My second son, Michael is nine today. He’s a great kid. Smart, happy, creative, just like his dad and older brother. I’m so thankful every day for his health. It was a difficult birth for the little guy. My wife was in a long labor, and he wasn’t coming out. The doctors were worried. So was I. After inducing the delivery, he finally came out, but with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, not once, but twice over. The doctor unwrapped it right away, and put him in some lit up machine.
I left out a lot of details that added to the scariest day of my life, but I will cut to the point where he turned out fine, and I am so thankful that both of my sons are healthy, energetic, and happy little youngsters. Well, my oldest is 14. I suppose that’s still a youngster, but he’s not so little anymore! Even Michael is growing fast. Time sure flies. You know, that's worrisome, too!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Art Forms All
So how are drawing, painting, sculpting, composing music, and writing novels different? They are all art forms, of course. Each is a unique endeavor unto itself. Even the different forms of Fine Art are unique. With drawing you draw. With painting, you begin with a drawing, but you take it further with the application of paint. Sculpting is not even in the same ballpark. You may start with a drawing of something you want to sculpt, but not necessarily. And unless it's ceramics, you have to construct a sculpture with an interior skeleton or frame. Well, sometimes even with ceramics. Then you add to it, with clay, or whatever. And the three--dimensional aspect of sculpting, to me, makes it a more complex endeavor.
Then again, with drawing and painting, you need the skill to make a two-dimensional work look three-dimensional, but there’s a science to that. A science you may ask? Well, yes. A science. You learn it in college if you are lucky enough to have had the right instructor. The method was invented by a great artist from the past. The one and only Leonardo Da Vinci.
There is a great feeling you have when you complete a great drawing, painting, or sculpture. And it’s just as great when you write a great song. I’ve had original tunes buzzing in my head since I was a kid. Often I would play them on the piano, but since we had no recorders, they would be forgotten and lost.
But when the electronic keyboards came out with those floppy disc drives attached, it made writing music easy, since you could record so many tracks and layer them over each other. It would sound like a band playing. You could go back and change something if you decided to.
Which is like writing a book. But to me, writing a novel length book is the most complex art form yet. The characters, the plot, the storyline, the buildup, the complications, the climax, the denouement, it’s all so very important for it all to meld. Not unlike a great song. More like a symphony, really. Yeah, that would be the right comparison. Writing a great book is like writing a great symphony.
But forget the symphony. I’ll stick to writing books.
Then again, with drawing and painting, you need the skill to make a two-dimensional work look three-dimensional, but there’s a science to that. A science you may ask? Well, yes. A science. You learn it in college if you are lucky enough to have had the right instructor. The method was invented by a great artist from the past. The one and only Leonardo Da Vinci.
There is a great feeling you have when you complete a great drawing, painting, or sculpture. And it’s just as great when you write a great song. I’ve had original tunes buzzing in my head since I was a kid. Often I would play them on the piano, but since we had no recorders, they would be forgotten and lost.
But when the electronic keyboards came out with those floppy disc drives attached, it made writing music easy, since you could record so many tracks and layer them over each other. It would sound like a band playing. You could go back and change something if you decided to.
Which is like writing a book. But to me, writing a novel length book is the most complex art form yet. The characters, the plot, the storyline, the buildup, the complications, the climax, the denouement, it’s all so very important for it all to meld. Not unlike a great song. More like a symphony, really. Yeah, that would be the right comparison. Writing a great book is like writing a great symphony.
But forget the symphony. I’ll stick to writing books.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Editing Notes
Rolling along with Ti on the editing of THE VASE. She does four chapters at a time, and then sends them to me in an attachment. I loved her edits in chapters 1-4, but like I said before, I didn't use all of them. There are some parts, afterall, that she may suggest a change, but due to sentimental reasons, or even personal taste, I don't make those changes. I mean, there might be some part where the grammar is not proper, but for literary license, it's the way I want it to be. And there's a few places that happens.
Now we're on chapters 5-10, and I've made my first pass through chapter five, six, and I've started chapter seven. But it doesn't mean I'm done with them. I thought I was done with Chapters 1-4, but I went back over them, and sure enough, I made some more changes. Some changes I changed back. Then I changed them again. Then I changed them a different way. Writers know what I mean. And through it all, it is a lot of fun. A different kind of fun than art. It's more similar to writing music. You might write a song one way, and then decide to change it to another way.
Last week, I said I was going to talk about that. I think I'll post something about it tomorrow.
Now we're on chapters 5-10, and I've made my first pass through chapter five, six, and I've started chapter seven. But it doesn't mean I'm done with them. I thought I was done with Chapters 1-4, but I went back over them, and sure enough, I made some more changes. Some changes I changed back. Then I changed them again. Then I changed them a different way. Writers know what I mean. And through it all, it is a lot of fun. A different kind of fun than art. It's more similar to writing music. You might write a song one way, and then decide to change it to another way.
