Now, about those books on craft that I mentioned. It’s not often that I get excited about writing books. Many of them rehash bits and pieces of the same old stuff. Personally, I’d like to find a handful of references that bring it all together. I’m talking about the kind of books that you can (and should) read more that once and each time learn something new. One that I plan to add to that list is Paula LaRocque’s “The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well.” What makes LaRocque’s book unique for me is that she illuminates the topics covered with plenty of examples, exercises and a conversational style that makes reviewing and learning painless.
In consideration of the time you’ve may have already invested in my blog I won’t go into a lot of detail about the other book “Plot and Structure” by James Scott Bell. I will suggest that if you’ve ever had any questions about plotting a novel this book may provide you with some answers. I found it to be very readable with many examples of technique. Quite a few of the examples were from bestselling author Dean Koontz’s work. If nothing else the book made me curious enough to read a few of Koontz’s books (see Books I’ve Read in 2009) to get a better idea of how he does it. Most important, Bell’s book has given me some new insights on plotting that you’ll soon see shaping my stories.
Last but not least, I'd like to say thanks to the reading group, the Real Sistahs. The group consists of seven (or is it eight) ladies who were finishing a discussion about their latest read “Push” by Sapphire when I arrived. I was immediately put in the hot seat and received feedback that was mixed but welcomed. Surprisingly, my favorites were not theirs. I thought Flip-Flop or Soul Mate would have been at the top of their list but it turns out that Day Dreamin’ was the most favored. There was some suggestion that my writing could be categorized as erotic fiction – even though I have made no attempt at being any more explicit about sex than I am about murder (see Flip-Flop) or new found love (see Soul Mate). All in all the time was well spent and the feedback about story, theme, character development and the like will be taken to heart as I continue learning this craft and finding my voice. Most of all our discussion gave me hope that there is still room for more African-American writers and a waiting audience hungry for their perspectives.
As a final note I’m looking forward to continue working on my blog. I’ve added another story “The Truth About Love”. This is Warren’s and Toni’s story about the sometimes destructive nature of secrets. In future stories I hope to incorporate some of the insights gained during my conversation with the Real Sistahs. My next offering is titled “Jacked” and should be online by late December. As always, your opinions are important so don’t forget to leave feedback. Thanks for stopping by.
J. Marcus
