Reading Lists and Ray Bradbury

A few years ago, I went through a Ray Bradbury phase. You can read about my fascination with him here: The Language of Ray Bradbury.  Also: Genius of Bradbury. Before that, I hadn't read much by him. 

I mention this because one of my main goals this summer was to put a dent in my enormous "to be read" pile. Recently, I was able to finish another of his books Zen in the Art of Writing. This book is a collection of essays the author wrote over the course of multiple decades on the joys and struggles of both reading and writing.

"Bradbury, all charged up, drunk on life, joyous with writing, puts together past essays on writing and creativity and discharges every ounce of zest and gusto in him."--Kirkus Reviews 

I enjoyed this book tremendously and found myself revisiting some of the essays multiple times in the last two months. He shares some of his personal experiences, wisdom, advice, and excitement for the craft.

"Zen and the Art of Writing is purely and simply Bradbury's love song to his craft."--Los Angeles Times

How about you? What goals are you working to accomplish? What are you doing to enjoy your love of the craft? I wish you the best of luck!

The Language of Ray Bradbury

I've spent a lot of time over the last couple of months reading Ray Bradbury. The more I read of him, the more I admire, and feel I learn from this writer. He is one of the most celebrated American authors of the twentieth century. Bradbury strongly believed that writing should be developed through a combination of studying the authors you enjoy and one’s own life experiences. 

A few of my favorite reads and lines so far...

Fahrenheit 451: 

“It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history”

and...

“The books are to remind us what asses and fool we are. They're Caeser's praetorian guard, whispering as the parade roars down the avenue, "Remember, Caeser, thou art mortal." Most of us can't rush around, talking to everyone, know all the cities of the world, we haven't time, money or that many friends. The things you're looking for, Montag, are in the world, but the only way the average chap will ever see ninety-nine per cent of them is in a book. Don't ask for guarantees. And don't look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were headed for shore” (82).

Something Wicked This Way Comes:

“You two feet taller… you looking down at me Jim, and what’d we talk about, me with my pockets full of kite string and marbles and frog eyes and you with… empty pockets and making fun, is that what we’d talk, and you able to run faster and ditch me…” (127).

and 

“A stranger is shot in the street, you hardly move to help. But if, half an hour before, you spent just ten minutes with the fellow and knew a little about him and his family, you might just jump in front of his killer and try to stop it. Really knowing is good. Not knowing, or refusing to know is bad, or amoral, at least. You can’t act if you don’t know” (198). 

The Halloween Tree.

“See, boys?” Moundshroud’s face flickered with the fire. “The days of the Long Cold are done. Because of this one brave, new-thinking man, summer lives in the winter cave.” “But?” said Tom. “What’s that got to do with Halloween?” “Do? Why, blast my bones, everything. When you and your friends die every day, there’s no time to think of Death, is there? Only time to run. But when you stop running at long last—” He touched the walls. The apemen froze in mid-flight. “—now you have time to think of where you came from, where you’re going. And fire lights the way, boys. Fire and lightning. Morning stars to gaze at. Fire in your own cave to protect you. Only by night fires was the caveman, beastman, able at last to turn his thoughts on a spit and baste them with wonder. The sun died in the sky. Winter came on like a great white beast shaking its fur, burying him. Would spring ever come back to the world? Would the sun be reborn next year or stay murdered? Egyptians asked it. Cavemen asked it a million years before. Will the sun rise tomorrow morning?” “And that’s how Halloween began?” “With such long thoughts at night, boys. And always at the center of it, fire. The sun. The sun dying down the cold sky forever. How that must have scared early man, eh? That was the Big Death. If the sun went away forever, then what?” (60-62).

and

“The unemployed of all midnight Europe shivered in their stone sleep and came awake. Which is to say that all the old beasts, all the old tales, all the old nightmares, all the old unused demons-put-by, and witches left in the lurch, quaked at the call, reared at the whistle, trembled at the summons, and in dust devils of propulsion skimmed down the roads, flitted skies, buckshot through shaken trees, forded streams, swam rivers, pierced clouds, and arrived, arrived, arrived” (Bradbury 97). 

