Miscellany
Writing Musings
Below are the opening lines of all of my web log entries for the particular category that you selected. Click on the heading of a particular entry to read its full text.
On Becoming a Graham Greene
By pushing myself emotionally, continuing to read Graham Greene's novels and writing reviews of them, I have made great progress in my fiction writing. I know I'm flattering myself, but I feel as though I'm become a Graham Greene. I think I can say this because he wasn't an artist: he was just a good writer. Shakespeare was an artist. Greene just did a good job and that's achievable. That's the trail I seem to be following in my personal growth and with my writing skills.Evaluating Non Dead Authors
Almost all of the novels that I've read were written by authors who are dead. In college when I majored in English, older classical novels were assigned and I've read more on my own since. Only in the past year have I begun to read more modern works. However, I've not read many contemporary novels, novels involving current settings and circumstances. Now I've begun reviewing newly published novels. This is difficult for me. I don't know how to review them or what I should say about them.I'm Not Creative
I've wondered lately if I am creative or if I merely have a creative sense. This is particularly important to me if I want to make my way as a creative writer. When I say creative sense, I mean that I can sense that which is creative--spot a good artistic idea when I see one--as opposed to coming up with a good artistic idea of my own. And if that's all I have to offer and of which I'm capable, then maybe I should be a literary critic and a professor, and not a writer of fiction. It's a difficult thing to consider about oneself: am I not creative, will I never be a great writer, and am I only good at analyzing and commenting on the writings of others?Writing about Myself.
There's a Zen tenet that says, One cannot observe and participate at the same time. I've given this tenet much thought over the past twenty years since I first heard it. I can say much about it and what I learned. However, I'm now starting to apply it to my understanding of writing.Greene Beginnings
Starting to write a story is not a problem for me--I don't suffer from writer's block, ever. I can always think of something to say and, thereby, to write. When I want to write a story, I usually start with a thought, a profound phrase that sums up a feeling. The phrase helps me to distinguish it. Then I consider how a person, a character might flow from that moment. I come up with just general ideas, bullet points in a vague timeline. When I feel I'm ready, I begin writing.Writing a Playpen
I've noticed in the stories that I write that there's an innocence about some of my protagonists. They're often playful in their tone; they don't curse or act in an offensive manner. They try not to offend or hurt others in any way. I think that ...Next Novelist Step
Well, I declared my novel finished and sent a letter to a New York literary agent along with a copy of the first chapter. If he agrees to be my agent, it's only a matter of time before he'll have it sold and it will be published. Maybe this agen...Writing Fiction is Dreaming
In dreams one is sometimes present not only in the character depicted as oneself, but also as other characters. The shift between perspectives occurs rapidly and sometimes exists dually, making it difficult to realize that the person with which o...A Novel Pace
As I'm now making tremendous progress in writing my first novel, I'm starting to realize that I now know how to write a novel. When I first started back at college about fifteen years ago, I couldn't see to the end of a few-page essay. I didn't ...A Lizard in the story
The idea of my novel began based on a humorous moment between my friend Richard Stringer, his wife, and me one night at their home. Richard was asking me about a virus he thought he had on his computer. In response, his wife said that he didn't ...
Musing Categories
Below is a list of categories in which musings are tagged and thereby grouped. If you click on one, all of the musing entries related to the topic you choose will be displayed.
Italian Language
5 entries; 3 comments;As I'm learning my first non-mother-tongue language, Italian, I'm realizing various aspects of learning a language and about language in general. These musings include my observation through this process.
Italy
5 entries; no commentsThese musings are related to experiences in living in Italy. They mostly include my first encounters with the Italian culture.
MySQL Related
2 entries; no commentsSince I've been working for MySQL AB (now part of Sun) for a few years now, on a very rare occasion I write something about my experiences with MySQL the company and community.
New Orleans
5 entries; 29 comments;Since I'm from New Orleans and that is actually my permanent residence, and since I've lived through Hurricane Katrina, I've had a few thoughts on the subject of New Orleans and surviving the hurricane.
Personal
32 entries; 5 comments;Perhaps this category should just be called 'miscellaneous'. These musings relate to personal thoughts and experiences that aren't part of another more specific category.
Photography
1 entries; no commentsSince I started this site, my photography activities have grown. I've acquired better and more photography equipment and I've learned much more about the subject, the art form. These musings are about what I've learned and explain my developing style.
Writing
10 entries; no commentsThe primary focus of this site is related to my writing activities. These musings include reflections on writing. There are other pages on my site related to writing (e.g., my literary reviews).
Statistics on Musings
Below are the statistics of the number of readers for my musings in the past ninety days.
- Me as a Boy - 99
- MySQL takes the Red Pill - 80
- What happened to Burglars? - 61
- Being a Settler - 54
- I'm Not Creative - 50
- On Becoming a Graham Greene - 48
- Evaluating Non Dead Authors - 47
- Wanted: Passion - 44
- Imprinting - 43
- Living on the Ledge - 42
- Greene Beginnings - 41
- I don't like to share - 39
- My Night Light - 38
- My things - 37
- Writing a Playpen - 36
- Waiting for Godot - 36
- Writing about Myself. - 35
- I'm a jerk - 34
- Throwing temper tantrums - 34
- Fritzy Boy! - 33
- Why I want Hillary to Win - 33
- Italians speak Italian - 32
- Living without a plot - 32
- Conquer or Be Conquered - 32
- The community model - 31
- Milan so far - 31
- Next Novelist Step - 31
- Hurricane Katrina - 31
- Would it were night! - 31
- I was raised to be a Liar. - 30
- Inaudible Universal Language - 30
- A person of colour - 30
- I want to go home. - 30
- A Bob Newhart life - 30
- Another Father Lost - 29
- A Beanbag of Misery - 29
- Sounds of the night - 29
- Seeing a fellow's nuts - 29
- Think, think, think... - 29
- An apology for statue photos - 29
- Writing Fiction is Dreaming - 29
- A Novel Pace - 29
- Dealing in Words - 29
- Italian Reality - 28
- Stay Quiet - 28
- Godfather Found - 28
- Italians don't count - 28
- A Panic of Unhappiness - 28
- A Lizard in the story - 28
- Nothing in Common - 28
- A Relationship shouldn't be a Performance Art - 28
- Rythm of Community - 27
- Living well - 27
- As lonely as lighthouses - 27
- Plot Deviations - 27
- When will it end? - 27
- Losing Another Community - 27
- Just me - 25
- Sense of Now and the World - 25
- Alone at last - 23
