The works and musings of an american fiction and technical writer living in Milan, Italy •
Updated: Oct 05, 2008 - 5:39PM
• 8527 hits past day
Musings on Writing
Below are recent musings of mine related to my experiences as a writer. Click on an entry heading to read its full text. You can find all entries on Writing in the Musings section.
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.
oct 30, 2007 10:10 am
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.
oct 6, 2007 07:10 pm
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?
jul 31, 2007 08:07 pm
Novels
When I first became a writer, I had two basic goals: to earn a living as a writer and to write novels. Since novels take plenty of time to write before funds are derived from them, I limited my work to technical writing. But I'm now ready to begin writing novels and have recently completed my first and have begun my second. However, because I'm trying to finish my second technical book, I'm not allowing myself to work too much on this second novel just yet.
In Search of Kafka
My first novel, In Search of Kafka is a thriller (like a John Buchan novel) in which the main character is relentlessly pursued by the federal law enforcement agents for a crime which he is wrongly accused. He desperately tries to elude capture long enough to find the true criminal to hand to the authorities in his stead (similar to Buchan's The 39 Steps). The narration of this novel is written very much in my voice, but it sounds a bit like a P.G. Wodehouse narrator. Oliver's situation is reminiscent of a Franz Kakfa character in that he is a person normally protected from the world, but is not forced to interact with it and all of its strangeness.
The main plot is one of intrigue related to a conspiracy that Oliver uncovers involving Homeland Security. He stumbles upon it inadvertently in the first chapter and cannot ignore it as Homeland Security is hunting for him throughout the novel as a result of his accidental meddling. As a subplot, Oliver pursues a romance with a young woman who introduces him to various players who become involved in his problems derived from the main plot. He begins the story as a person who is inept in romance, but ends as a natural romantic owing to his newfound confidence gained from his experiences of tangling with government agents.
Not a Step
Like Graham Greene, I seem to write two types of novels: my first is a thriller and now my second is a serious story involving frank and mature emotions. The main character, Martin is a wealthy man who has been successful in his career; he is an unrecognizable celebrity, known only by name. While a content person, he has long been dismayed by his inability to find happiness with a woman, something he treasures dearly. Because of his celebrity status, he is often pursued by women, but he finds that they do not engage the real him.
The writing style is a mix of two voices. In the opening chapter and a few other chapters in between for effect are written as a first person narrative in which the narrator is a journalist interviewing Martin. The bulk of the chapters are written with an omniscient, third person narration. The few interview chapters occur in the present somewhat, while the others occur in Martin's past, beginning in the late 1950's when he meets a unique old man who becomes a father figure for him. Although the old man dies only a few years after he first meets him, the experience influences Martin and how he interacts and loves others throughout his life.