How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Two … one to screw it in most of the way and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end. (via Beckyland – more jokes in the comment thread at her site).

Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters, by Christopher Vogler. On my quest to learn how to write (instead of just spouting stream-of-consciousness like it was the end-all of all artistry), I’ve run across some really, really good books: The Art of Fiction, by John Gardner Style: Toward Clarity and Grace, by Joseph M. Williams Techniques

So I said to myself, “Self, I don’t like the opening of Alien Blue.” “Self,” I answered, “In an ideal world, where you didn’t have to figure out anything else, like who was in the scene, who was talking, et cetera, what would your first sentence be?” “Hm…good question, self,” says I. “But I think

What are you going to do now?!? “Floss.” Slaughterhouse Jane is officially first-drafted. I wrote the whole thing out longhand, with a lowball guesstimate for the words per page. I’m probably waaaay over 50K by now. Next up: typing. I ordered myself an Acer Aspire One netbook (blue, 8G SSD with Linux, which will be

Voodoo Doughtnut. No, no, check out the Events, too. That WHAT?!? And their online store, where the motto is, “The magic is in the hole.” Seriously, the Subgenius of Doughtnut shops.

My first draft–other than the plotting–is as bad as my first, first draft, at age 12–was. That’s talent. The progress I’ve made over the years is in 1) planning and 2) revision. That’s craft.

(via Kate. A stunning list of fake names From a fab author: 1. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s and father’s middle names)Marie Alan. 2. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother’s dad, father’s dad)Durwood Lambert. 3. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name)Kn’dean 4. DETECTIVE

You know, I think I’m just going to have to give in and get a shirt made that says, “WARNING: TMI” on it. Some people at work were making fun of me for saying things like, “You have hollows under your cheeks.” “You have a big back.” “Brown and black do go together, especially when

Morning post-shower insight (also, in light of reading Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey): Stories are the Western version of Zen. The basic western story is, “Person can’t figure out how to handle something, what to do; person learns from various people what to do; person does what’s necessary after a change in attitude” or, if

I don’t know why, it seems inevitable that I get personality quizzes that ask, “Do you like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones better?” This is no longer the important question. Granted, at one point, it was the important question. Do you like sweetness and light or do you like the acid burn of hate?