Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
Before I had the courage to call myself a writer I would feel guilty about reading. I thought I should have spent that time getting done something productive and not be ‘selfish’.
When I started calling myself a writer I realized it became a part of my job description to read as much as possible, especially novels that I enjoyed. I realized that I MUST make time for reading because reading will make me a better writer and good reading always makes me excited to write.
There’s a great phobia that solves any and all problems with finding time to read:
Suggested Usage: “Jamie is such an abibliophobe that she NEVER leaves the house without a novel tucked into her purse – otherwise the world may end.”
Suggested Usage: “Jamie is such an abibliophobe she included the word in the ABOUT Jamie Thornton section of the blog.”
Allow me to count the ways in which I am an abibliophobe:
The above list is what I’ve managed to brainstorm in about five minutes. Thank goodness reading is now a part of my job description.
If you’re interested in feeding your own reading habit, check out my post on:
Do You Library? How to Read 291,000 Books Before You Die
Posted in Novel Escapes | 2 Comments »
Monday, April 14th, 2008
I’ve allowed the fear of rejection to keep me from writing these last few weeks. A recent post on Write To Done came at just the right time: Stephen King’s greatest lesson for writers.
Writers must battle the fear of the blank page, and then, the fear that no one will recognize the book is worthy to be published. I’m sure there are more fear roadblocks, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten in the publishing process so far :)
When I stop writing for more than a few days it’s not because of a lack of ideas, but because I’m spending too much time thinking about the business of writing and not actually writing (or reading). Then I read something like the post on Write To Done or the post on Crime Fiction Dossier to write a great book and I remember, “A writer is a person who writes.”
I love reading posts that inspire people to continue writing, especially when it includes quotes from one of my favorite authors. Check out Stephen King’s On Writing for more. It’s part autobiography and part lesson book for aspiring writers. It’s one of the best books on writing I’ve yet read, and I’m not just saying that because The Stand is in my top ten list.
Even though writing is a solitary endeavor, it helps to know other writers (published or unpublished) experience fears similar to my own. Not sure why that’s such a comfort. Maybe it’s a mix of ‘misery loves company’ and ‘I am not alone’ — two sides of the same coin?
Posted in Other Stuff | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
Ever wonder what the earth might look like if vegetables took over the world? Carl Warner has:
So has Octavia Butler. She wrote an entire sf trilogy that involves spaceships, genetics, aliens trying to take over the world, and interesting ways of generating food (and people). She’s one of my favorite all-time authors. Her novel, Parable of the Sower, made it on my top ten favorite apocalyptic novels.
I saw Warner’s artwork on io9.com and felt inspired to share this with all of you. Something about his inventiveness and attention to detail captures my imagination and makes me want to write stories set in strange worlds like the ones he’s created. As I was writing this post though, I realized that while amazing, Warner’s foodscapes are not as novel as I had first thought.
Something about the nightmare idea of food taking over the world just-makes-sense.
Don’t believe me? Check out Shawn Hendriks post on Enslaved by Corn. Or The Ominvore’s Dilemma, or, or… well, maybe Warner’s artwork isn’t meant to be political. I mean, it is an imaginary world of broccoli trees, milk waterfalls, and biscuit mountains, but still, remember what happened to those greedy kids in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Bad things. Bad, bad things.
Thanks goes to io9 for finding Carl Wagner’s collection of foodscapes. Can’t say I’d want a bite out of Warner’s broccoli tree, plus the biscuit mountain looks a little tough to chew, but check out Warner’s full gallery of foodscapes. I wouldn’t mind spending lunchtime in his Tuscan Market.
Warner’s art looks like what might happen if the Smurfs had a threesome with the Twilight Zone and Charlie & the Chocolate factory. Come to think of it, UNICEF already imagined what that threesome might look like:
So what do you think? The Vegetable Apocalypse: a disturbingly accurate prophecy of our not-to-distant future, or does it make you want to keep a bowl of ranch dressing handy?
Posted in Art In Writing, Novel Escapes | 1 Comment »