How about you? Are you a Bradbury fan? What are some examples of written language that you enjoy?

5 Short Story Tips Supported by the Greats

Many people assume that short stories are easier to write than novels, or novellas, because they are "short." Less pages means less work, right? Not according to every novelist I've spoken with about this topic. (I myself have only published short - no novel length works published so far - the longest pieces I've written are around the 70,000 mark which would be straddling the novella and novel word count range.) 

Mark Twain himself famously said, “I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” As Mark Twain suggested I think writing a hundred words probably requires more mental effort than writing a thousand — particularly if you want it to be meaningful.

So, if writing short isn't necessarily easier, what are some tips that might help?

1. Less is more - Be concise. "Precision of language, please!" (Check out THE GIVER by Lois Lowry.) Only include the necessary elements. Remember that your readers are not stupid: You don’t have to spell everything out for them. The adage, "Show, Don't Tell" rules here. For more on this idea, check out Show Don't Tell! But Wait! I'm a Storyteller!

2. Message or mood - To make a short story good, there needs to be at least one main message, mood, or idea that you work up to. I think Edgar Allan Poe explained this concept well: “A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.” He wasn't alone in this ideology, “Find the key emotion; this may be all you need know to find your short story.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald. It's not a strictly male perspective either. “A short story is confined to one mood, to which everything in the story pertains. Characters, setting, time, events, are all subject to the mood. And you can try more ephemeral, more fleeting things in a story – you can work more by suggestion – than in a novel. Less is resolved, more is suggested, perhaps.” – Eudora Welty

3. Recurring ideas - One common element I’ve noticed in all good short stories is that they each have a recurring thought, idea, theme, piece of dialogue, etc. It can be as simple as the way you describe the rain pattering on the roof. It can be a common phrase a character uses that means one thing in the beginning and morphs to mean something entirely different by the end (Woman's World seems to be fond of this idea with their fiction pieces.). A common string strategically placed throughout the story can give it extra power. “It’s possible, in a poem or short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things – a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman’s earring – with immense, even startling power.” – Raymond Carver

4. Pathos is King - Want to draw a reader in quickly and effectively? I have one word for you: pathos. Play your readers emotions, make them identify with the situation or feel for your characters within the first few pages. If you can do that, then you're doing it right. It also becomes something that stays with the reader for years, maybe even calling upon an as yet, undiscovered truth. “A good short story crosses the borders of our nations and our prejudices and our beliefs. A good short story asks a question that can’t be answered in simple terms. And even if we come up with some understanding, years later, while glancing out of a window, the story still has the potential to return, to alter right there in our mind and change everything.” ― Walter Mosley

5. Read - Read some good short stories. A few I’m personally fond of sharing with my students include The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman ,  The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, and Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway. However, there are thousands of great ones out there, all of them different, but many with common ground that can help you pinpoint exactly what makes a good story. “When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you.” – George Saunders. What are some of your favorite short stories?

If you've ever written a crappy short story (and really, haven't we all?) there's advice for that as well. “Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.” – Ray Bradbury

What are some tips you have to share when it comes to writing shorts? What are some of your favorites to read?

6 Authors and Their Literary Stops in Southern California

Known for its abundance of sunshine and movie stars, Southern California has also offered many writers inspiration with its unique environments and colorful array of people.

1) F. Scott Fitzgerald - there are two distinct places that bear his presence. The first is his West Hollywood home at 1443 N. Hayworth Avenue in West Hollywood. More than a decade after publishing The Great Gatsby, "The Great American Novel," Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood hoping a career in screenwriting would bring him the continued success and lavish lifestyle he and Zelda so loved. Unfortunately, he died broke just a couple of years later following another heart attack. The second is Gatsby Books at 5535 E Spring St. in Long Beach. Inspired by Fitzgeralds legacy, this new and used bookstore offers complimentary coffee, a generous selection of Fitzgerald work, frequents readings, and other literary events.