Last week, I said I was going to talk about that. I think I'll post something about it tomorrow.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Total Focus
Have you ever heard of losing yourself in your work? Well, that’s what happens to me, and it’s great. It’s like no matter what else is happening in my life at the moment, be it good or bad, it’s completely out of my mind when I’m working on my manuscript. Whether writing the first draft or revising for the umpteenth time, everything that is going on outside of my office is nowhere in my mind.
Fortunately for me, I have the ability to focus on what I’m doing. It’s the way I have always been. When I used to paint and sculpt, I would get into that “zone” and stay there for hours. Yeah, it drove my wife crazy, but she understood it. And when I composed and played music, I would be at that electronic keyboard for hours on end, completely oblivious to the outside world.
The thing about me is that there is ANOTHER world. A CREATIVE world. And my entire life, be it art, music, and now writing, I have been completely focused on whatever it is that I’m doing until I have completed what I set out to do. And right now, for THE VASE, I am in THAT world. This past week, so many things were happening that might have otherwise taken up my mental space. But once I sat down in that chair in front of my brand new Sony Vaio, I was transported to Nazareth, Israel, and into the lives of the Muhabi family, Hiram Weiss, Captain Mathias, Harvey Holmes, and Mary Levin.
I was absorbed by my characters' current situations, and even their past ones, as those first four chapters contain two flashbacks to events that happened three years prior.
And as I sit content for how it turned out, I find myself itching for Ti to send the next four chapters so I can dive into those. Was art and music ever this much fun? Yes, but it’s apples and oranges. One day I will try to explain how these different creative experiences compare. Maybe real soon.
Fortunately for me, I have the ability to focus on what I’m doing. It’s the way I have always been. When I used to paint and sculpt, I would get into that “zone” and stay there for hours. Yeah, it drove my wife crazy, but she understood it. And when I composed and played music, I would be at that electronic keyboard for hours on end, completely oblivious to the outside world.
The thing about me is that there is ANOTHER world. A CREATIVE world. And my entire life, be it art, music, and now writing, I have been completely focused on whatever it is that I’m doing until I have completed what I set out to do. And right now, for THE VASE, I am in THAT world. This past week, so many things were happening that might have otherwise taken up my mental space. But once I sat down in that chair in front of my brand new Sony Vaio, I was transported to Nazareth, Israel, and into the lives of the Muhabi family, Hiram Weiss, Captain Mathias, Harvey Holmes, and Mary Levin.
I was absorbed by my characters' current situations, and even their past ones, as those first four chapters contain two flashbacks to events that happened three years prior.
And as I sit content for how it turned out, I find myself itching for Ti to send the next four chapters so I can dive into those. Was art and music ever this much fun? Yes, but it’s apples and oranges. One day I will try to explain how these different creative experiences compare. Maybe real soon.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Importance of Editors
After I had revised my manuscript so many times already, I was really wondering just what could an editor do to make a difference. Well, after only the first chunk of edits, (the first four chapters) I found out for myself. It is really a win/win situation for everyone involved. My editor, Ti, has made it clear that her edits are really only suggestions for me to implement if I choose to do so. And most of them, I do indeed choose to do so. Sure there are some parts that I have not chosen to change. And there are other parts that I did change, but not the way she suggested.
And there are parts where she suggested a change might be needed, but did not offer an alternative, which is cool, because I take that as her believing I'm capable of finding a workable alternative on my own.
Interestingly, there was a part where I really didn't think my writing worked, but in my countless revisions of the ms, never did I change it. She caught it on her first pass. And as I went over her edits, I got busy on making it work. Now the ms is a lot better for that, and for the other edits.
And it's very possible, that the parts I left alone may still get revised. This is, after all, only the first round of edits. But I gotta tell you. It's a lot of fun.
And there are parts where she suggested a change might be needed, but did not offer an alternative, which is cool, because I take that as her believing I'm capable of finding a workable alternative on my own.
Interestingly, there was a part where I really didn't think my writing worked, but in my countless revisions of the ms, never did I change it. She caught it on her first pass. And as I went over her edits, I got busy on making it work. Now the ms is a lot better for that, and for the other edits.
And it's very possible, that the parts I left alone may still get revised. This is, after all, only the first round of edits. But I gotta tell you. It's a lot of fun.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Beginning Lines to THE VASE
I begin THE VASE by setting the tone for the weather. I pictured in my mind’s eye a blistering sun in a bare sky. If it was a movie, the first thing the audience would see is a blazing sun with those white lines emanating all around it. Then a bird’s eye view of Nazareth and the Galilee regions baking in the heat.
