Now It Is Phillip Roth Who Inspires

As mentioned before, I am editing the first draft of my latest novel. I am now just over halfway through. Among the changes made, both profound and trivial, one issue stands above all the others. It is whether I should allow one of my characters to remain as emotionally troubled as she is. The truth is, she is sometimes downright unsympathetic.

Then I found the following Phillip Roth statement in The Paris Review.

“I am not interested in writing about what they [Roth’s characters] should do for the good of the human race and pretending that’s what they do do, but writing about what they do indeed do.”

I am following his advice. The outcome, I hope, will be that my novel—to use another quote from The Paris Review interview—will have the following effect on eventual readers.

“What I want is to possess my readers while they are reading my book….”

A worthy goal indeed.

The entire interview can be read at

http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2957/the-art-of-fiction-no-84-phillip-roth

If you had trouble with The Paris Review link previously, it now works. I still don't know why my normal way of posting a link didn't work. It's a great interview.

Okay to Play Hooky?

I thought of a post
then found myself asking if
it really mattered.

Scheduled posting day
met social network fatigue.
Could I play hooky?

Real life trumps blogging,
even Nathan B admits.
I paid attention.

Jimi Hendrix Inspires Me

Only Jimi Hendrix could make me enjoy another version of "Like a Rolling Stone" as much as I enjoy Bob Dylan’s. I have been listening to it while editing my novel.

Please note that, to view the video on YouTube, after clicking on the photo below, you might have to click again where indicated on the dark screen.





And how does this inspire me? By being so vital and by reminding me that excellence is worth striving for. OMG, that guitar!

10% or Bust!

When I edit, I usually follow the Stephen King 10% rule.

2nd Draft = (1st Draft – 10%)

A funny thing has happened so far in my novel editing.

I eliminated a third of what was in my first draft. A third! Mostly, that was back story at the beginning of the novel.

Then I inserted new text, primarily for deeper exploration of character. The outcome? My second draft is now 25% longer than the original draft! Definitely not following the Stephen King 10% rule, eh?

Well, yes, but the edit is not yet complete. What I do know is that the Stephen King rule has made me ruthless about assessing whether a passage is critical for the forward progress of the novel. And it is amazing how creative one can get about communicating the essence of a character and/or action when the goal is to reduce and reduce and reduce.

Yet, right now, my second draft is 25% longer rather than 10% shorter than the first draft.

I won’t beat up on myself yet. This is an unfolding story. There will be more rounds of 10% reductions.

As We Remember 9/11

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.... The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.


Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Rewrite

The novel rewrite has begun. All I can say is that if the rest of the draft manuscript needs as much work as the first chapter, I am in trouble.

Perhaps, though, I should cut myself some slack. This is the first chapter, after all. It was written well before I had a comprehensive sense of what the final product would be. Now, with the novel’s first draft completed, I can evaluate the all-important first chapter to see if it sends the right signals and to make sure it is not loaded with back story. I can also incorporate nuances about my characters, which have been revealed to me through the process of writing the novel itself. The time lines may be different than first envisioned. Etc. etc. and etc.

So, I will remain relatively scarce from the blogosphere far longer than I had anticipated. I will keep reading your blogs and, time permitting, occasionally comment. On a biweekly basis, I will drop in here with a post.

Now, back to work.