Yesterday was tough, fatigue wise. Powered through a fairly stressful nine hours at the Day Jobbe, then pretty much collapsed. I tried to write, but it was one of my off days. So I did critique instead.
Fireside this afternoon, and I have a lot to do there. Iron Springs retreat this weekend.
Meanwhile, consider this an open question post. Ask me anything — writing, parenting, cancer, personal background, whatever. I’ll answer as I see fit, when time permits.
Originally published at jlake.com. You can comment here or there.
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A few questions:
1. What's your favorite book about the writing craft if you have one?
2. Which book have you read that you can stand back and say, "Yes, this is the book that help some of the writing pieces click into place for me"?
3. Which book have you read that makes you shudder, in a good way, scratch your head, and say, "How can one person _do_ that with the language and narrative?"
4. Cake, pie, or brownies?
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) jaylake |
| 2008-06-24 14:08 (UTC) |
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1. What's your favorite book about the writing craft if you have one?
I don't really have one. I've read very few, and none in years. Two I've heard good things about are Steering the Craft and Word Work. To me, reading books about writing just makes me fall over.
2. Which book have you read that you can stand back and say, "Yes, this is the book that help some of the writing pieces click into place for me"?
See above. I draw my inspiration from fiction, in this case, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.
3. Which book have you read that makes you shudder, in a good way, scratch your head, and say, "How can one person _do_ that with the language and narrative?"
See above. :p Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, which I think any aspiring writer in any genre ought to read.
4. Cake, pie, or brownies?
Apple pie topped with cheddar cheese, then heated. Though I never turn down yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
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Thanks. I'm a Gene Wolfe newbie and have only read a few short stories of his. Gotta jump on board, apparently.
I'll have to try the cheddar cheese trick with some apple pie. One can only imagine the culinary goodness that could come of that.
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-24 14:22 (UTC) |
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Don't use Kraft or Cracker Barrel. Go to a real cheese counter (Whole Foods stores often have them) or cheese shop and get some relatively young, very sharp cheddar. (Aged cheddar will melt funny.) You will be sore amazed.
Also, if you're baking the pie yourself, throw in a dozen or so caramel squares just before you lay the top crust on.
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Thanks for the tips. I'm not a pie baker by trade or avocation, but my mother-in-law run's a heckuva kitchen just down the road. I appreciate the advice on cheese. We live in the middle of nowhere and have almost no access to cheese shops. Love the caramel idea, too.
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-24 14:45 (UTC) |
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Most people aren't as intense about cheese as I am, but it can be mail ordered fairly reasonably. (For a certain value of "reasonable", ahem.)
Also, if you're in the sticks, do you have any local dairies turning out artisanal cheeses? If so, will you share? :D
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RE: "Also, if you're in the sticks, do you have any local dairies turning out artisanal cheeses? If so, will you share? :D"
By sticks, we're talking southeast Georgia, big dog. There are two dairies within a thirty-minute trip, and I'll get back with you via LJ messaging on some research. Seriously.
I'm lucky in that my mother-in-law makes preserves, jellies, and jams. Recently, I picked a quart and a half of blackberries from the hedgerows of my yard (and people are BUYING blackberry bushes, which are just briar bushes at the end of the day!!!). She said so long as I pick 'em, she'll hook us up with teh jellies. I have a lovely mother-in-law, let me tell ya. We live in a rather large farming community, so there's no lack of fresh food, especially now it's summertime, and the living's easy, so to speak.
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-24 14:05 (UTC) |
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Heat, mostly. Which is odd, since I grew up in Taiwan and Nigeria.
Politics, also, frankly. The place was getting weirder and weirder once Bush became governor. Why he got a single presidential vote from Texas was beyond me.
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Hi, Jay. You recently had Jeremiah do a web site for you. What were you looking for in a website and how easy is it for you to update stuff on it without help? What do you think a website can do for an author?
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| mcurry |
| 2008-06-24 14:54 (UTC) |
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What is this Iron Spring retreat you speak of? My google-fu has failed me when trying to find the answer for myself.
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Heh, the Seekrit Iron Springs retreat... :-) It might be less Seekrit next year, according to the organizer.
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| ferragus |
| 2008-06-24 15:09 (UTC) |
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| RoboSapien |
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Hawaiian Shirts
Cotton or silk? (or synthetics?) and what's your favorite brand and resource?
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Who would you consider to be your writing mentor?
(By the way, no Fireside for me tonight--colonoscopy prep today, and the Fun Part starts this afternoon)
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-26 11:50 (UTC) |
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Hope the c-scope went well.
I've had a number of writing mentors, both accidental (ie, me modelling from a distance) and deliberate. These include Jim van Pelt, Jeff VanderMeer and Elizabeth Bear.
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| criada |
| 2008-06-24 15:53 (UTC) |
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Is there anything we can do to make your Iron Springs experience as stress-free as possible?
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-26 11:51 (UTC) |
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I'd say sex and drugs and rock and roll, but that would probably not be sex-free.
Really, I'm good. But thank you for asking.
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I'm trapped in my ivory tower and I've Run Out of Books.
Can you make suggestions, keeping in mind that I have a budget?
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-24 19:08 (UTC) |
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| writing-bookshelf |
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1) Order from abebooks.com -- muy cheaper
2) THE EMPEROR OF SCENT, COURTS OF THE AIR, THE BOTANY OF DESIRE, SHADOW OF THE TORTURER, THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS, A SHADOW IN SUMMER
:D
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Oh, fun! I'm off to link with the library...
Oh, and yes, I've ordered Escapement. Just so you'd know...
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| rsdevin |
| 2008-06-24 19:27 (UTC) |
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You have been reading 'The Alchemy of Stone' by Ekaterina Sedia, how is it so far?
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-26 11:52 (UTC) |
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Very good, but I've been stalled. One dirty little secret of my recovery is that print literature is still very difficult for me, though I seem to be able to read online. (And what is up with that? Weird...)
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| tsheehan |
| 2008-06-24 20:14 (UTC) |
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Who were your writing mentors or were there none?
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-26 11:54 (UTC) |
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Eventually, yes. I've proposed a nonfiction book about my cancer experience which would address it directly. Also, expect to see more alien abduction/anal probe scenes in my work now...
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Hey there. Not really a question, just wanted to say hi. I just picked up Mainspring and am reading through it, I must say that I am enjoying the read so far!
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| jaylake |
| 2008-06-26 19:45 (UTC) |
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Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy, and watch for ESCAPEMENT, which is just now out in hardcover.
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actually, thats what led me to pick up Mainspring, I found Escapement in hardcover at Barnes and Noble and wanted to start from the beginning.
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| jeffsoesbe |
| 2008-07-01 22:34 (UTC) |
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| spiderjerusalem smoke and type |
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(Hopefully the "ask a question" offer hasn't expired)
Some quickies about your "a story a week" days:
- Were you also submitting a story a week? Or even more?
- Were you revising, and if so was it in the "touch-up edit and out it goes" model (ie, Heinlein rules) or the "do some serious revision" model? (Or maybe each as the need seemed to be).
I'm going to go a story a week for a couple months, and I'm curious how others handled the resultant output.
- yeff
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