So what words conjure an image of a blazing sun? A merciless sun? A hot sun? A sun that takes no prisoners? Take into account there is a potter who works outside with no roof over his head. I thought that, to him, it would be a spiteful sun. Yeah, that’s it, a spiteful sun. So bingo, I nailed it. My first three words are: A spiteful sun. But again, I want my readers to picture those white lines that shine from a spiteful sun. What words would conjure those white rays you see when you squint your eyes at the sun?
White-hot tendrils. That’s what they are.
Now that I’ve established a reference as to what kind of day it is, I wanted to establish a point of reference as to where these white-hot tendrils are taking the reader. And what do these white-hot tendrils do when they get there? They shimmy, I believe, and the rolling hills of Galilee is where this story begins. So my first sentence reads like this:
A spiteful sun sliced the cloudless sky in white-hot tendrils that shimmied over the rolling hills of Galilee.
So from my first sentence, the reader already knows it’s day time, it’s a sunny and hot day, and it’s somewhere in the Galilee region of Israel.
Next, I want to give a more specific reference to what the place looks like, and what’s happening there. Well, most of the downtown buildings in Nazareth are roofed in red tile, and the streets are paved in black basalt. And at this point, the main idea I want to convey is the horrible heat baking the place. So my second sentence reads like this:
Red-tiled roofs and black streets of basalt scorched in dismay to the stellar onslaught.
By my third sentence, I want to introduce the main character, and his thoughts of the unusual conditions. So I went with this:
Throughout the region temperatures soared, and Muhsin Muhabi knew well it wasn’t normal for this time of year.
So let's put them together. Here we go:
A spiteful sun sliced the cloudless sky in white-hot tendrils that shimmied over the rolling hills of Galilee. Red-tiled roofs and black streets of basalt scorched in dismay to the stellar onslaught. Throughout the region temperatures soared, and Muhsin Muhabi knew well it wasn’t normal for this time of year.
Now as the editing process continues, some of that or maybe all of it may change. Hey, it's what revisions are all about, right? Let's see if they stick.
So what words conjure an image of a blazing sun? A merciless sun? A hot sun? A sun that takes no prisoners? Take into account there is a potter who works outside with no roof over his head. I thought that, to him, it would be a spiteful sun. Yeah, that’s it, a spiteful sun. So bingo, I nailed it. My first three words are: A spiteful sun. But again, I want my readers to picture those white lines that shine from a spiteful sun. What words would conjure those white rays you see when you squint your eyes at the sun?
White-hot tendrils. That’s what they are.
Now that I’ve established a reference as to what kind of day it is, I wanted to establish a point of reference as to where these white-hot tendrils are taking the reader. And what do these white-hot tendrils do when they get there? They shimmy, I believe, and the rolling hills of Galilee is where this story begins. So my first sentence reads like this:
A spiteful sun sliced the cloudless sky in white-hot tendrils that shimmied over the rolling hills of Galilee.
So from my first sentence, the reader already knows it’s day time, it’s a sunny and hot day, and it’s somewhere in the Galilee region of Israel.
Next, I want to give a more specific reference to what the place looks like, and what’s happening there. Well, most of the downtown buildings in Nazareth are roofed in red tile, and the streets are paved in black basalt. And at this point, the main idea I want to convey is the horrible heat baking the place. So my second sentence reads like this:
Red-tiled roofs and black streets of basalt scorched in dismay to the stellar onslaught.
By my third sentence, I want to introduce the main character, and his thoughts of the unusual conditions. So I went with this:
Throughout the region temperatures soared, and Muhsin Muhabi knew well it wasn’t normal for this time of year.
So let's put them together. Here we go:
A spiteful sun sliced the cloudless sky in white-hot tendrils that shimmied over the rolling hills of Galilee. Red-tiled roofs and black streets of basalt scorched in dismay to the stellar onslaught. Throughout the region temperatures soared, and Muhsin Muhabi knew well it wasn’t normal for this time of year.
Now as the editing process continues, some of that or maybe all of it may change. Hey, it's what revisions are all about, right? Let's see if they stick.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Weather
I spent some time in the cold during last week’s break, and I find myself, now, in a cold classroom. Of course, the room’s heater will warm it up soon enough, but it gets me to thinking about how a writer will depict the weather, or the temperatures in the course of his/her story.
In KILLER OF KILLERS, weather was not really a factor in the story. It takes place during the summer, and on both of the American coastlines, the weather is not so extreme. At least, not so much as to influence the storyline. The days are sunny, it’s not raining, and the night stays warm.
But in THE VASE, weather plays a huge role in the storyline. As a matter of fact, it’s because of the weather that the events unfold the way they do. My book begins with extreme heat in the area of Nazareth, Israel, which is not normal, because all my research has indicated that this area has a mild climate in the Spring. But I make it clear from the get go that the temperatures are NOT normal. The sun is acting up, and it’s because of the solar maximum phase that is taking place when my story starts. You see, the sun, (in real life, and in my story,) undergoes an eleven year cycle of what scientists call a solar maximum phase. And guess what, we are currently undergoing a solar maximum phase right now, this very year of 2011. The last one was in 2000 and 1989 before that, and so on.
