Personal essays

I've recently been reading The Norton Book of Personal Essays. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in essay writing and memoir. As you might know, my thesis centered on creative nonfiction, and the personal essay is something that I've been studying lately. Some of the selections in this book are very good. Favorites so far: Willa Cather's A Chance Meeting, F. Scott Fitzgerald's Sleeping and Waking, and H.L. Mencken's Reflections on Journalism.

A great writer....and St. Louisan!!

Eddy L. Harris has written several memoirs. His first book, Mississippi Solo, is a tremendous adventure story about a man (Eddy) who travels the entire Mississippi river alone -- in a canoe. I've posted about Eddy before, but I found this interview with him that I thought was pretty well done. In the interview, he talks about Mississippi Solo and his approach to writing. (I won't bog this blog down with videos. It's just something new I've discovered.)

Someone Knows My Name

Today, I have read nearly 100 pages of Lawrence Hill's Someone Knows My Name.

Amazing book. It's so real, I can't believe it's fiction!

(I want to write like him)

Snow days are great for productivity

Today was a great day.

Like a kid, I was excited to have a snow day. Usually, I enjoy getting up and going to work -- even on Mondays. But this morning I was still struggling with a mean sickness that has dogged me and the rest of my family for more than three weeks. So, it was nice to see that I'd have another day to recover. In the mean time, I was able to complete another 11 pages of my thesis and FINALLY finish Erik Larson's Devil in the White City. I just finished the book a few minutes before midnight.

If you haven't read this book, go out and buy it today. Fantastic book. It leaves no stone unturned. Great historic piece filled with suspense and mystery, as well as an in-depth look at one of the most influential happenings in our country's history -- the Chicago World's Fair.

The book only left me with one question. As a St. Louisan, I've always held tight to the legend that the massive Ferris wheel that appeared at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair (but which debuted at the earlier exposition in Chicago) was dismanteled and is buried in Forest Park. Larson's book stops short of saying where those massive sections of steel went. So, Erik, if you're reading this, can you help me out on that??

Did I say it was a great book? I need to post some snippets, so you can see what I'm talking about.

Keep the action going

I'm still reading Erik Larson's Devil in the White City. It's still a very good book that concentrates on two stories: the architechts who create the 1898 World's Fair in Chicago, and a maniacal serial killer operating a few blocks away.

Larson is an incredible writer, and he has done awesome research on this subject. No proverbial stone is unturned. But the strong -- albeit sensational -- part of the story is the serial killer. And what I've found is that I'm fascinated by his story. But, as the book progresses (I'm on page 238), his story is interrupted by HUGE chunks of that which concentrates on the architects. When that happens, the action (for me, anyway) slows down considerably. It's frustrating. I want to skip those parts and flip pages to find more about the killer. I won't, though, because I want the full experience the way the author intended.

This does not discount the author's writing ability because I find him to be tremendous. And, in all fairness to the author, this book was in the history section of Barnes and Noble rather than the true crime section. So, I'm guessing that the main thrust (and, obviously, the part with the most archival material) is the architect story with the serial killer just being an added bonus.

I still recommend this title.

Some questions:

Have you had this experience with books before? If so, what titles? (I think the worst was the "Left Behind" series. I did skip around through those!)

Are there tricks to keep the action going, rather than bogging the reader down in detail?

Are writers cheating the reader if we don't provide the "details" -- even if they're mundane?

A new book I'm reading

I hate to admit that I once again put down Sinclair Lewis' Main Street!

A colleague in the Missouri State University's Special Collections and Archives recommended Erik Larson's Devil in the White City. WOW!! This is a great historic novel -- so far. I picked it up at Barnes and Noble in Denver. I started reading it yesterday, and I can't put it down. It's the true story of a cunning and vicious serial killer who was taking advantage of the 1898 World's Fair in Chicago to lure and kill his victims. Larson switches each chapter between the architechts of the fair and the killer -- who could seriously be one of the sickest, most-vile in history. Larson (a former feature writer for the Wall Street Journal, shows that he pays attention to each and every sentence. Well done. I can't wait to get back to it!

It's also very encouraging, since my thesis is creative nonfiction.

