Font Fight -- for text junkies only

I couldn't resist posting this link based entirely on font-name puns and other sillyness: Font Fight.

The White Tiger

I just finished reading Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger. It is one of my favorite types of novel, a literary page-turner set in India with a unique voice and point-of-view. I recommend it highly and can see why it won the Man Booker Prize for 2008.

Currently I'm reading the Watchmen graphic novel which is a slow read for me. The dire atmosphere and misogynist drawings are taking a lot of the fun out of it. How many panels do I have to look at involving rape, near rape, extreme ugliness or someone with blood coming out of their mouth? Ugh. I'm having to force myself to finish it, so it's hard to understand why Canada's Globe and Mail named it a top 100 novel of all time. Perhaps I'll know when I get to the end.

These past few weeks have been so busy with school I've done little writing but I did enjoy the reunion with my critique group last Thursday. Right now I've got to get back to that manuscript on the go. I get critiqued May 21. Wish me good luck.

Happy reading.

Writing the Breakout Novel

Despite the cheesy title, Donald Maass' book, Writing the Breakout Novel, is a guide to writing good novels, not a guide to selling out. Maass is not fond of generic thrillers and has a soft spot for literature as a genre. A novelist and New York agent, Mass is in a unique position to help the aspiring writer.

The emphasis throughout Breakout, is on craft and quality. Maass's theory is that books which "break out," i.e. step up a sales category, do so on word of mouth. This buzz is created by the story itself, even though other factors help the marketing of a book. Books that fail, according to Mass, do so mostly because they are shallow, unoriginal or not entertaining. It's a good theory which puts responsibility for success on the writer, not on who she knows.

If his philosophy interests you, go to his site, Maass Literary Agency, to download his free ebook, The Career Novelist. I plan to read it.


Progress Report

Directing my show is over, so I have more time to finish my novel. To keep myself honest, I'm posting my progress so far:

• one outline completed
• one round of outline edits completed
• 10 739 words of the new manuscript typed
• 58 double spaced pages
• I have rejoined my critique group

I have only completed one tenth of the first draft of my new project but I am cautiously optimistic about the story so far. Outlining is supposed to reduce the editing process later so if I'm writing a little slower these days, it's for the right reasons.

Happy reading!

Ages of Wonder -- Czerneda & St. Martin

Now reading: Ages of Wonder , edited by Julie Czerneda and Rob St. Martin. This is one of a pile of books I brought back from Ad Astra. It will take me months to get through my stack of new SF novels, especially since I'm supposed to be writing.

So far I'm really enjoying this book of short stories. I think one reason some people avoid Fantasy stories, even before they read them, is Fantasy's reputation for vague pseudo-medieval English settings. Stories like that are no longer in fashion, but if you say Fantasy to me, I still visualize long-haired maidens leading unicorns.

I prefer well-defined, researched settings. If they do it right, I like it when Fantasy writers take liberties with old cultural icons, like Neil Gaiman's Anansi-inspired novels or Christopher Moore's Grim Reaper baby.

This collection, organized into The Age of Antiquity, The Age of Sail, The Colonial Age, The Age of Pioneers, The Pre-Modern Age and The Age Ahead, promises Fantasy with an authentic feel.

Novel Progress Report: Now working on Chapter 10.

Fool -- Christopher Moore

I have to recommend Christopher Moore's Fool. It's a rollicking pastiche of Elizabethan and Pagan sensibilities, played for maximum sex and mayhem. I was impressed that an American who has not lived in England got the mix of Shakespearean and colloquial English right. Historically accurate language would get in the way of farce, so Moore substitutes current English slang to keep the tone earthy and mine anachronisms for humour. In his long note at the end of the book, Moore lists his sources and names the DVDs he watched for research. By the style of comedy, I was surprised he didn't name Rowan Atkinson of Blackadder. The comic situation is similar. An ambitious, morally degenerate underdog hero takes on the bloodthirsty and even less scrupulous bad guys of the English court.

