Just finished reading a Christmas gift, The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Good book (the pages nearly turn themselves) and a surreal experience, requiring less suspension of disbelief than one might hope.

"[...] suspension of disbelief [...]" - you must be a reader of Coleridge and the Romantic Period?

Um... must I? Afraid I'm stuck rather solidly in the 20th & 21st centuries, and the pop culture side at that. More likely to pick up Dashell Hammett or Michael Crichton than Wordsworth.

As for the disbelief thing, Brooks made the zombie invasion sound surprisingly plausible. Go with him that far, and everything else holds together well.

I'm with you regarding Hammett, Henry...
At the moment, I am re-reading The Long Goodbye. Raymond Chandler's skill with dialogue really is dazzling.
I read the Land of Green Plums some years back, after it had won the IMPAC Award, I think. To be honest, I don't recall a lot about it but I don't think I was hugely impressed. Almost certainly the fault for that lay with me, though, and as it is already somewhere on my shelves it might be worth trying it again...

I'm rereading Stephen King's 'On Writing'. Read it several years ago and decided to lift it off my shelf again after someone on this forum (I think) mentioned they were reading it. I'm enjoying it. It's still interesting, pertinent, entertaining, evocative and....there, as it should be. I'm also reading Orpheus Rising, by Colin Bateman. Bedtime reading - you can't beat it.

i should probably pick up 'on writing' again. what i remember most about it was the urge i felt to write more. I'm reading 'Norwegian wood' by Haruki Murakami. And i'm trying to read 'The life of st columba' by Adomnán, but after a 100 page introduction and with 150 pages of notes to go with the text i'm struggling
i think murakami has translated Carver into japanese

Cheeno, "I'm rereading Stephen King's 'On Writing'." It is a fantastic read! I enjoyed it myself. I also found myself re-reading the text several times. If your up for a discussion on King's ideas, etc., let me know.

From a writing perspective, I like how he 'allows' himself the target of 2000 words a day. From a man with such enormous experience, I'm sure it wouldn't have taken chunks out of him to set the bar higher. Leads me to suspect he was being a tad gentle on his reader. In saying that, it's relatively easy to whack off 2000 words. The difficult part is creating a working combination, especially ones that stink of quality. I particularly like his honest portrayal of his life and how his experiences shaped the writer so many love (and hate!). The way he used his personal demons to inspire and define his work is (not always conscious) is a great example to aspiring writers to exploit that which fires them. So many have trouble finding sufficient motivation and inspiration, yet they have only to draw the curtains of pain to tap into the energy of past. An excellent book indeed.

2000 words a day seems a pretty tall order, in my view. I agree that a target is a good way of keeping yourself motivated but it's probably not without its dangers (I'm thinking mainly of padding, I suppose).

Hemingway said often that he wrote 500 words a day, and every one of them was slaved over. Nabokov made a comment once (true or not, I couldn't say...) to the effect that he would get up in the morning, work on one sentence until it looked right and then stretch out on his couch for the better part of the day, turning that same sentence around and around in his mind until he was completely happy with it.

I suppose the methods of writing differ from person to person but it is interesting to hear the different viewpoints.

"Hemingway said often that he wrote 500 words a day, and every one of them was slaved over. Nabokov made a comment once (true or not, I couldn't say...) to the effect that he would get up in the morning, work on one sentence until it looked right and then stretch out on his couch for the better part of the day, turning that same sentence around and around in his mind until he was completely happy with it."

Great idea for a thread!!!

Methods used by writers:

Tom Wolfe wrote standing. Because of his height he placed his work on top of the fridge and wrote from there.

Ring Lardner went to a hotel room, ordered a bottle of whiskey, smoked cigars, and only when finished began writing.

Hunter S. Thompson wrote in a strange manner with elbows raised as he wrote and drinking a bottle of burbon a day....?

there's more, must think!

Roald Dahl wrote in a tiny shed in his back garden and consumed a bar of chocolate (hence the inspiration) every day. The gold foil, he rolled into a ball. Every day the ball got bigger and bigger. Today it can be viewed in the Roald Dahl museum.

I'm reading my own book "Light and Shadow - The Twins" because I'm working on the sequel - unfortunately I'm suffering from writer's block at the moment.

What's the problem? Motivation? Plot development? Story line? Premise? Scene construction? Characterization? Character interaction? If it's a sequal, have you enough workable loose-ends from the original work to develop?

I always use action/reaction to carry my work forward - ensuring my characters have specific objectives to strive for, whether it's as a protagonist or antagonist. I'm NOT trying to tell you how to write, just giving you something you might find worthy of consideration. Get to it!

"I read the Land of Green Plums some years back, after it had won the IMPAC Award, I think. To be honest, I don't recall a lot about it but I don't think I was hugely impressed. Almost certainly the fault for that lay with me, though, and as it is already somewhere on my shelves it might be worth trying it again..."

I now know what you mean by not being "hugely impressed". Although I have not finished the novel yet, I found the narrative stringy, jilted, hacked, somewhat abstract in parts and convoluted in many other sections. In the opening of the book, Muller seems to have problems arresting attention because of poorly expressed and badly described fragmented scenes, events and characters. My initial impression being "how could such a forced style win the Nobel prize?" is slowly changing for one reason or another. Though time will tell whether or not I feel and think the same by the end of the book. One can generally tell by page 20 whether it is a good work of its kind or not. This is not a rule I keep in principle. As in art with painters, in literature some novelists never really get back the time and effort they put into creating or composing.

