November6th
This is great. Aldous Huxley narrates his book A Brave New World as actors perform sections from the book to the music of Bernard Herrmann, the great composer who worked extensively with Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Scorsese and other great diretors.
This is a digital conversion of the original LP so there is a lot of noise, hisses, pops and scratches, but this is brilliant to listen to nonetheless.
Find the MP3s here.
November5th
Throughout my writing career I’ve written or some other creative writing off and on from music video treatments and screenplays to novels, short stories and poetry. Along the way, I’ve made about every mistake you can make, learned some great tricks, had great successes and a few white whales I can’t seem to conquer.
The most important thing to know as a writer is that you have to write, a lot. Write every day, every morning, write when you’re on a break at work, write before bed, write at lunch. Scribble the words on napkins, in journals and into your writing program of choice.
The one resource that I really love is The Lie That Tells A Truth by John Dufresne. No other books has had the impact this book has had on how I approach the craft of writing fiction. His book is full of great information, first-hand examples of how he tackles tough writing challenges and best of all the book makes for a great read. Dufresne’s style is funny and personal. He writes like he gives a damn. And, he knows what hell he’s talking about.
If you write, read this book. Of course, do it while writing. Read it in the nooks and crannies between putting ink to paper (or font to form?) and I think you’ll find that the insights will give you fuel, help you find certainty and just enough hubris to do the unthinkable: write a novel.
That’s my plan. I will write a novel this year. I’d hate to let John down.
November1st
November is National Novel Writing Month and to celebrate there is a yearly event affectionately called NaNoWriMo where writers from all over world participate in a mad dash toward writing a novel.
The idea is simple: starting November 1st, you write like a maniac for 30 days and before you know it you have a novel, or at least a draft, or at the very least a ton of words on paper from which to craft the shell of a novel, hopefully. But hope is critical in such endeavors.
Because the truth is writing a novel is damn tricky stuff. Completing one has eluded me and I’ve been writing for all of my adult life. I’ve written professionally for a long time, covered bands, written for music videos, TV shows, documentaries, advertising and I’ve even completed a pretty decent screenplay, but the novel. Ah, yes, the novel. Creatively speaking, this has been the one that has gotten away.
So maybe this year I’ll dive in, using November as the catalyst for finally pulling it off. I have ideas. A folder’s worth of them. I have the desire. But, it’s sticking it out when you hit that wall, that place where the story sputters or the plot gets thin, that is the part that gets most writers. You gotta see it through, hit it head first. You gotta be willing to be okay with the “shitty first draft” Hemingway wrote about. But most of all, you’ve got to have conviction that you will not stop. Reach the end. Tell a story.
Any takers? If so, today is the day to start. And what about me? Should I head once more into the breach? Who is with me?
