Once Upon a Time…

A writer friend, Barb sent me a link to a blog post, Scariness in Fictionland by Athol Dickson. These days, I haven’t kept up with information about the writing world, and I definitely don’t bother with articles on ‘how to write’. It’s not that I’m a snob and know everything there is to know about writing, it’s just that I feel writing takes practice—individual practice. If I was completely clueless about how to write a novel, short story or poetry, then I would look for some form of guidance; although it’s only bits and pieces I take and leave the rest of the lecture behind.

Since I’ve been separated from the writing world—submerged in my own work—I hadn’t kept up with what is being said out there. So this blog post by Athol Dickson really opened my eyes to writing and what some authors are saying. As he states on his blog, “I’ve seen dozens of emails from other authors who claim they strongly dislike the first person point of view.” Okay, I see we all have our favorites, certain things we enjoy reading, but for an author to commit to such a hard statement is serious. If authors begin to omit first person POV, if publishing companies put all first person POV’s in the slush pile, then we have wiped out a part of literature that’s been around since language kissed our lips.

Athol points out that this isn’t the impossible. “…the reading public came to prefer the stark and spare Modernist style of literature which had been almost universally forced upon them, not because it’s necessarily better in any way, but simply because it had indeed been so universally forced upon them…Also, it’s a well-known psychological fact that we develop habits mainly because they are more convenient.” We find ourselves becoming habitual and accepting without question. It’s easy to follow the leader—the dictators telling us what we should do, watch, buy, yet it’s, as the cliché goes, ‘killing us softly’.

- Once upon a time, a man by the name of Mark Twain wrote a story “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” using the word 'nigger’ and ‘Injun Joe’.

- Once upon a time, there were these places called book stores, where you could wander the isles and topics to pick your favorites.

The sad thing is that I could probably find at least half of the people I know never read ”The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, and that their children probably never heard of Mark Twain or even seen his picture…or any of the classics.

I had to write this post because it’s dear to my heart—my manuscript (novel) is in first person POV. It’s fine to like or dislike writing styles and genres, but writers should not be too hasty to make changes to the written word. Writing allows independent thought and creativity, so to stifle this in others would be a grave mistake. 

As much as I want change to occur in life, I also want us to keep and remember values and history that taught us about life and what brought us here. Some might think it’s not a big deal that the classics are changed or aren’t read along with any other book for that matter. Some might think it’s not a big deal that book stores won’t exist—Amazon is convenient. I say it is a big deal. It’s a big deal to starve your mind. It’s a big deal that book stores won’t exist—a place where people can socially meet—to actually have contact with others. These fundamental beauties in life should continue to be cherished. Let’s not live a lifetime and find ourselves saying to younger generations, “Once upon a time…” when it isn’t in an actual book.

Tag! Meme Questions

I was tagged by my writing buddy, Kara to answer a few meme questions. For those wondering what meme is, I thought I’d give you a little definition. "Meme is an idea or element of social behavior passed on through generations in a culture, especially by imitation." So I will answer these repeated questions and pass them along to others.

1) If you could have any superpower, what would you have? Why?

Interesting question, but I’ve always known what superpower I’d want—invisibility. Being invisible would allow me to move around without notice and listen in on conversations. If I submitted any works for publishing, I could hear what they thought about my writing. I could sneak into friends and families houses and listen to their conversations, and find out if they’re talking good or bad about me. Invisibility opens up possibilities, such as blackmail. Just kidding.

2) Who is your style icon?

I read Kara’s blog about writing and/or fashion style icon. I’d have to go with writing icon, since I don’t have any fashion sense to talk about.

My big writing icon is Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I read his book, The Shadow of the Wind, and was literally enraptured by his story, and devoted to his characters. It was the first book I ever read and said, “I want to write like that.” The dialogue in his book is so real, and I have to point that out because many books move away from real dialogue. Dialogue strengthens your characters, which ultimately strengthens the story.

3) What is your favorite quote?

This is a tough question because there are so many wonderful quotes out there. My bedroom walls are full of phrases and quotes from books, movies and authors. Many of these come from Shakespeare, one who feeds inspiration from his works. To be fair, I have to quote from a book, movie, and authors. These are not the only quotes I love, but ones I’ve voiced before.

Book: This is from another one of my favorite books, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This quote comes from the narrator, Death when he talks about Liesel, the main character.

“She was the book thief without the words. The words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain.”

Movie: This is from one of my favorite movies, It’s a Wonderful Life. Clarence, the angel writes it in a book he leaves for George Bailey.

“Dear George, Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings, Love, Clarence.”

Author(s): I must quote two authors since I am trying to become one myself.

Shakespeare – “All hearts in love use their own tongues; Let every eye negotiate itself and trust no agent.”

Samuel Johnson – “It is always a writer’s duty to make the world better.”

4) What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

In my days of bartending, I was talking to one of my bar regulars about life. It was early on in the day, so no, he wasn’t drunk yet. We were discussing our pasts and presents, and things we would like in life, and he turned to me with this serious face and said, “If I had a daughter, I’d want her to be just like you.” I actually got tears in my eyes when he said it.

5) What playlist/CD is in your CD Player/iPod right now?

I don’t have a particular CD on my iPod. I have a favorites playlist and the last song I listened to on it was “Back to the Earth” by Rusted Root.

6) Are you a night owl or a morning person?

Up until two years ago, I was a night owl. Now I wake early—carpe diem.

7) Do you prefer dogs or cats?

Definitely dogs and definitely at someone else’s house. I’m not the typical writer, who owns a dog, cat, or both. I’m use to flying solo.

8) What is the meaning behind your blog name?

I picked Skipping Stone Memories because what I post here are memories. Skipping Stones is from a pastime of throwing stones across a body of water and trying to make the stone skip on top. Since I am not posting all of my memories, meaning I’m skipping many, I decided to go with Skipping Stone Memories. And my alias, Bea Sempere, is a character from The Shadow of the Wind.

So now I will tag my blog buddies!

June “Bug” Kramin

Written Not With Ink

What Do you mean, I should start a blog?

And I tag you, my readers. Please answer the above questions and either post them as comments or send in an email from my profile.