2) Ray Bradbury -  this Los Angeles resident got his start at age 14 writing for George Burns. As if that wasn't impressive enough this scifi author went on to bring the public some of the most memorable tales of the genre. If you're in the area and want to feel close to this beloved author, spend some time in Clifton's Cafeteria at 648 S Broadway in Los Angeles, CA. Bradbury ate many lunches and dinners here. In the 1930s, the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society held meetings in their Brown Room, indulging in soul food and discussing weird science. Bradbury continued to visit Clifton's over the years, even celebrated his 89th birthday here. Today, you can visit his booth on the third floor and admire memorabilia that Bradbury's family donated.

3) Steve Martin - his first job was at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Located just two miles from his house Martin started out selling guidebooks, keeping $.02 for every book he sold. He graduated to the Magic Shop on Main Street, where he got his first taste of the gags that would later make his career. He also learned the rope tricks you see in ¡Three Amigos! from a rope wrangler over in Frontierland. Martin later landed his first writing gig for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He began rubbing elbows with and learning from a number of other well known writers including a brief relationship with Hollywood IT girl Eve Babitz.

4) Eve Babitz - notorious for indulging in drugs and romantic conquests (including Jim Morrison, Steve Martin, and Harrison Ford to name just a few) Babitz still resides in Hollywood. Ports (now called Jones)7205 Santa Monica Blvd.; Los Angeles, CA was a favorite hangout for the author who was said to have come in around noon on most days to have food, trade pills with others, and continue on to enjoy the evenings. The Beverly Hills Hotel 9641 Sunset Blvd.; Beverly Hills, CA 90210 was also frequently visited by Babitz with her variety of lovers.

5) Charles Bukowski - born in Germany, Bukowski was about as "L.A." as a writer could get. He's most known as an alcoholic, a misogynist, and a reckless gambling man. However, his work reveals a tenderness, love, and pain not always expressed in his daily life. De Longpre Apartment at 5124 De Longrpre Ave.; Los Angeles, CA is where he lived from 1964 to 1973 "somewhere between alcoholism and madness." It's also wheret he completed seven novels, including Factotum. The Santa Anita Racetrack at 285 Huntington Dr.; Arcadia, CA. Bukowski loved his horses. He was a gambling man, and life at the tracks was a common theme throughout his career. He spent many drunken afternoons at the Santa Anita Park, betting on the horses. His ex-wife Linda has hinted that this may be the reason why the nearby Huntington Library displays some of his original work. The King Eddy at 131 E 5th St.; Los Angeles, CA - he was a regular at countless watering holes reaching beyond L.A.'s city limits. Some of his old haunts included Cole's and the Frolic Room. (He even had a delivery system set up at the Pink Elephant Liquor Storewhen he lived in Los Feliz.) However, Bukowski wasn't always an admired poet who was welcome in bars. It was here, in Skid Row, that he'd plant himself and wash down his troubles with countless beers.

6) Joan Didion - While Didion was raised in Sacramento, she made L.A. her home after kicking her career off at Vogue magazine in New York. From personal essays to novels to political journalism, her writing is as eclectic and extensive as Southern California itself. At the age of 84, she continues to produce noteworthy works while looking back at her success and loss itself. House in Hollywood at 7406 Franklin Ave.; Los Angeles, CA 90046. A friend of Didion's described this area of Hollywood as a "senseless killing neighborhood;" perhaps this was an omen for the nearby Manson murders that were to come. Didion lived here with her late husband, John Dunne, and their daughter while penning The White Album. She lived in a constant state of horror, as reflected in her writing, until she moved up the coast with her family in 1971. The Freeway - seriously. When you live in Southern California, you learn to live with the freeway, to accept your time on it, and it becomes part of your daily landscape. As Carolyn Kellogg stated, "Writers who know Los Angeles... have done some of their best writing about freeways. Think Joan Didion in her novel Play It as It Lays... The rhythm of Los Angeles's roads has seeped into its decentralized heart, into the minds of writers for decades, and you, too, will hear it as your wheels spin and spin and spin." Try driving down the 405 to San Diego, or head northbound on the 101. You'll see that the freeway becomes a character in and of itself.

