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Michael....
To all writers: Get an agent once you have a contract offered, then you'll need one. Otherwise, just write, and submit. Agents are essential to negotiate a contract. Bingo! That's definitely true from what I have observed, not having attempted to publish anything for oh, fifteen years. They also serve who only Submit and wait... ;) Grasca: "The journalistic form here is often confused with the literary form in the comments section. For example, some people often refer to stringer stories as blogs. This is entirely inaccurate. And, they attempt to criticize a stringer story as they would a blogger. This is naive. Most bloggers write in literary form. Stringers always write in journalistic form." Right on. Couldn't agree more. But I have to say that I enjoy the confusion of boundaries (of all kinds) in the stringers, however serious the issue of lazy reportage, as has been discussed frequently on this site--Although, if their work isn't of consequence, then why we worry is not clear, other than the issue over labeling the pieces as journalism or "community contributors" or "stringers," etc. Not that I want to start that convo up again ;)— June 26, 2010 10:42 p.m.
Michael....
"Successful writers have agents and contracts and some ISBN credits." Grasca, I'm suddenly, ironically glad that is not true, as I've had the honor to read plenty of unpublished authors who rocked, and knocked, but didn't get in. Who do you think is able to publish and reward them all, much less clamor in to represent?* *This is a serious question. Cue refried, to give us some facts and stats on paucity of valid publishing opportunities. ;)— June 26, 2010 10:09 p.m.
Poem: A configuration of a stale situation
P.S. Diggin' the squirrel. Hey nanners! Squirrel alert!— June 26, 2010 9:29 p.m.
Poem: A configuration of a stale situation
If you want to make this into a poem, take away all of the articles, prepositions, and most parts of speech except your nouns, including the obsessive non-count nouns (yes, you were aware that these were predominantly non-count nouns, and that figures complexly into your poetics, right?) Now relax, and connect them more naturally and playfully, --and let a few fall away for godsake. In this way, you give it a chance to become something fun, yet dark and complicated, instead of the 'hey, lookit all the suffixes I can cram in here!' feeling it has now.— June 26, 2010 9:27 p.m.
Dream a Little Dream of Fear
re: #8: Unfort, in better days. re: #2: Thank you for that article. When my aunt and grandmother both had terrifying hallucinations in hospital, it was attributed to postoperative recovery from anaesthetic. Of course, drying out can give one hallucinations as well, though neither of them were alcoholics. re:#7: Let's hope SurfPuppy gets over his Fantasy Island hallucinations before he accidentally falls out of the hydroplane ;)— June 26, 2010 9:19 p.m.
So Much Things to Say
re: #6: Late to the convo, but just wanted to say that I would definitely purchase nan's bumper stickers in #6. Some could be shortened, but hey. I'd still buy 'em ;) Oh, and re: #50: a2z, you've got a great bumper sticker there, yourself.— June 26, 2010 3:51 p.m.
Michael....
(cont). It's about the "truth," defined as whatever seems to sum up or define some piece of writing. Case in point, here is my final word on this blog, and I'll tell you what bothers me most about it. Sure, it's in diary form, so there is a certain looseness of thought to be expected. But there is no point, and we are told there is a point--here: "I do feel the need to give one important opinion of my own..... And that would be, I really know nothing about his personal life, I only know what has been in the press and tabloid press," ...and so on and so on, paragraph after paragraph, until the end where we find: "with that said." What was the point? What was said? With that, impatience that has been building turns to exasperation. Why did I waste my time? Etc., and hence Grant's cute little explosion. :)— June 26, 2010 2:59 p.m.
Michael....
re: #26 "I have been guilty of schlock and preciousness and self-centered writing many times, and sometimes when I go back and read some of my older essays I cringe." Hey! Who hasn't? And perhaps when we see it still, we cringe--remembering? Judging the author by presumed age, as if to say, you should be over this stage by now? We are human, so yes. But it is never personal in the sense of hating on the author; it's always about their work. "It takes time and effort to write something worth reading and I'm not sure if Lifetime Television for Women is a style that serious writers enjoy." Nope. ;) --Unless one's looking into Lifetime programming to discover some cultural trend. "I mean, even Harlequin introduced a little raunch into their genre with their steamier line." Oh yeah? I would have dug that at age 12, last time I read one of those. "Sepia-toned brushstrokes are dishonest. Not everything is precious. Grit, honesty, personal experience. These are the things that bring a story to life." So beautifully put! Grant is on the refriedgringo side of it, then. Grit, honesty, personal experience. I would add that a story can be brought to life by drowsy, distanced artifice, and outright lies. A matter of aesthetic preference. re: #28: Grasca wrote: "I think it takes courage to post a story or a blog so I would be supportive of that endeavor even if it is not to my taste. Constructive criticism is never mean spirited in my humble opinion." Absolutely on both points, Grasca--and don't take this wrongly, but this is the opinion with which people invariably back out of a discussion of aesthetics. We try to affirm that criticism is supposed to be constructive, but become uncomfortable when it has other aims, that are not necessarily to enlighten the author. We are talking about literary criticism, critique, not a wagging of the finger and an opinion. I'm coming from a couple of decades of thought and training on the matter, and critiquing a work just to wag the finger at someone? Boring. There is just too much to do. In the world I spent years of my life in, criticism is most often performed over a dead writer's work, or an absent writer's work. I have only performed criticism to a live author once, and she was hesitant, but grew to be appreciative by the end of it. That is the only author's signature on a book that means anything to me ;) Lit crit gets a bad name for no reason, for misunderstanding, for fear, for intimidation, and it's such a shame. I am always glad to hear of book clubs where "regular" folk gather to discuss literature or film, and I hope that they eventually, if not at first, learn to go for the jugular. Criticism can be like the delicate carving up of an animal, a fish--with no more offense to the fish than meat eaters intend; in other words, none.— June 26, 2010 2:56 p.m.
Michael....
Oh man, "RamboFish" is really your name. THAT is your name.— June 26, 2010 11:41 a.m.
Michael....
re: #15: Good god, that is the LAST position I would give you, CF. ;)— June 26, 2010 11:38 a.m.