Today’s Dictionary Crisis: Commercial with Literary Aspirations

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Never let it be said that we bore easily — we’ve spent years being fascinated by the labels applied to writing. It’s now hard for us to believe that “narrative non-fiction” was once considered a wacky term. Adam Chromy (also known as Artists and Artisans…which, yes, makes us wonder what he considers the distinction) is probably feeling a bit proud of himself right now. He gave us pause as we considered a new-to-us phrase. But enough about our problems. Chromy likes smart stuff, good writing, platform, commercial fiction with literary aspirations, and, probably, good beer. We’re just guessing on that […]

Agents

Covering The Local Beat

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We realize we beat up on our local paper, but, in all fairness, we read it regularly and feel it’s our right and responsibility. And, again to be fair, we beat up on news outlets we don’t consume regularly. All’s fair when it comes to making fun of the press. As part of our regular routine, we read the Los Angeles Times Book Review section from cover to cover*. Then, for fun, we look at the local bestsellers. If we were the type to do those charts and graphs, we’d see there is no correlation between the reviews and charts.

Square Pegs

Lawsuits: Cheap Entertainment For The Masses

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If you are the type who craves constant mental stimulation, well, probably you should stop reading this. We’re not going to get much deeper than the surface here. Why? Because we’re talking about Stupid Human Tricks — or, why sometimes it’s better not to sue. One inevitable drawback of the right to sue is the fact that people take advantage of this privilege. This is why we must have ridiculous notices on commercials, etc. telling us not to try this at home. You wonder who would, then realize it is the nature of our species to do things other animals

Square Pegs

Refreshing Twists on The Death of The Novel

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As it turns out, the novel will not die a lonely death. Its cousins, the motion picture and the pop single, are on life support as well. As with fiction, these arts forms are simply unable to compete in the modern world. Yes, this clearly explains their omnipresence. Today we present a theory: when someone proclaims the death of something, it really means the death of how they like things. Does this lessen our fascination with the subject? Of course not. We remain awestruck by the time and energy put into these stories. Is the blockbuster the end of cinema?

Square Pegs

Sad, Sad Misconceptions

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We believe in live and let live. Mostly. Bookclubs aren’t for everyone, but we take exception to the notion that our libations are inferior. Our bookclub (still going strong after all these years!) prides itself on the quality of food and beverage. As much thought is put into refreshments as is put into the book*. Actually, it’s quite refreshing to read such a curmudgeonly piece so early in the morning. It reminds us of what matters in the world. Yes, crankiness is an underrated virtue. Venting spleen keeps the blood flowing. Thumbing your nose at that which you don’t understand

Books/Mags/Blogs

No, Really, Your Mother Does It

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What with one thing and the other, we ended up in a situation where we were joking about the mother’s (non-existent) blog with a nurse. What was supposed to be facetious became uncomfortable when the nurse asked how often the mother updated her blog. See, it wasn’t that the ICU nurse was curious about the blog — it was that she assumed the mother was posting hourly*. Talk about lowering expectations. If anything, blogs are proof that the written word is alive and well. Also that our most profound desire to express our deepest thoughts also coincides with such events

Square Pegs

Career Opportunities

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We’ve probably mentioned (once or twice) that we’re not much for the non-fiction side of writing. Our first reaction when faced with a crisis of facts is “make it up.” Who’s to say for sure that humans can’t adapt to temperatures on Saturn? It’s not like we’ve tried, and until we have proof of failure, it’s okay to go forth with the possibility of success. Hmm, that was an odd digression. What we really wanted to say is that if you’re doing the non-fiction thing and/or you’re looking into the ghostwriting business, Madeleine Morel may be the agent for you.

Agents

The Essence of Character

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It is rare that we look to Roger Ebert for insight on character development, but perhaps that is just our shortsightedness at work. After all, he did write one of the husband’s favorite movies of all time. Characters (as we all know) march to their own little drummers. How often do we find something happening on the page that isn’t what we’d do in real life*? It is this unexpected quality that makes characters fascinating. In fact, when a character’s actions challenges an author’s belief system, we think it adds unexpected depth to the story. Ebert looks further to point

Tools and Craft

On Life’s Simple Pleasures

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This is necessary because the man [Dean Koontz]doesn’t just write at a breakneck clip. He edits each page at least 20 to 30 times immediately after writing it. When the chapter is finished, he prints it out and starts editing those same pages all over again. “It’s fun,” he says. Sit, stay, succeed – Bestselling suspense author Dean Koontz has a shockingly vivid imagination, a sedate Newport Coast lifestyle and, oh yes, a dog who writes a little too. (Note: Unless a miracle has happened, getting to this article is rough going due to registration and the Times’s strange belief

Quote of the Week

Uh, What Decade Is This?

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Far be it for us to question the press, but have to wonder when the author of the article linked below last looked over the range of Harlequin titles. Because we’re fairly they stopped “tastefully” implying sex and started getting pretty detailed about the act a long time ago. Now if the scale was sliding from softcore (in a manner of speaking) to graphic, she’d have something. Since we suspect we won’t have time to cover this story in any depth, we’ll just hit the highlights here: erotica is the new black and Harlequin is getting them some of that.

Books/Mags/Blogs
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