But what happens during this solar maximum phase, and what does it have to do with my novel?
Well, during solar maximum phase, sun spots are increased. They can range in the dozens to the hundreds during solar maximum. Solar activity is increased along with the sun spots. Solar flares are more numerous and much larger, too. And with these solar flares, a lot of solar material is projected into space. This material includes dangerous radiation that travels across space via solar winds, and they do impact the atmosphere of earth. Fortunately for us, earth has its own magnetic field that deflects most of the dangerous material, but the magnetic field is affected by the radiation, resulting in what scientists call geomagnetic storms.
And during these storms, electromagnetism is affected. And what are among the things controlled by electromagnetism? The sounds and images that are recorded onto vinyl and DVDs, that’s what. (And in my book’s case, hardened clay.) So without this solar maximum effect, and the solar flares, and the resulting geomagnetic storms, the events in my story wouldn’t take place.
That’s why the weather plays a huge role in THE VASE. And I begin my story laying that foundation. It’s a very hot day in Nazareth, and Muhsin Muhabi is well aware of it as he sits on his outside pottery wheel getting ready to throw a vase.
For those of you who are not familiar with the ceramic term, “throwing a vase,” it doesn’t mean he is literally throwing his vases into the air or against a wall. The term “throwing” means when you put a clump of wet clay onto a circular surface, and that surface spins around or rotates, powered manually, or these days powered by a small electric motor.
Since it’s the 21st Century, Muhsin has the electrical kind. Now I have heard some writing advice that says don’t start your story by describing the weather. But weather is the whole premise of my story. So I do start that way. I mean, only the first two or three sentences, I make it clear that the weather is unusually hot, and then I introduce Muhsin, who he is, and what he’s doing. Tomorrow I'll give you an idea how I introduce the weather along with my main character. You’ll see how it turns into an extremely intriguing story.
In KILLER OF KILLERS, weather was not really a factor in the story. It takes place during the summer, and on both of the American coastlines, the weather is not so extreme. At least, not so much as to influence the storyline. The days are sunny, it’s not raining, and the night stays warm.
But in THE VASE, weather plays a huge role in the storyline. As a matter of fact, it’s because of the weather that the events unfold the way they do. My book begins with extreme heat in the area of Nazareth, Israel, which is not normal, because all my research has indicated that this area has a mild climate in the Spring. But I make it clear from the get go that the temperatures are NOT normal. The sun is acting up, and it’s because of the solar maximum phase that is taking place when my story starts. You see, the sun, (in real life, and in my story,) undergoes an eleven year cycle of what scientists call a solar maximum phase. And guess what, we are currently undergoing a solar maximum phase right now, this very year of 2011. The last one was in 2000 and 1989 before that, and so on.
But what happens during this solar maximum phase, and what does it have to do with my novel?
Well, during solar maximum phase, sun spots are increased. They can range in the dozens to the hundreds during solar maximum. Solar activity is increased along with the sun spots. Solar flares are more numerous and much larger, too. And with these solar flares, a lot of solar material is projected into space. This material includes dangerous radiation that travels across space via solar winds, and they do impact the atmosphere of earth. Fortunately for us, earth has its own magnetic field that deflects most of the dangerous material, but the magnetic field is affected by the radiation, resulting in what scientists call geomagnetic storms.
And during these storms, electromagnetism is affected. And what are among the things controlled by electromagnetism? The sounds and images that are recorded onto vinyl and DVDs, that’s what. (And in my book’s case, hardened clay.) So without this solar maximum effect, and the solar flares, and the resulting geomagnetic storms, the events in my story wouldn’t take place.
That’s why the weather plays a huge role in THE VASE. And I begin my story laying that foundation. It’s a very hot day in Nazareth, and Muhsin Muhabi is well aware of it as he sits on his outside pottery wheel getting ready to throw a vase.
For those of you who are not familiar with the ceramic term, “throwing a vase,” it doesn’t mean he is literally throwing his vases into the air or against a wall. The term “throwing” means when you put a clump of wet clay onto a circular surface, and that surface spins around or rotates, powered manually, or these days powered by a small electric motor.
Since it’s the 21st Century, Muhsin has the electrical kind. Now I have heard some writing advice that says don’t start your story by describing the weather. But weather is the whole premise of my story. So I do start that way. I mean, only the first two or three sentences, I make it clear that the weather is unusually hot, and then I introduce Muhsin, who he is, and what he’s doing. Tomorrow I'll give you an idea how I introduce the weather along with my main character. You’ll see how it turns into an extremely intriguing story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)