Sinclair Lewis

OK...I know little to nothing about Sinclair Lewis, but I DO know that he changed my life.

How's that, you say?

Glad you asked.

As some of you might know, I am a former newspaper reporter. Back in 2001, while working for the Springfield News-Leader, I had the pleasure of working for an executive editor named David Ledford. I don't think that I impressed him much as a writer, but he took a chance and devoted a lot of time to me. When I struggled with a story, he'd sit with me until the early morning hours to make sure I got it right. When I needed a push, he was there to give it. He's a gruff fellow, and not everyone enjoyed his approach to editing, but he knew how to motivate me.

Ledford encouraged his reporters to let the readers "see" what we were seeing as reporters. He drilled into us the importance of narrative writing. He held workshops, sent us to seminars, etc.

One day, he called me into his office and he asked, "Have you ever read Sinclair Lewis' Main Street?"

"Um, no."

"Read that and you'll know how to write."

That was the first time I'd ever heard an editor or any instructor of journalism say that reporters should read literature to become better news writers! What a novel idea!

So, to keep up my good standing with my boss, I went to the library and checked out Main Street. I read the first dozen pages and caught on to what he was talking about -- but that was as far as I'd ever been with that book. However, I did decide, at that point, to concentrate on my storytelling, to become the best writer I could possibly be. I got away from "just the facts ma'am" reporting and became a storyteller -- trying to let the readers "see" what I was seeing. And since then, I've taken a new approach to all writing -- whether it's a news article, press release, magazine feature, etc.

All this to say that I've finally gotten around to picking up my copy of Main Street and I'm devoted to reading it this winter. It's a pretty good book so far, and I'm excited to get lost in Gopher Prairie.

Have any of you read this book?

P.S. I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile (I know that's a cardinal sin with blogging), but I've been busy with "end-of-semester" things like papers and a linguistics final -- and, of course, making arrangements to finish my thesis. By the way, I received an A in my linguistics course, so all I have left are comprehensive exams and this thesis! Keep me in your prayers.

First Chapters

I recently had a noted author write to me with this advice: "First chapters are critical in getting the attention of an agent, and agents are critical in getting your work before publishers."

Personally, from a reader's standpoint, I find that "first chapters are critical in getting the attention of the reader" too!

Some people judge a book by its cover. I often judge one by the first two or three pages -- and if the writing's good, the first chapter.

One of my favorite pastimes is going to Borders or Barnes and Noble, grabbing a half dozen titles from the stacks and sitting down to read with a cafe mocha. Last Sunday, my wife and I had the rare opportunity to break away from the kids and go to Barnes and Noble to do just that.

I brought my pile of books back to the tiny table and began to read. I was really excited about one particular author, so I grabbed several of his books. Unfortunately, I wasn't hooked by his writing style, so I put them down and picked up a random book from the "new fiction" shelf. I was captivated.

The book: Leo Furey's The Long Run

Wow! I haven't had a book grip my attention like that in awhile. I read the first chapter and was amazed at the emotions I went through. I literally laughed outloud at one character, Brother McCann, and then found myself ready to reach through the pages and kick him in the head until he was comatose. I was very impressed, and I can't wait to buy the book (My finances that night were going toward a movie -- American Gangster -- that was worth every inflated penny). I only hope the entire novel can live up to "first chapter" expectations.

The last few books that really caught my attention like that were Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

A very good resource for "first chapters" is the NY Times "First Chapters" site.

A few discussion questions:

1. What are some books with first chapters that grabbed your attention?


2. Do you find that subsequent chapters -- even endings -- often don't live up to first chapters?


3. Do you often trudge through clunky first chapters because you know that a good story is around the bend?


4. For writers, how much importance do you place on the first chapter?

One author finds time

I was reading a story in the New York Times about Anne Enright, the winner of Britain's 2007 Man Booker Prize for her novel "The Gathering." (I haven't read the book, but it must be pretty good.)


Of interest to me were a few paragraphs at the end of the article regarding Anne's writing time:

“The kids go to school; I sit down and write,” she
said. “The kids go to bed; I sit down and write.” Her husband, Martin Murphy, who runs a theater outside Dublin, works at night, which makes finding time to be together a challenge. “At the Booker dinner I thought maybe we could talk about our holiday plans,” she said, laughing. But in different ways they were both too nervous.

