IntenseDebate - Anthony Lee Collins

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - A Bit of News & Announ... · 1 reply · +1 points

The courses sound really interesting. Too bad Iive very far away. And don't write literary novels.

With me? My mother died back in August (I forget if I've mentioned that here). 98 years old, in full possession of her faculties and not in pain. So, there's less to do than in in the last few years, but there are still things (I'm pulling things together to see the accountant about filing her final tax return on Wednesday).

When she died I was writing a story in which a character resolved certain things in her relationship with her mother (well, partially resolved them), and that was the wrong story to be writing then so I hit Pause on that one and started another, which I just finished. It's not about anything directly like my mother's situation, but it's full of things she thought about and was interested in.
My recent post seven sentence sunday #3: always crashing in the same car

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - Why I won't stop buyin... · 1 reply · +1 points

I developed this habit when I was young, when new books appeared and then, after a while, went away -- out of print and possibly never to be seen again. So, you had to grab them when you could.

I guess these days, with e-books, titles never go away -- but I still have the habit.
My recent post seven sentence sunday #2: u-town

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - 14 Things I Learned in... · 3 replies · +1 points

I learned many things about nursing homes, long-term care insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, power of attorney, notaries, lawyers and more lawyers, proprietary leases, wills, letters of administration, and related matters.

#10 is very true on the relationship between sorrow and happiness.
My recent post great but not greatly known

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - Sometimes Writing is L... · 1 reply · +1 points

I agree completely. I think sometimes people get too caught up in How To books and websites, and the "rules" about what the first chapter should do and what the protagonist should go throgh and where you should be when you're halfway through the story. You can lose track of the things that will make your story unique and shove it into the same template everybody else is using.

Robert Fripp: "Music is just a means to magic."

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - It's Here. CHASING THE... · 1 reply · +1 points

Well, I think you've got a pretty good excuse for tardiness. :-)

(I ordered the book. :-) )

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - It's Here. CHASING THE... · 3 replies · +1 points

Congratulations!

I already have it on my Kindle, but that signed & personalized hard copy version is pretty appealing... :-)
My recent post passing the friendship test

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - What It Really Means t... · 0 replies · +1 points

My father was a (semi-pro) humorist, and so I was raised with an appreciation of how difficult comedy is. Other than poetry it's the only form of writing where one wrong word can sink a while piece, for example.

Sometimes when people read my stuff, they laugh in a particular place and then wonder if I'll be offended (if maybe that part wasn't supposed to be funny -- my stuff is not really comedy, after all), but I never am. Hey, I got a laugh, which is not easy to do. :-)
My recent post form follows fiction

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - What It Really Means t... · 2 replies · +1 points

Personally, when I hear the word "serious" in connection with books, I immediately want to throw in a locked-room murder, or an alien, or maybe even some zombies. I expect that urge is not limited to men.

Currently, I'm reading a lesbian sword & sorcery book, where I just encountered a line that was so funny it made me laugh out loud on the subway -- which I try not to do :-) If it was just (really) entertaining, that would be fine (most people who disdain popular entertaining fiction would fail miserably if they ever tried to write any), but it's actually about something really profound.
My recent post form follows fiction

11 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - The Writing Process On... · 3 replies · +1 points

Well I will admit that it's those hints of magical realism that have me even more intrigued than everything else. And I totally agree about the process depending on keeping at it. That is the biggest factor. But I think another factor is flexibility. As you say (and I think this applies to everybody, whatever they specific proces), sometimes you get stuck,and often that's the time to switch something up, do something different. For one thing, no one process suits every project.

I already answered these questions over at my blog (http://u-town.com/collins/?p=4779), but now I feel like I've been tagged, so it's more legit. Thanks. :-)
My recent post it’s totally awesome les miz singing day!

12 years ago @ Natalia Sylvester - On Identity, Discrimin... · 2 replies · +1 points

Very true. The point about perception and reality. A lot of how discrimination works is by training people to internalize it.

"You are not one identity or one story." Also very true. You're allowed to tell any stories you want. I was just reading about a woman writer who has encountered pressure to write "women's stories," but she prefers to write from a male point of view.

There's so much focus on "identities" these days, I like to take that out of the picture when I can. I have characters whose race or background or sexual orientation has never been specified. I'd love to do like Sarah Caudwell and have a character whose gender is never stated (and in fact I may someday... :-) ).
My recent post writers need readers (or not)

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