I think every American should read this book, whether or not they can relate with and to Malcolm X's views.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
Malcolm X ends his autobiography telling Alex Haley that "all credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes are mine." This is an incredibly fascinating account that swells with Malcolm X's world views; tighter when they are radical, flowing when they are broadened. He undergoes such ebbs and flows several times, and always offers incredibly intelligent and insightful commentary and discussion about his views.
Reading about this really brings so much into perspective, into light, about the Black community in the United States, and how much of Malcolm X's radical views do seem true--but also how, when he softens that radicalism, those broader, influenced--and perhaps less shocking--beliefs do, too. Reading about him discussing the white community will at once--especially for an open individual reading this fifty years later--will both ring true and false, as I imagine those individuals--myself included--might bristle at some of his notions against the white man, while simultaneously understanding his more radical beliefs.
I think that a lot of Americans might refer to Malcolm X as the "violent" one, the "angry" one, especially when you compare him to the other great Black activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But the book really shows Malcolm X's amazing mind--from his constant thoughts, his scribbling on napkins that Alex Haley collects and details in the epilogue, his ability to explore other world views and study them thoroughly.
There's so much to talk and discuss here. Honestly, every American needs to read this. What an amazing perspective, from an amazing man.
9/10
On Writing -4-
Friday, March 23, 2012
Tonight I began draft 2 of manuscript 2 and have worked to plug the first chapter (of ten) into the computer, beginning the long process of slogging and writing tune-ups.
But I did so while watching the 1930 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front"--one of the best war books of all time, and one of my personal favorites novels I've read. The movie is as remarkable as the book. If you haven't read it, do so; if you won't read it, watch the movie. It's pushing 83 years, but that movie has lost very little over that time.
Books, movies, stories, songs--so many of them produce wonderful and withstanding lines and lyrics. Some are as simple as Molly Weasley yelling at Bellatrix Black during the final showdown; others are famous passages, sometimes a page long.
Still others are in another realm unto themselves. They transcend emotion, they elaborate on meaning. They have a way of hovering in their air, their words as evocative as the themes and messages they convey.
And "all quiet on the western front" is one of them.
We all only strive to ever even approach a phrase like that.
But I did so while watching the 1930 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front"--one of the best war books of all time, and one of my personal favorites novels I've read. The movie is as remarkable as the book. If you haven't read it, do so; if you won't read it, watch the movie. It's pushing 83 years, but that movie has lost very little over that time.
Books, movies, stories, songs--so many of them produce wonderful and withstanding lines and lyrics. Some are as simple as Molly Weasley yelling at Bellatrix Black during the final showdown; others are famous passages, sometimes a page long.
Still others are in another realm unto themselves. They transcend emotion, they elaborate on meaning. They have a way of hovering in their air, their words as evocative as the themes and messages they convey.
And "all quiet on the western front" is one of them.
We all only strive to ever even approach a phrase like that.
Book Journal: The Call of the Wild
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Yup. Never read this one in middle/high school. Le sigh.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Beginning a swing in a new direction, with an obvious focus on these more natural, transcendental works, I'm turning back to the late 1800s for some more research, and I started with this famous little novella of ex-pirate (truth!) Jack London.
Anyway, this is a really blatant (I mean blatant—London's got some beautiful writing, but he is telling you everything. But I guess with a POV of a dog you would have to?) account of the primordial behaviors inherent within us. There's so much great writing that really reflects the severity of the wilderness, and London sets this up as sort of a wild vs. civilization effort, with the most civilized people falling to the wild due to their vanity and shallowness. I really recommend London to people. He's heavily influenced by Darwin, at least in this story, and it raises some really great discussion.
8/10
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Beginning a swing in a new direction, with an obvious focus on these more natural, transcendental works, I'm turning back to the late 1800s for some more research, and I started with this famous little novella of ex-pirate (truth!) Jack London.
Anyway, this is a really blatant (I mean blatant—London's got some beautiful writing, but he is telling you everything. But I guess with a POV of a dog you would have to?) account of the primordial behaviors inherent within us. There's so much great writing that really reflects the severity of the wilderness, and London sets this up as sort of a wild vs. civilization effort, with the most civilized people falling to the wild due to their vanity and shallowness. I really recommend London to people. He's heavily influenced by Darwin, at least in this story, and it raises some really great discussion.
8/10
On Writing -3-
Some days, thinking about bringing a pen to a notepad is like an uphill hike on a snowy mountain.
Then there are days like today when I'm sad that I have a needle-point felt pen in my hands, and nothing to write down.
My fingers are going through withdrawal!
Then there are days like today when I'm sad that I have a needle-point felt pen in my hands, and nothing to write down.
My fingers are going through withdrawal!
