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Frank Mazur
Wandering Member
Post Number: 257
Registered: 02-2005

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Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 01:46 pm:

In my case, today, gray and damp and cold, has seized me. Try as I have to move my current novel along to its completion, I’ve not written a satisfactory word this morning or afternoon. This happens on occasion and can be very depressing. So I look for ways to change the unproductive feeling inside of myself. Reading something, just anything, doesn’t do it. I’m in the middle of BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH CHE GUEVARA, a collection of stories by Ben Fountain, and I have been enjoying them; and I’ve recently started FREE LUNCH, non-fiction by investigative reporter David Cay Johnston. It’s truly hot off the press, and I’m already recommending that people of all persuasions read it before the next election. But neither lends succor in this instance. Today, I need a character to wake and stir me, and two choices that quickly come to mind are Holden Caulfield from CATCHER IN THE RYE and Huck Finn. (I wonder if any of you noticed that the pic accompanying my posts shows a first edition of the latter.) Today, I choose Caulfield and no sooner do I begin, I am reminded of how a few writers on this site think the book is terrible. One even said he couldn’t understand why so many people hail it as a great book, and I remember thinking back then that his question might have been of value soon after the book gained its popularity, but today, some fifty years later, he would better have served himself if he had asked why he wasn’t among those who thought it great.

It seems to be doing what I want it to do, CATCHER. That is, I’m laughing and feeling upbeat and maybe I’ll give yet another go at my manuscript before nightfall. But first, I check my spreadsheet to update myself on my short story submissions, and I see that seven are still out to eight literary journals. Two of these are my latest and I’ve come to see them also as favorites. The others have undergone rejection, but they too have been attended to further, and all seven, I feel more certain than is normally the case, are just where I want them to be. I’m glad I reminded myself of this because it works as an upper, and so after posting, I'll not wait for the night, but will go directly to page 200 of the novel and see if I can’t nudge it forward. It’s a tough spot, as many threads that are in play must now come together, and you all know that requires some real hard labor of the mind. Wish me luck.

3-dollar gas. Writers' strike. Read a great book by F. E. Mazur.

SPINE
THE BUCKSELLER
"A BIGGER CASE"

Harry Simenon
Unity Member
Post Number: 1739
Registered: 10-2003

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 12:46 pm:

Well, often they day seize me instead of me seizing the day.

But still things are improving: I have almost finished reworking my book (again), so I hope to be able to throw it on a few slushpiles here and there.
I bought myself a new keyboard so that should help writing the next bestseller. (It must have been that old keyboard preventing me from succes.)

In the attic I have installed a table soccer game; I'm told that Americans call that 'foosball.'
That thing is great fun for the whole family: usually my 12 year old son against me and my daughter. He usually gets beaten but he insist on playing alone. In fact he does not want to team up with his 7 year old sister against me, and both of us against my daughter would be rather cruel. Sometimes my wife joins us in the fun. The game often results in manic laughter and slightly insane behavior.

I put up a dartboard, completely realizing that the darts will often end up somewhere else than where they are supposed to. As long as they don't end up in my butt it's OK with me.
I'm also building a tiny recording studio with a mike, electric guitar, bass and keyboard ready to be played by everybody, only need to wire it up.
Next thing will be an electronic drumkit that I'm building so we can play drums without driving the neighborhood insane.
And in summer we will be able to go outside more (it's raining again now!)

All these little things provide quite a bit of happines and pleasure.
So I rarely seize the whole day, but I do manage to seize at least a few hours a day.

Joyce Scarbrough
Unity Member
Post Number: 1208
Registered: 03-2004

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 - 12:23 pm:

Good luck, Frank. I've hit one of those horrendous walls in my fourth novel where I can't get past the scene I'm in to the next two or three scenes that need to come before the next big one. It's not really writer's block, because I know the complete story and all the plot developments that will take place for the rest of the book. (I always write a narrative overview of the major plot events before I begin writing to make sure I won't get stuck in the middle with no idea of where to go.) No, my problem is OBSESSIVE writer's block, because I can't make myself write scenes out of order! I usually know everything about the big scenes coming up and have imagined the way they'll play out, but I just can't bear to actually write them until I get to that point in the book!

When I was writing DIFFERENT ROADS, I once left Jaycee and Bud naked in the Jacuzzi for two weeks while I decided what scene needed to come next before the next big one. Fortunately, being Jaycee and Bud, they didn't mind getting left there like that!

Anyway, the best way I've found for dealing with it is to work on something else for a while and go back to the novel with a fresh perspective. So I'm keeping busy by working on a few revisions to my short story "Hope Chest" in preparation for its publication in the summer edition of New Works Review (where Laurel is Review Editor.) The content editors asked for a bit more description in some places--somewhat of a challenge for me sometimes. I tend to be very descriptive of selective things that have an emotional impact and not descriptive at all of things like scenery. As Stephen King says in ON WRITING, there's a fine line between not enough description and too much. But I'm definitely having fun figuring out the right balance!

~Joyce Sterling Scarbrough
True Blue Forever
ISBN 0-9722385-9-X
Different Roads
ISBN 0-9722385-3-0
Authors Ink Books
http://www.authorsinkbooks.com

Read the first chapters: http://www.authorsden.com/joycelscarbrough1
Waste time on Joyce's Blog: http://joycescarbrough.blogspot.com
Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kztz5e3XZeo

Joyce Scarbrough
Unity Member
Post Number: 1218
Registered: 03-2004

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 - 02:27 pm:

Just got word from Brett Sanders at NWR that they liked my revisions, so "Hope Chest" will be published in the summer edition coming out in July. I'm thrilled to have my story included in such a fine publication.

If you haven't already, check out NEW WORKS REVIEW here

~Joyce Sterling Scarbrough
True Blue Forever
ISBN 0-9722385-9-X
Different Roads
ISBN 0-9722385-3-0
Authors Ink Books
http://www.authorsinkbooks.com

Read the first chapters: http://www.authorsden.com/joycelscarbrough1
Waste time on Joyce's Blog: http://joycescarbrough.blogspot.com
Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kztz5e3XZeo

Frank Mazur
Wandering Member
Post Number: 267
Registered: 02-2005

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Posted on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 - 07:25 am:

Congratulations, Joyce. NWR is also getting a needed facelift, and the new look is more literary, less collage appearing. There's also to be some new direction to the guidelines, which will be a big plus to the magazine's stature.

3-dollar gas. Writers' strike. Read a great book by F. E. Mazur.

SPINE
THE BUCKSELLER
"A BIGGER CASE"

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Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 03:45 am:

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