7) Bonus - interested in a few more modern authors and reads from Southern California? Check out: 
5 Powerful Books by 5 Powerful Southern California Women 
The 10 Contemporary L.A. Writers You Should Know
10 Contemporary Californian Writers to Know
27 Books to Read If You're California Dreamin'

5 Flash Fiction Goals

As I mentioned last week, diligence is one of my New Year’s resolutions. A part of my plan for this is to finish incomplete projects. In May of 2017 I set myself a goal of writing 20 flash fiction pieces in 20 days – a spin off the famous Ray Bradbury advice of writing 52 short stories in 52 days. I didn’t quite make it – you can see my results here.

I also never returned to those projects. I actually enjoyed writing these shorts since it forced me to tighten my writing. I’ve decided to revisit my existing flash fiction pieces, as well as write some new ones. In an effort to cut back on wasting time as I return to them, I’m setting five flash fiction goals I’d like to share.

1.      800 Words - Flash fiction can be anywhere from just a few words in length to 1000, but I’m aiming for approximately 800 in mine. One of my goals is to be published in Woman’s World. They publish 800 word romances and 700 word mysteries every week.

2.      Strong Beginning – The first one to three paragraphs has to establish a sympathetic character, interesting setting, and believable conflict. After all, we have less than 1,000 words to tell an entire story!

3.      Action – What a character wants, and what they need, are not always the same thing. Something tangible must stand in the way of their goals, or what they desire, and showing the actions taken by that character are essential to motivate the reader to continue through to the end.

4.      Tension – Just as with longer works, the tension should continue to increase until the resolution. Characters should earn their ending, and the best way for this to happen is by floundering and perhaps failing at least once.

5.      Satisfying Ending – The best way to ensure this is by eliminating flowery descriptions and excess wordiness, paring down characterization to just enough of a hint for the reader, and following steps two through four until finally revealing an ending with an emotional impact upon the reader.

Do you read or write flash fiction? Do you have and other tips you’d like to share?

Falling Short

In the middle of May I mentioned a new goal: Taking a spin off of Ray Bradbury's famous advice, I wanted to write 20 flash fiction pieces by June. I fell short of my goal. 

While it's easy to make excuses: end of school year madness, other unexpected deadlines moving up, unexpected health issues - the truth is, that's life. It would be easy to blame myself for FAILURE, and fall into a funk of depression which further induces writer's block, but you can't play the blame game with yourself. JUST DON"T! Evaluate what you've achieved so far, set new goals, and keep moving. 

If you're interested in how much of the goal I met:

- 5 COMPLETED flash fiction pieces which I submitted.
- 4 completed drafts ready for final edits.
- 7 extremely rough drafts needing a LOT of work.

That's 16 total, but I'm not sure if some of the first drafts will make it. I'm just not feeling them. I intend to keep plugging away, producing more, and submitting more. I usually produce less in the summer since the kids are home with me, and I tend to spend time traveling and playing with them as much as possible.

How are your goals and WIP's coming along? What victories are you celebrating? Are you setting new goals?

Goal Update

Last week I mentioned my new goal. Taking a spin off of Bradbury's famous advice, I want to write 20 flash fiction pieces by June. I thought I would share an update for the past week.

As of today, I have:

- 2 COMPLETED flash fiction pieces ready for submission.
- 2 completed drafts ready for final edits.
- 3 extremely rough drafts needing a LOT of work.

That's seven total for the last week. While I'm proud of that, I would be prouder if all seven were ready for submission. However, I'll take what victories I can, and keep plugging away. I still hope to have 20 pieces before June 1st.

If you want to read about my original goal, see my first attempts at flash fiction, or read some thoughts on setting goals - click here.

How are your goals and WIP's coming along? What victories are you celebrating?