Here's my recommendation. If you like Blackadder, you'll love reading Fool. If you like Fool and you are unfamiliar with the Blackadder TV series , you're in for a treat.

In personal news, I finished chapter eight of my work-in-progress at 10:00 this morning. I'll see how much more I can get done today.

Ad Adstra and Inspiration

I've taken a long hiatus from this blog, mostly because of school. This year I'm directing my new play, "Invisible Aliens Stole My Gym Shorts." Between school, the play and having a home life, I haven't blogged since the fall. Another reason is that one of my students came across this anonymous blog!

At first I hesitated to write, in case my students started reading the entries but I've decided that's just vanity. I'm sure my students are more concerned with their own things. I also doubt that student outed me to any other students. Really, what would be the point? This is a book-review and writing blog, not something salacious or even teen-friendly.

Does that mean I will be watching what I write from now on? Not really. I'm not writing as a school-teacher but as a reader, writer and fan of books and movies. I'm also not ashamed of anything I've said here.

So much has happened since October so I'll just begin with my current obsession: SF. I have recently completed an 88 page detailed outline of my latest novel and it's pure SF. Elements of comedy are creeping in as I expand the tragic outline into chapters but what can you expect? I'm a bit wacky. Melodrama makes me yawn but tragedy brings out my naughty side. I've always considered Othello a comedy, for example. Shakespeare expects us to believe that an intelligent, noble man is convinced by Iago's slight of hand and a lost handkerchief that his wife is cheating? It's farcical material, just begging for a comic rewrite. Race, obsession, jealousy, rage: wouldn't you rather laugh than cry?


My newest story is about spores from outer space, young women's obsessions with their weight, a family-run Chinese food restaurant and, of course, alien lifeforms taking over the Earth. Once again, not exactly laugh-out-loud material. The protagonist's father is dying and nobody can figure out why. My only hope is that like Terry Pratchett writing about the Grim Reaper or Christopher Moore writing about just about anything, writing the story out can turn the direst scenario into something amusing.

For once it's very nice to know where the plot is going before I begin. After completing two timed-writing contests for practice (JulNoWriMo and the 3-day novel contest) I'm finished with writing without planning. What I have learned from these challenges is how to write faster. My new goal? Write better, at a steady pace so that I can finish at least a draft by WorldCon. This is the big convention for SF fans, editors, publishers and writers, and since it will be in Montreal, Canada this year, I just have to have a manuscript by August 6, 2009.

I have a bookcase of 'how-to' books on writing. It's time to bring my latest MS to a high polish. I may not have the novel editor-ready for World Con but if I can make a few contacts, maybe someone will agree to read the manuscript when it is.

I will blog more about Ad Astra at a later date. It was a thrill meeting Canadian SF authors and editors and I had lots of fun picking up books at the Bakka display.

Happy reading.

Staged Reading - Fun!

After all that agonizing, the staged reading of my 10 page piece at the Alumnae Theatre went well. There were about 8 plays, all very different, all based on a field trip to a Winners location. My one regret is forgetting my camera. These are low-lit cell phone pictures.

Molly Thom, the director/dramaturge (right side) who took on my piece, was generous with editing advice. She allowed me to do a rewrite on Friday since I was booked Thursday night. The finished script was distributed Saturday morning for rehearsal on Sunday at 12:00, right before the 2:00 reading. She took great care with the direction. I thought they did a great job, despite the fact that the male actor who was supposed to act in several pieces, stood us up.

Molly even encouraged me to come to the Alumnae writer's group. I know I don't really have time to join a second writing group with a completely different focus that Bloor West Writers but I can't resist either. The Alum is one of the most low-key, experimental, creative environments I've ever encountered.

Wednesday I'm going to attend my very first Playwrights Development Group meeting at the Alum. I'm thinking it'll be fun.

Happy reading.