Category: Uncategorized (Page 5 of 10)

Proof that Chicagoans like their politicians nasty

Big News! This week I signed a deal with Evolved Press for a series of three crime novels starring my aggrieved governor, Duncan Cochrane. The first should be published in August, the others to follow apx. 1 year later. Thanks to all those who helped, especially my insightful readers at Pac U.

Tonight I finally saw Whiplash, the movie about a teen drummer with a relentless and abusive teacher. First off, I’d recommend it to everyone. JK Simmons was a worthy Oscar winner as the monstrous mentor.

More importantly, it made me question the value of critical feedback. I often wonder if I would have become a better drummer if my teachers had pushed me more. I quit playing at 18 after I grew discouraged that others were far better than me, but I think I could have equal them had I practiced more and better

Likewise, the searing criticism I received in my MFA program made me improve my writing. Without that, I doubt I would have a book deal today.

So are tough teachers necessary to success? And should I apply that to my own teaching career?

Half way through the movie version of “Inherent Vice” I happily gave up on following the plot, let alone guessing who dunnit, and started enjoying the show.

Each scene could stand alone as a set piece of hysterical sets, costumes, and sight gags (to say nothing of the dialogue). Based in L.A. around 1970, it capitalizes on all the SoCal hippy stereotypes. My favorite bit was Josh Brolin as a buzz cut corrupt cop with a Sag card.

And that was a lucky thing, because not only was the mystery unintelligible, it was never solved. But who cares?

Against my will, I had to recreate my website today from scratch. Thank goodness I’m not working right now and have 4 hours to spend copying and pasting.

Thanks again to my buddy, Don, for his help with the coding.

For the second time in as many years, I need to rebuilt my website because the program I used to create it (iWeb) is no longer supported by my web host. You’d think the product of the world’s largest computer company would be better supported. But in the tech field, nothing is safe.

Imagine if word processing worked this way. Before I reached the end of a novel, I’d have to start over on a new platform. In the immortal words of Charlie Brown, aaargh!

P.S. Thanks to my buddy Don for helping me set up the new site (again). I owe you a one (or six).

All publishers these days (including mine) want their authors to have a presence on social media: website, Facebook, you know the rest. Mine has asked me to open a Twitter account in addition. Which provokes a question:
What do people tweet about?
Sure, I’ve read things from athletes and actresses from Twitter, but I don’t expect to be going clubbing with celebrities anytime soon. So what should I write about? My latest paragraph? A sentence I particularly admired by some other author?
I asked all my writer friends and they had the same problem.
So let me put it out there to you all: what do you want to know?

Since getting an offer from a book publisher, I’ve been working furiously on the first draft of my second book in the Duncan Cochrane series. So far so good. I’m average 750 words per day, which is fast for me, and on pace to finish within a month or two.

Still, I’m nervous. This is the first time I’ve had to write fiction on a deadline. As a journalist (many years ago) I’d produce two or three stories a day, but most of those were crap. Usually, I spend years Hamletizing over word choices and minor details. Now I have to find a way to produce something that I’m proud of within 18 months. So this is how it feels to be a professional writer.

Lately, as I’ve been drafting the second book in my series about Duncan Cochrane, I often find myself repeating scenes, settings, and ideas I’ve used before. Some of this is inevitable. When you write about the same people and the same story, it’s difficult to escape your previous work. And to a degree all artists do it. Monet painted the same scenes many times (but with different lighting). Ansel Adams photographed the same places over and over. Mahler reused his own melodies. And many writers have been accused of writing the same book a dozen times (especially those of us laboring in the genres).

Still, isn’t the idea to try new things?

Perhaps most of us just don’t have that much material available. Perhaps, as some critics allege, we all possess only one story to tell, our own, and when that’s done we have left to us only variations on a theme.

As I attempt to recreate the feel of the late 1970s and early 80s, I often find myself plunging into research of popular culture. I ask “what would they have watched, listened to, worn, ate?”

The web is a dangerous vehicle for this. Nowadays, I can find any bit of trivia from the time period listed:

Ten 100 songs of 1981? Found.
Top grossing movies? Watched.
Sit coms starring African Americans? Downloaded.

But as I gaze upon “What’s Happening” and “Benson” and “Good Times,” I have to ask: when does research degenerate into time wasting?/Users/davidhagerty/Desktop/shapeimage_1-4.jpg