Oddly enough, Ms. Enright said, having children — she has two, 4 and 7 — has made her work easier.

“I find that the whole sense of anxiety and largeness, the sense that you’re writing everything, the allness of it, disappears completely,” she said. “You have just three or four hours a day, and you’re going to write a book, and it just shrinks the work into its proper proportion.”

Obviously, Anne is a full-time writer. Personally, I can say with authority that having two kids doesn NOT make writing easier. It gives you something beautiful to write about, but the actual TIME to write all but disappears. I'm very thankful to God for providing me a wife who realizes this and does what she can to help me find the time.


Ahh...just more encouragement to make it, right?

Tips for creative nonfiction

On a tip from my friend Angela (Wicked Wordsmith), I browsed the "Velda Brotherton" section of her Web site. Velda is an Ozarks writer with several novels and works of creative nonfiction under her belt.

As you know, I'm working on a series of creative nonfiction pieces for my thesis. I found Velda's posts -- including those on character development and historic research -- very encouraging and I've made note of several tools and tips.

See Velda's Wicked Wordsmith posts here.

Velda's professional site is located here.

Mississippi Solo

Have any of you read the book Mississippi Solo?

If you have not, you're missing out. In this work of nonfiction, Eddy L. Harris -- who lived a portion of his life in St. Louis -- recounts his solo trip (in a canoe) from the head waters of the Mississippi down to Louisiana.

This is an amazing story -- quite scary at times, especially when the author is paddling his little canoe through the locks and dams and dodging the wakes of massive barges (and dodging the barges themselves).

I was intrigued by this journey because I grew up in St. Louis within a mile of the Mighty Mississippi. I didn't spend a lot of time on the River, but I've been down to its banks enough to feel its overwhelming power. When people say they want to go boating on the Mississippi, I reply with "Good luck!"

When I was a teenager, a buddy of mine and I planned to do some night fishing on the river. The spot we'd had picked out was, of course, on private land, and we were not invited. But we were determined to drop a line in anyway. Well, before I left the house (wearing old jeans, an old ratty sweatshirt and toting a much-too-small fishing pole for the Mississippi) I made the mistake of telling my mother where we were going fishing.

I don't think she believed me. Certainly, two teenaged boys were up to no good if they were heading to the river at night. She was certain that we had something else up our sleeve, so she replied with an emphatic "Nuh-uh. You're not going fishing."

I pleaded my case, but she stood her ground. She said "If you ARE going fishing, you're NOT going there. What would happen if you were sucked in? At night, when no one could see you? Forget about it."

When I was that age, I would often try to argue to get my way. But that night, there was a seriousness in my mom's tone -- something I didn't want to question. And I've never questioned it since. For the past 15 years, I've wondered what would've/could've happened that night -- two kids trying to balance on slippery rocks and battle the rip-roaring currents of one of nature's powerhouses. I'm glad I didn't go.

That's why I was fascinated by Eddy's book. He challenged the River and he won. But it wasn't for a lack of respect -- respect he learned to afford the River and respect he gained for himself.

Great book. Good writing.

Eddy followed up this book with a handful of others, including Native Stranger, Still Life in Harlem, and South of Haunted Dreams.

Wicked Wordsmith

Last week, I was excited to hear from an old friend, Angela Wilson, who worked with me at the Springfield News-Leader several years ago. Angela is an aspiring novelist. But she is also a communications professional who works to market books, as well as provide resources, tools, reviews, etc. to other writers.

She currently maintains a professional blog called Wicked Wordsmith. I would encourage any writer to frequent this awesome resource.

Like me, Angela is writing a novel and she's seeking encouragment. She's been kind enough to share with me a few pages of her manuscript, and I can say this: It is suspenseful and well written.

Keep writing, Angela!!

I look forward to following her career.

"It was a dark and stormy night...."

Given that it is Halloween, I thought you all might like to know exactly where the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night...." originated.

It was the opening line in Edward George Bulwer-Lytton's 1830 book Paul Clifford.

Here is the entire opening line: "It was a dark and stormy night and the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

There is actually a contest for bad writing called the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest.

