Getting Back To It, Whatever 'It' Is

For the two people who read this blog, you might have noticed that I didn't do an entry for December. I also neglected to do book reviews for the couple of novels I read towards the end of the year. To be fair, I was busy. Holidays and getting my old house ready for sale has taken up all my time. Not that I didn't have time to make an entry into a blog no one reads, but more to the effect that I didn't have anything to say. At least in regards to writing. Still kind of don't, but I felt the need to check in with my plans for the future.

The house is ready to sell. More or less. Some productive people I know, stay productive by following the 80% rule. Basically, you work on something until you complete 80% of it because the remaining 20% isn't really worth it. I stop working on the house around 95%, but that's just how I am. Hopefully, it won't take too long to sell. Or, to be more actuate, it won't take long to sell it at the price I want.

NaNoWriMo was a failure. I shot out of the gate and landed on my face. I had some friends who needed my help and it completely threw me off my game. Don't get me wrong, helping my friends was more important. I was just hit with situation after situation that ate up all my free time to write. I was hoping to get a good start on the new book and work on it first thing in January. My biggest problem was that I still couldn't decide on a narrative voice. Plus, what I did write didn't make me feel like I was writing at my best. So, in light of this, I decided to go back to the Colony Earth project. God help me.

I should also start querying agents next week. I've been putting it off for the holidays, but I can't use that for an excuse anymore. I did query an agent in early December, but that was more a matter of timing than anything. According to her twitter, she plans to be caught up on most queries by February. So I should be getting that rejection letter any day now.

I've gotten a slow start to the new year, if you can't tell by the date stamp on this entry, but it's back to the grindstone for me. Writing goals being to finish the draft for CE by the end of the year, query everyone, and get back to my short form work. I know I know. There's enough bad poetry in the world without me adding to it. But, if it wasn't for my shitty prose, how would you tell what is good?

Review: Dune

Dune by Frank Herbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Despite the rabid nature of love that I pour onto this book, I will fully admit that it isn't for everyone. It was barely published in its time, and would never have a chance of being successful today. It violates so many rules of storytelling that I'm surprised Hemingway hasn't risen from his grave and thrown a yellow flag in protest. It treats every detail evenly, both important and mundane. It practically tells you word for word what is going to happen from the very beginning, leaving almost nothing for surprise. It's written in third person omniscient, which is a death curse to most regardless of the quality of the prose. And, perhaps most troublesome of all, it's dense. Far denser than it needs to be, requiring a hundred ten percent of your attention span.

The question must be asked: If Dune has so many fundamental problems, why do uber nerds like me love it so? The answer: It's complicated. Literally. Dune is so layered in its complexity that it's near impossible to write a proper review without going into deep philosophical analysis. It touches so many bases on religion, politics, ecology, and even invents some new subjects we didn't even know we needed. Much of the book could be taken apart and examined deeper for unexpressed meanings. And, unlike a David Lynch film, will actually have them.

That's the gift and curse of Dune. It can't just be read, it has to be absorbed. If you walk into this thinking its a cool read about deserts and giant adorable sandworms, you'll be sadly mistaken. It does have that, vast plains of sand and the cutest invertebrates in literature, but those are merely backdrops to a deep narrative of message and warning. That's the good news. The bad news is that most of that depth is buried between the lines.

View all my reviews

January Was a Hell of a Year

January was such a long month that I actually went back to my last entry to see what the hell was going on. Now that the month is over, it feels like I'm doing the first real update of the year. Not that I have much to really report, but this blog is more for me than it's for you. A blog for someone who can't afford a shrink.

For the update portion, I've made some progress. Finished the first chapter of the new book. Well, finished is a strong word. Maybe saying that I have more than just a vague concept is more accurate. I sent the draft out to a few friends and actually got some feedback. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with said draft, but I know I need to pin down the narrative before I spend a year or two writing out a whole book. It wouldn't be good if I put the book before the voice.

In the book-already-completed department, I got the professional critique back on the first 19 pages along with the query materials. Long story short, he liked the actual novel, but I need to improve talking about my novel. I haven't gone through all of the material yet, but I have until April 3rd. I feel like I need to get it done, but also I have to time to do it right.

Poetry. Fucking poetry. I got a rhyming dictionary last week to help with this particular project. Maybe when I'm happier with the process, I'll talk more about it, but right not all you need to know is that its garbage. Hence the dictionary. I already have some ideas on how to use it, so maybe by March, my poems will be passible.

As always, I have a ton of personal stuff going on, but I don't use this blog to talk about them. I'm mainly seeking focus on my writing. With all the shit that goes down on a daily basis, it's easy to lose something you love to do. And, what I really would love to do, is become a successful author. That requires focus. Hence the blog and self-deprecation.

Also, for the two whom actually read this, what do you guy(s) think about the reviews. If I find the time, I might expand reviews into movies. We'll see.

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