Bringing the Devil to His Knees

From time to time I like to share books about writing that I've found especially useful or interesting.  The latest one I've been reading,  Bringing the Devil to His Knees: the Craft of Fiction and the Writing Life is comprised of essays originally presented as lectures in the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers.  The book is not an assemblage of how-to-write rules, but instead, an exploration of writing approaches.  The essays are divided into three categories:  Techniques, Devices, and Strategies; Maps and Legends; and Facing Up to the Reader.  As in any collection, some essays stand out as more relevant than others, but which essays a reader finds useful will no doubt vary with the reader's own needs as a writer.  The chapter with the greatest impact on me, "In Defense of Omniscience" by Richard Russo, inspired me to step away from my usual first-person narrative style and begin writing my current draft in third person omniscient.  Within the essay, Russo also touches on balancing showing with telling, which is something I'm constantly evaluating in my own writing.

The closing of the book's introduction states: "This book does not mean to provide--cannot provide--a set of answers.  At best it will be suggestive (in the best sense), informative, and inspiring".  It delivers exactly what it promises.

Werewolves 101

Gévaudanais defends herself from the Beast of Gévaudan

Want to know how to become a werewolf?  Need to identify a specific type of lycanthrope or single out a famous case?  Begin your search at Monstrous.com, where you'll find art, stories, myths, and collected information about every aspect of the werewolf.

Professor D. L. Ashliman of the University of Pittsburgh has translated numerous folktales, among which you will find werewolf legends from Germany.  I especially like that Professor Ashlimann provides citations for the sources from which he has gathered his stories.

Werewolfpage.com, a site with an extensive werewolf collection, includes a great list of werewolf movies sorted by date ranges.  Synopsis and even some trailers are included for the films. (I'll be adding a few of these to my Netflix list.) 

The site Dans l'Ombre de la Bete (translation: In the Shadow of the Beast) contains primary sources and plenty of information related to the Beast of Gévaudan and the attacks attributed to large wolf-like creatures in Gévaudan during 1764-1765. The site is in French, but you can view scans of original documents.  And, using Google translate, you can read most of the site's text.  There's quite a bit there, and I've only begun skimming it myself--let me know what you find especially interesting.

Kind Words to get you started

Image by darrylfurr

I've written about finding inspiration in music, as have my fellow writers at writersvibe.  Today, to get back into the habit of providing a weekly writing prompt, I offer this musical treat from the Internet Archive--Geeshie Wiley's Last Kind Words.  And if you're a writer more inspired by the visual, you might find a story growing from the photograph above.  Together, the two send me back almost a century and into the resilient spirit of childhood.   

Dad

It's been a month since my dad died.  Three days from now should have been his 70th birthday.  My sister and I wanted to have a party, a card shower, put together scanned photos from his past to honor seven decades of life--a milestone.  Cancer stole our chance.

We found out about the cancer last October when Dad hurt himself working on the combine during harvest.  The scan to make sure his hernia hadn't caused internal hemorrhaging showed cancer in his lungs.  More tests showed it in his liver; in vertebrae of his neck.  Stage IV adenocarcinoma--a glandular cancer that might have started in his lungs since he'd been a smoker when he was younger.  Radiation took care of the cancer in his vertebrae.  He tried chemotherapy and, after his first round, almost died from bacterial pneumonia that was resistant to antibiotics.  That was just after Christmas.

Slowly, Dad improved.  None of us kids could get him to eat when we tried to care for him at home, but in the nursing home, he flourished.  And he brought that place to life.  He spoke to everyone; knew each by name and included them in conversations.  He participated in the group activities and traded stories with his roommate, George.

Sometimes I find myself wishing we hadn't found out about the cancer.  I think of all the things Dad wanted to do and couldn't after chemo--places he wanted to visit, shows he wanted to see at the Lied--and how little time the treatment bought him.  If he hadn't been fighting cancer, he would have been living his life.  And yet, he didn't seem to see it that way.  He needed to fight as much as he needed to laugh and swap stories with everyone who crossed his path.  I'm like that, too.

I've compartmentalized my life these last few months, plunging into work as if nothing's happening outside it, and forgetting work altogether to spend time with Dad.  I've avoided blogging because everything I might say here seemed trivial compared to what we were living, and I didn't want to share anything this personal with the world at large.  But here it is, a coming out of sorts.  I miss my dad. 

