Dr. Sheidley's going to retire at the end of spring semester, and Katherine will be replacing him as chair.
Here's what's new with me:
I'm set to finish my MA in spring, and I'll be doing a creative thesis (which is definitely intimidating).
Juan - who's getting settled in nicely.
Dr. Sheidley's going to retire at the end of spring semester, and Katherine will be replacing him as chair.
Here's what's new with me:
I'm set to finish my MA in spring, and I'll be doing a creative thesis (which is definitely intimidating).
We Need a Space
Hi,
I know we've all been saying forever how we needed a space (virtually or in reality) to share our writing and keep the momentum going from our old Keppy-run workshops. So, here's a space. It's not that great, but I think it will work for now and we can change it and do whatever in the future. For now, I just want to be able to read what you geniuses have been writing and talk to you about it.
I know we've all been saying forever how we needed a space (virtually or in reality) to share our writing and keep the momentum going from our old Keppy-run workshops. So, here's a space. It's not that great, but I think it will work for now and we can change it and do whatever in the future. For now, I just want to be able to read what you geniuses have been writing and talk to you about it.
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