New Goals

I won't be posting here as much for the rest of this month; certainly no where near the 26 posts I had for April. However, I am still writing. 

In addition to the work I'm producing for several other publications, I have set myself a new goal this month. I'm taking Ray Bradbury's famous advice: "Write a short story every week. It's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row."

However, instead of writing 52 short stories in a year, I am going to attempt to write 20 flash fiction pieces by June. I don't have much experience with this length, but I have attempted a few. If you have time, and wouldn't mind offering some feedback, you can read those here:

Romance - Madame Tooshkas Spell
Romance - Masters in Love
Romance - Love's New Beginning
Horror - I've Had a Great Time, But...  

I've talked before about goal setting, new experiences, and how both can help not only your writing, but your life overall. To read more:

Take A Chance
New Experiences
Goal Setting
Reevaluating the Plan
5 Ways to Become a Better Writer

My article in this months Thrive magazine: 8 Tips to Control Blood Pressure Without Medication

How about you? Are you setting any goals, or trying new things?

IWSG: Five Years From Now

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs. You can also join us on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG, or on the Facebook page.

Now, IWSG hosts have changed up the format in an effort to make it more fun and interactive.Every month, they will announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers. Want to join, or learn more? Visit our - Sign-up List.

DECEMBER'S QUESTION: In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?

MY ANSWER: I hope to have both written and published more frequently, and widely. To achieve this goal, I will push myself to increase my daily word count. I will also take the great Bradbury's advice and in addition to my monthly assignments, I will write at least one short story a week (or seven flash fiction pieces). He says it's impossible to write 52 bad pieces in a row.

For more tips on setting goals, try reading:

Genius of Bradbury
Vonneguts 8 Rules
How to be a Writer by Ian Fleming
3 Tips to Becoming a Better Writer
Goal Setting
4 Keys to Publishing Success
5 Ways to Become a Better Writer by the End of the Year

How about you? What do you hope you've accomplished in five years?

Genius of Bradbury

No matter what genre you write, you should be following https://killzoneblog.com/. This blog is kept by 11 top suspense authors and publishing professionals. It also hosts guest spots from equally talented individuals in the field. This site offers wonderful examples, anectodes, lessons, and support to hundreds if not thousands of writers. I highly recommend you check them out.

I mention them today because twice this week, authors there have mentioned meeting or learning from Ray Bradbury. While I'm super jealous that I never had the opportunity to meet Bradbury, we fortunately live in an age where the internet allows ready access to videos and interviews.

Below is a great video of Bradbury. In this talk, as in many interviews and his own book Zen in the Art of Writing, Bradbury offers 12 useful tips to writers which are summarized below the clip:

1) Don't start out writing novels because they take too long. Instead, start with short stories. Write at least one a week for about a year. He says it isn't possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.

2) Don't purposely imitate your favorites. You have to write until you find your own voice so the story doesn't ring false for the readers.

3) Do, however, continue to read and examine the work of those quality authors. He suggests the short stories of Roald Dahl, Guy de Maupassant, Nigel Kneale, and John Collier.

4) Stuff your head with bedtime reading. He suggests reading the classical short stories and poems of Shakespeare, Pope, and Frost before falling asleep.

5) Get rid of relationships with unbelievers. If they laugh at you, or make fun of your ambitions, Bradbury suggests you call them up and "fire them" from your life.

6) Live in the books, not computers. He may not have gone to college, but his love of libraries and reading helped him to become one of America's most celebrated authors.

7) Fall in love with movies. He prefers the old ones.

8) Write with joy. He says if a story starts to feel like work "scrap it and start a new one."

9) Don't plan on making money. He and his wife took a "vow of poverty". He never worried about how much he could make off a creation.

10) List ten things you love and ten things you hate. Then write about the former, and "kill" the latter.

11) Just type whatever comes into your head. You never know what works until you freely put it all down and test it.

12) Remember, if you can ever get just one person to come and say "I love your work," then you are a success.

Are you a fan of Bradbury? What do you think of his 12 tips?