Fynn is Fin!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Draft 1 of manuscript 2 is complete! What a rolling process! I always get the goofiest grins on my face when I approach the last paragraph--and especially the last sentence--of a manuscript. You'd think I was looking at a free pile of a billion one-dollar bills on my desk.
So happy! Now on for a detoxing break that features some character hashing, some theme shaping, some message editing, before draft 2 moves to the computer.
Cheers, all! Happy St. Patrick's Day!
FUN FACT: Almost a year ago, during the spring break period last year, when I was a senior, I finished the first draft of The Time Swallow. And now, during this spring break period as a Fellow, I've finished the first draft to, ahem, "Untitled Adventure Story." Guess I know my muse is dancing in early March!
So happy! Now on for a detoxing break that features some character hashing, some theme shaping, some message editing, before draft 2 moves to the computer.
Cheers, all! Happy St. Patrick's Day!
FUN FACT: Almost a year ago, during the spring break period last year, when I was a senior, I finished the first draft of The Time Swallow. And now, during this spring break period as a Fellow, I've finished the first draft to, ahem, "Untitled Adventure Story." Guess I know my muse is dancing in early March!
On Writing - 2 -
Friday, March 2, 2012
So, my afternoon of 2,000+ words didn't go so hot. In fact I only did about 200, but after a solid night's sleep aided by some NyQuil, I think I've got the juices flowing a bit again.
I used to be very, very good at multitasking, and even though I am not so much anymore, I can usually get by focusing on a few things at once--except for writing. When I write, I only need to have my pad and pen before me, and my music. Sometimes I put on a movie in the background--Netflix, a Family Guy rerun, whatever--but usually it's me and my music.
I had said in my previous entry about writing that I can't seem to pull away from a very visual world; that I take an image in mind and run with it, that the desire to sort of thrust myself into really beautiful, natural places is what I want to describe and mentally be part of. But I also said that I have that one image, and that image only, and when I go off the beaten path, it's a blank canvas, and I let the words flow.
But that's where the music comes in. I don't claim to be "good with music"--that is, I listen to pretty mainstream, whatever's-on-the-radio music, and I have a penchant for rap in general. But that's because I have one other arena of music that I focus on dearly, that I do spend time scourging the Internet for, and that's scores: movies, television, video games, you name it. I have hour and hours of wordless melodies and medleys, of melody-driven tunes and more atmospheric songs.
Whenever I sit down to write, I make sure I have a playlist of songs that help me to get in the mood of my writing. That way, when I turn the corner from that image, I still have the atmosphere around me. I might not be able to see the new floor of the building, the new lay of the land, but with the music surrounding me, and with it pushing me forward, it slowly spills out of my mind's eye and onto the paper, and I can go forth.
When I have ridiculous fantasies of winning awards--New York Times #1 Bestseller, trip to the Academy Awards, winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay--whatever your mind is capable of doing to you--I ultimately end up thinking that, if I ever had a story made into a movie, or a television show, or whatever, that the music would be one of the most important aspects of that artistic journey. Howard Shore and Mark Mancina and Alexandre Desplat and Joe Hisaishi have made music for characters and settings that I've wrenched from their worlds and put into my own. But one day I hope, if ever any of that came true, the music produced for it would be just as inspiring, just as beautiful, just as emotional, as the scores produced for the great stories of our time.
Some writers meet the page with nothing but a pen or pencil. Some go at it with a pad filled with notes, backstory, tidbits of inspiration; others keep their very full binders of character profiles, setting descriptions, backstory files, diagram and dialogue breakdowns right next to them.
The very first thing I do after I've sat down is put on that playlist. Sometimes the music, at least for me, does much more for inspiration and information than anything else.
I used to be very, very good at multitasking, and even though I am not so much anymore, I can usually get by focusing on a few things at once--except for writing. When I write, I only need to have my pad and pen before me, and my music. Sometimes I put on a movie in the background--Netflix, a Family Guy rerun, whatever--but usually it's me and my music.
I had said in my previous entry about writing that I can't seem to pull away from a very visual world; that I take an image in mind and run with it, that the desire to sort of thrust myself into really beautiful, natural places is what I want to describe and mentally be part of. But I also said that I have that one image, and that image only, and when I go off the beaten path, it's a blank canvas, and I let the words flow.
But that's where the music comes in. I don't claim to be "good with music"--that is, I listen to pretty mainstream, whatever's-on-the-radio music, and I have a penchant for rap in general. But that's because I have one other arena of music that I focus on dearly, that I do spend time scourging the Internet for, and that's scores: movies, television, video games, you name it. I have hour and hours of wordless melodies and medleys, of melody-driven tunes and more atmospheric songs.