An Exercise in Description

Photo by Jan Tik

Most everyone I know has spring fever, and I'm no exception.  The weather's finally beginning to warm up, spring flowers are blooming, and the trees have leafed out.  I suppose this image is a little out of season, but when I came across it, I was immediately drawn in.   More than visual, this photograph calls to all my senses.  I can feel the cold; hear the crunch of the frosted grass and the creak of the tree's tired limbs.  It's a frozen moment full of potential--the moment before something happens.  And, it's a great image for sharpening your descriptive skills.  

Take a long look at the photo, studying the details and using all your senses.  Linger awhile and then, without looking back and without stopping your pen, write at least a page.  Begin with description, but let your mind flow freely without pause.  You may find that you move from describing a setting to creating a scene.  If you'd like, post a comment and share your experience with the exercise. 

I'm off to head outside and warm up in the sunshine.

Cuteness Dog-on-ified

There's a new furry face at our house.  We spotted Tali on Petfinder, and after a couple of weeks checking the site and finding her still available for adoption, Jim and I went to see her in person.  She was so much smaller than I expected.  Listed as a golden retriever shepherd cross, she was the size of a cocker spaniel puppy.  Jim wanted a dog that didn't shed much.  In the few moments I held her, my coat was covered with hair.  I like co-operative, eager to please dogs.  Circling the adoption room, she seemed interested in everything but us.  I couldn't decide whether it was a sign she was smart and curious or antisocial. 

When Jim and I stepped out to talk about whether we wanted her, neither of us was sure one way or the other.  Finally, I said, "I don't think we should take her."

Decision made, we walked back in, and she rocketed across the room to us, her tail wagging and whole body wriggling with puppy joy.  Jim looked at me.  In his eyes, I saw we weren't going home alone.  Four weeks later, I'm glad we didn't.

I have no idea what breed of dog she is.  No idea how big she'll get or what her soft, fuzzy coat will look like when she's a grown dog.  I do know she and Sadie get along well.  She waits behind Sadie at the water bowl like a kid in line at a drinking fountain and trots along beside her when we go for a walk.  She cuddles Jim's neck when he picks her up.  She lays by my feet when I'm writing.  She's learned sit and stay and watches everything that goes on.

Sure, she's piddled on the floor and chewed on the deck and torn a hole in my yoga pants.  But when she tosses her toys or pounces on a daylily or runs laps around the house simply to run, I'm reminded of joy I've been in danger of forgetting.  That pup knows how to live. 

Calibre-E-book management

The Kindle Reader (A Young Girl Seated), after Renoir

 by Mike Licht

 When it comes to e-readers, I'm a little behind the times.  I hate reading long text on my computer and have clung to the idea that books with paper pages to flip through my fingers provide a reading experience e-readers can never match.  The smell of a book, the ink on the page, the dog-eared edges my own fingers have worn--those sensual aspects of reading are part of the joy.

What could compete?  A Kindle.  No, it doesn't smell like old book, but the text is as easy on my eyes as any ordinary page.  And the darn thing is so light.  My hands don't cramp when I hold it.  My backpack weighs next to nothing these days--I might even get by with a purse or a hot little messenger bag and still be carrying around a virtual library.  I love it.

And last week I found yet another reason to embrace my e-reader.  Using Calibre e-book management software, I converted my current drafts to MOBI format and loaded them onto the Kindle.  Now, instead of hauling around my laptop or a giant three-ring binder of printed draft pages, I can read my drafts on the Kindle.  Not only does it lighten my load and enable me to work on my drafts almost anywhere, reading them on the Kindle allows me to see my work with a fresh eye.  It looks like every other text on my e-reader.  It doesn't seem like my work, and so, I've been reading it with more acceptance than I usually grant myself.  Because I tend to criticize and over-edit and not accept anything I write as good enough, I think this psychological distancing from my work will help me shape a solid final draft.

Even if you haven't thought about getting an e-reader, I suggest you check out Calibre.  It's free.  It can convert text to multiple e-reader formats, manage your electronic library, and sync with your chosen device.  Or, you can use it to read the e-texts on your computer if you prefer.  You can even use it to fetch news from websites.

Isn't technology great?