How about a thread on methods of writing used by members of this site?? Personally I don't have any particular method, just try and get something down on paper whenever I get a chance!

Oh and currently I'm reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I have about 150 pages left, I'm enjoying it but it's probably the weakest of the Robert Langdon trilogy. I re-read Digital Fortress before starting this one, has anyone read this or Deception Point? What did you think of these compared to his other "blockbuster" novels?

"How about a thread on methods of writing used by members of this site?? Personally I don't have any particular method, just try and get something down on paper whenever I get a chance!"

Yep, (dare I say it...), I think that's a great idea! Do you want to start or shall I?

This week I read the Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain. Plot-wise, it's pretty formulaic stuff, I suppose, but the writing is sharp and snappy, not dissimilar to Hammett or even Chandler. An enjoyable read, all told, clocking in at less than 150 pages, with a lot of dialogue that really cleverly advances the story. I was particularly interested the skillful use of first-person narration, something I'm been trying to work on in my own stories.

I've just started a collection of Michael Chabon's stories, Werewolves In Their Youth. I adore short stories and am forever picking up collections. Chabon is part of a much-venerated (in literary circles) generation X of American writers, and he certainly has a beautiful turn of phrase as well as a deliciously skewed viewpoint of life in the US. It is only the second book of his that I've picked up (the first, some years back, was Wonder Boys) and so far I like what I've read...

Re-reading "Piers the Ploughman", and some Middle English Poetry.

Finishing 'The Land of Green Plums'. -can't wait!

Reading into the Life of Basil Montagu, reading the poems of Stephen Vincent Benet and the stories of Marie Louise de la Ramee.

And hopefully, more Byron.

Ah sure I think I'll chance it if you don't mind, its my first time starting a thread on the site

tha-bling, it's over to you. Good luck!

I'm working tHilary Mantell's Wolf Hall and an old book my mother in law had lying about her house that I picked up over Christmas on the Royals by Kitty Kelly. Neither of these books are the sort of thing I usually read - I'm more of a modern/horror/crime reader. When I was younger I read Stephen King avidly and I really want to get his book 'On Writing' that you've been mentioning as it was referred to in 'Writing Magazine' recently.

Seaview, please let me know how you get on with Wolf Hall? I bought the novel but have yet to start it like so many others. I enjoyed King's memoir. A great insight into the life and mind of the writer. Danse Macabre is also very good. Have you read it? A cultural history of horror....

Well I usually read very fast but I'm finding it quite slow going which is really annoying me. I love the language but perhaps it's because it's a historical novel and I was never really into history I'm afraid! I have only ever read King's fiction so I would be very interested to hear what he has to say on the craft of writing.

Just finished The Road. Absolutely brilliant. Just started The Tax Inspector by Peter Carey. Enjoying it so far. I'm a big fan of Chabon. Particularly liked The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

Oh, and there is a stream going on what methods do you use when writing. It's here: http://www.writing4all.ie/forum/topicview/misc/community/what_methods_do...

Regards

John

I read the Road when it came out (last year or the year before?) and really liked it too. I thought the narrative that he could achieve in such a clearly confined situation was wonderful. Then it went on to win the Pulitzer and was one of those Oprah book-of-the-month type things, and suddenly for awhile it was everywhere. Lately though, quite a few critics have been picking on it...
Cormac McCarthy is a strange one, isn't he? Blood Meridian is his acknowledged best and I wouldn't argue with that. I think it is an incredible piece of work, full of stunning set-pieces and some of the must imaginative horror surely ever penned. I remember being awed by his discriptions and his use of language.
But the way he flouts the most basic grammatical rules (run-on and fragmented sentences, ignoring commas and exclamation marks etc.) raises an interesting point. It might be great writing but is it good writing? And do you have to earn some sort of right to break the rules? I personally have been reading him for years and happen to love his books. But he is clearly a writer who divides opinion.

As for Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (another to bag the Pulitzer...), that is on my to-read list but it probably won't be this month or even next. I've got a stack to clear before I can even think of coughing up for any more books!

Orhan Pamuk's 'The Museum of Innocence'; by far the direst work of his I have ever come across.

When will it ever end? Akin to 'The Unconsoled' by Kazuo Ishiguro....it is slowly sapping me of the will to live.

David

I read Ishiguro's 'Nocturnes' over Christmas. He had never been a writer who'd particularly appealed to me but I got this as a gift and did enjoy it. It is a collection of five short(ish) stories, and while I'm not sure I'd altogether agree with the level of hype heaped upon it, I must say that it was a decent read. Decent enough, in fact, to have made me want to read some more of his work, though from the sounds of it I might be better off steering clear of 'The Unconsoled' (thanks for the heads-up, David).

I enjoyed 'A Pale View of the Hills' but his 'tour de force' was undoubtedly 'The Remains of the Day'; beautifully written.

I'll check out 'Nocturnes'. Under no circumstances read' The Unconsoled if you value your time on this planet; I'm still unconsolable after a decade.

Regards,

David

Seaview, please let me know how you get on with Wolf Hall? I bought the novel but have yet to start it like so many others. I enjoyed King's memoir. A great insight into the life and mind of the writer. Danse Macabre is also very good. Have you read it? A cultural history of horror....

I haven't read the opus but I would certainly listen again to Danse Macabre by Camille Saint Saëns, Wilz.

I remember the piece well from my puerile schooldays, accompanied by a film every Hallowe'en it kept me absolutely horrified yet enthralled at the sight of Death with a fiddle bringing the skeletons from their graves and dancing until dawn.

An old French superstition, I believe.

Have a good weekend.

David