Whenever I sit down to write, I make sure I have a playlist of songs that help me to get in the mood of my writing. That way, when I turn the corner from that image, I still have the atmosphere around me. I might not be able to see the new floor of the building, the new lay of the land, but with the music surrounding me, and with it pushing me forward, it slowly spills out of my mind's eye and onto the paper, and I can go forth.
When I have ridiculous fantasies of winning awards--New York Times #1 Bestseller, trip to the Academy Awards, winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay--whatever your mind is capable of doing to you--I ultimately end up thinking that, if I ever had a story made into a movie, or a television show, or whatever, that the music would be one of the most important aspects of that artistic journey. Howard Shore and Mark Mancina and Alexandre Desplat and Joe Hisaishi have made music for characters and settings that I've wrenched from their worlds and put into my own. But one day I hope, if ever any of that came true, the music produced for it would be just as inspiring, just as beautiful, just as emotional, as the scores produced for the great stories of our time.
Some writers meet the page with nothing but a pen or pencil. Some go at it with a pad filled with notes, backstory, tidbits of inspiration; others keep their very full binders of character profiles, setting descriptions, backstory files, diagram and dialogue breakdowns right next to them.
The very first thing I do after I've sat down is put on that playlist. Sometimes the music, at least for me, does much more for inspiration and information than anything else.
On Writing - 1 -
Stephen King says you need to write at least 2,000 words a day. Does that count if you have a major sinus headache/head cold and can't really see straight?
I didn't write anything last night and it felt weird. Tonight is a Nyquil kind of night so I think I'll just go home after work, mange on some soup and saltines, and churn out 2,000 words. If I can see the words straight. The past two days have been early-to-bed ones.
I like my story though. It's more--mysterious for me, if that makes sense, on several different levels. The story is much simpler than The Time Swallow, and my characters are much less familiar to me. Depending on the story, the complications, even the character, I may spend days and days just diddling along with their backgrounds, with the setting's history, with the backstory, knowing when and where things need to unfold, what information needs to be revealed. But for this--whether it was the sudden lightbulb moment, the need to keep pressing forward since I have this irrational idea that everything fun and exciting ends at the age of 30, the want to shape my life after my Fellowship ends--I've just gone straight in, head first, into the deep end of the pool. My characters are developing on their own as my pen hits the paper. The backstory is there, but, unlike The Time Swallow, I didn't go back to it for months and months questioning aspects, rewriting parts of it, wondering how I should spread out the various revelations.
I think that's a good thing.
Oh. I don't even have a title yet.
But as someone who is highly visual...I have no character designs, no setting imagery, nothing! The only thing I have is the ship layout and the statistics for it. Not saying that I sat there and doodled out every last inch of the places in TTS, but...this writing process is almost like a dream, where you just keep moving forward, and the world suddenly reveals itself.
I'll have one image and go from there; when I turn the corner it's a brand new place. And I just let the pen describe it all.
We'll see where this goes, and how the themes will play out, and how the history will reveal itself. It really is like driving with the headlights on this time; it is a completely different process for me versus my first manuscript. And I love it all the same.
I didn't write anything last night and it felt weird. Tonight is a Nyquil kind of night so I think I'll just go home after work, mange on some soup and saltines, and churn out 2,000 words. If I can see the words straight. The past two days have been early-to-bed ones.
I like my story though. It's more--mysterious for me, if that makes sense, on several different levels. The story is much simpler than The Time Swallow, and my characters are much less familiar to me. Depending on the story, the complications, even the character, I may spend days and days just diddling along with their backgrounds, with the setting's history, with the backstory, knowing when and where things need to unfold, what information needs to be revealed. But for this--whether it was the sudden lightbulb moment, the need to keep pressing forward since I have this irrational idea that everything fun and exciting ends at the age of 30, the want to shape my life after my Fellowship ends--I've just gone straight in, head first, into the deep end of the pool. My characters are developing on their own as my pen hits the paper. The backstory is there, but, unlike The Time Swallow, I didn't go back to it for months and months questioning aspects, rewriting parts of it, wondering how I should spread out the various revelations.
I think that's a good thing.
Oh. I don't even have a title yet.
But as someone who is highly visual...I have no character designs, no setting imagery, nothing! The only thing I have is the ship layout and the statistics for it. Not saying that I sat there and doodled out every last inch of the places in TTS, but...this writing process is almost like a dream, where you just keep moving forward, and the world suddenly reveals itself.
I'll have one image and go from there; when I turn the corner it's a brand new place. And I just let the pen describe it all.
We'll see where this goes, and how the themes will play out, and how the history will reveal itself. It really is like driving with the headlights on this time; it is a completely different process for me versus my first manuscript. And I love it all the same.
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