Just had my first trapeze lesson at Esh Aerial Arts. http://t.co/HnEsMIe1 I'm probably gonna _feel_ this tomorrow.
BTW--Here's footage of my amazing instructor, Rachel Stewart.
BTW--Here's footage of my amazing instructor, Rachel Stewart.
"Don't rejoice in his defeat, you men. For though the world stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again."
"Infidel defilers. They shall all drown in lakes of blood. Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark. Now they will learn why they fear the night."--Thulsa Doom
Yes... I agree with and stand by George Orwell's statement that "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four." But it also the freedom to say that "C" is for "Cookie." And that's good enough for me.
Einstein defined insanity as "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." Just for the record--I keep doing different things, and still get the same result. Which is enough to make you crazy. So MAYBE the result is the constant, and insanity just accommodates that result, so that everything you do only seems like doing the same thing over and over. Which is crazy.
Just came back to Boston from South Carolina to teach my new writing class. It's freezing today, in the single digits, with marrow-slicing wind chill. As I was getting ready to come back to Beantown, my kitty Sascha was getting upset. He tries to sabotage my packing whenever I get ready to leave. It breaks my freakin' heart. Here he is trying to keep me from putting things in my suitcase.
My new Grub Street class "The Smart Page-Turner Strikes Back" has been confirmed for Sunday nights this fall at Grub HQ in downtown Boston. The class topics are things my students have specifically asked me to cover, like how to create good villains, how to generate conflict, how to handle multiple plot threads, etc.
Here's the official description:
How do write popular fiction with literary depth? How do you tackle the hands-on, practical issues of writing genre and genre-influenced fiction... like plotting, starting a story, ending a story, keeping track of plotting and themes... and make your work _smart_? In a world in which literary lions like Junot Diaz and Cormac McCarthy win Pulitzers for works that build upon pop fiction, the writing of the _smart_ page-turner that uses both literary and genre tropes has never been more dynamic. This class, which addresses specific topics requested by Grub students, will teach writers of romance, mystery, science fiction, erotica, supernatural or suspense fiction how to strengthen their literary potential while getting a grip on the "nuts and bolts" aspects of writing popular fiction. Classes will entail the workshopping of your stories and novel chapters, exploring the terrain of the genres, the use of writing and idea-generating exercises, and discussion of the magazines and publishers looking for your sort of fiction. While this class expands upon topics covered in Grub's "Writing the Smart-Page Turner" class, it is open to all but recommended for those with previous workshop experience.
10 Sundays in Boston, 6pm 9pm at Grub HQ near Park Street Station.
Begins September 13th.
Registration Deadline: September 9th
SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE FOR REDUCED TUITION
The Grub Street listing is here:
http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=12#smart
For more information or to register, contact
Sonya Larson, Program Manager: sonya@grubstreet.org
or call 617-695-0075
I'll be listing more details on the class, including a week-by-week breakdown of the topics covered and the readings, on my LiveJournal and elsewhere soon.
E-mail if you have any questions! I'm open to suggestions for the readings, so feel free to send them along.
Best,
Mike
Here's the official description:
How do write popular fiction with literary depth? How do you tackle the hands-on, practical issues of writing genre and genre-influenced fiction... like plotting, starting a story, ending a story, keeping track of plotting and themes... and make your work _smart_? In a world in which literary lions like Junot Diaz and Cormac McCarthy win Pulitzers for works that build upon pop fiction, the writing of the _smart_ page-turner that uses both literary and genre tropes has never been more dynamic. This class, which addresses specific topics requested by Grub students, will teach writers of romance, mystery, science fiction, erotica, supernatural or suspense fiction how to strengthen their literary potential while getting a grip on the "nuts and bolts" aspects of writing popular fiction. Classes will entail the workshopping of your stories and novel chapters, exploring the terrain of the genres, the use of writing and idea-generating exercises, and discussion of the magazines and publishers looking for your sort of fiction. While this class expands upon topics covered in Grub's "Writing the Smart-Page Turner" class, it is open to all but recommended for those with previous workshop experience.
10 Sundays in Boston, 6pm 9pm at Grub HQ near Park Street Station.
Begins September 13th.
Registration Deadline: September 9th
SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE FOR REDUCED TUITION
The Grub Street listing is here:
http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=12#smart
For more information or to register, contact
Sonya Larson, Program Manager: sonya@grubstreet.org
or call 617-695-0075
I'll be listing more details on the class, including a week-by-week breakdown of the topics covered and the readings, on my LiveJournal and elsewhere soon.
E-mail if you have any questions! I'm open to suggestions for the readings, so feel free to send them along.
Best,
Mike
Did a whole lotta work tonight, but got no fiction written. Lots of magazine work done stuff like that. Time for Comic books, wine, and bed. Then fiction in the AM.
Working on novel, turning rough draft into not-as-rough-draft of Chapter 8. Ah, the glamor of being a writer.
Hey... just had a fun interview with George Hardy... the star of TROLL 2, one of the worst movies ever made. Great Fun!
