Monthly Archives: June 2021

Beware the Jabberwock!

Posted on June 25, 2021 by midiguru

In Dorothy Parker’s review of Atlas Shrugged, she said, “This is not a novel that should be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.” Or at least, that’s the legend; this review isn’t in my copy of … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Let’s Not Celebrate Ineptitude

Posted on June 22, 2021 by midiguru

Today on Facebook a friend of mine posted a “meme” (I hate what has been done to that word, but we’re stuck with it), that read as follows: “Destroy the idea that you gotta be good at artistic things to … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Head-Hopping

Posted on June 19, 2021 by midiguru

Writers of fiction are sternly advised not to switch, in the middle of a scene, from one point of view to another. Doing so is called head-hopping. There are reasons why head-hopping is almost always a bad idea. Good writers … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Write Stuff

Posted on June 17, 2021 by midiguru

The psychology of the amateur writer is a marvel to behold. Of late I’ve been reading quite a bit of fiction by aspiring amateurs, and the variety of contretemps in which they flounder is an ongoing source of … well, … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

That Was Then

Posted on June 14, 2021 by midiguru

Science fiction is never really about the future. It’s about the present. It only pretends to be about the future. Nor could it be otherwise. The writer is inevitably trapped within the social and intellectual matrix of the present day. … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Writing While Naked

Posted on June 8, 2021 by midiguru

Following up on yesterday’s struggle to figure out where my unpublished novels have gone wrong, I re-read chapters 8 through 13 of Scott Meredith’s Writing to Sell. This book was first published in 1950, and my copy seems to have … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Hit or Miss

Posted on June 7, 2021 by midiguru

How can you tell if the novel you’re working on is dynamite, or if it’s a dud? I wish I knew. Not long ago I finished the third (!) draft of a 110,000-word whodunit. I had earlier joined Sisters in … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

In Praise of Rationalism (sort of)

Posted on June 1, 2021 by midiguru

When society is in turmoil (as it generally is), sorting out what’s really going on can be quite difficult. Various people may and probably will have very different views of an incident, a trend, or a belief system. Their ideas … Continue reading →

Posted in random musings, society & culture | Leave a comment