This information was first passed along to me by a student, Ingrid, who worked in our office. She's a great writer and we had a good laugh about this a year or so ago.

Happy Haunting!

(I think it would be fun to write a good ghost story....maybe I'll post one here sometime...I bet you can guess what my opening line will be!)

Edith Wharton

In fall 2004, I took a Modern American Authors class at Missouri State University. We read eight novels that semester; five were written by Edith Wharton. When we were finished, the professor said something like, "It'll be a long time before I teach a class on Edith Wharton again." I believe most of us agreed. However, I feel that I learned a great deal about descriptive writing during that class.

Edith Wharton has the reputation of writing stories about the high society of which she was an integral part. That society can be found in her popular novels, The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, etc.

But I found her to be at her strongest when she stepped out of her comfort zone and wrote about the poor and desolate, particularly a handful of characters found in the staple Ethan Frome and my favorite Wharton novel, Summer.

In Summer, there is a scene when the main character Charity travels up "the Mountain" to see her mother, Mary. When she gets there, she learns that her mother is dead. Here is the scene:

"Mary's over there," someone said; and Mr. Miles, taking the bottle in his hand, passed behind the table. Charity followed him, and they stood before a mattress on the floor in a corner of the room. A woman lay on it, but she did not look like a dead woman; she seemed to have fallen across her squalid bed in a drunken sleep, and to have been left lying where she fell, in her ragged disordered clothes. One arm was flung above her head, one leg drawn up under a torn skirt that left the other bare to the knee: a swollen glistening leg with a ragged stocking rolled down about the ankle. The woman lay on her back, her eyes staring up unblinkingly at the candle that trembled in Mr. Miles's hand.

Later in the novel, Wharton describes a scene inside one of the cabins on the Mountain. This simple scene has stuck in my mind since I first read this novel:

CHARITY lay on the floor on a mattress, as her dead mother's body had lain. The room in which she lay was cold and dark and low-ceilinged, and even poorer and barer than the scene of Mary Hyatt's earthly pilgrimage. On the other side of the fireless stove Liff Hyatt's mother slept on a blanket, with two children--her grandchildren, she said--rolled up against her like sleeping puppies. They had their thin clothes spread over them, having given the only other blanket to their guest.

Can't you just imagine this scene? How powerful! "On the other side of the fireless stove Liff Hyatt's mother slept on a blanket, with two children -- her grandchildren, she said -- rolled up against her like sleeping puppies.

I truly enjoy great narrative, and this is some of the best that I've read. If you get a chance, pick up a copy of Summer. You won't regret it. Online text can be found here.

FYI...Wharton was good friends with Henry James, who I wrote about in an earlier post.

Maurice Medland

In the late 1990s, when I was preparing to graduate from Truman State University, I had the opportunity to meet Maurice Medland. At the time, Mr. Medland (a Truman alum) had recenlty published his first novel, Point of Honor, and he was signing copies at the university bookstore. We stood and talked for about twenty minutes. And during that brief time, he encouraged me to follow my dream to write. I purchased a copy of Point of Honor and Mr. Medland signed it for me. It was a very good read -- very suspenseful and extremely detailed. Mr. Medland was in the Navy, and his knowledge of ships is unparalleled.

For several years, I waited for a follow-up. That novel, China Star, is now available, and I look forward to reading it. I recently wrote to Mr. Medland and recounted the story of our brief meeting. Here is part of the response that I received:

I'm glad to hear that you're doing well--congrats to you on your marriage, your family, your career, and your studies. That's the very foundation we all need to pursue a writing career. When I was starting out, I corresponded with Dean Koontz a bit and he said, "It's a tough business, but stick with it; the rewards are great." He was right on both counts. I have to say that the fiction market is tougher than ever, but publication is still possible for those who learn the craft and have the talent to apply it. So stick with it, my friend. Don't let anyone or anything stop you.

This is the encouragement I needed, and I appreciate his counsel. I encourage you to pick up a copy of either book. I can definitely vouch for his debut, and I'm betting that the follow-up is just as fun.

Click here for the first two chapters of Point of Honor and the first chapter of China Star.

Enjoy -- and tell me what you think!