LATFOB

Attended the LA Times Festival of Books over the weekend. As usual, it was a mixed bag. There are panels and individuals that are insufferably pretentious. Fortunately, I avoided most.  The panels I went to on Saturday and Sunday had both intelligence and humor.  This time, I had friends on panels which added a lot to the experience. Still, it’s crowded and most writers I know get uncomfortable with crowds after a couple of hours (if that!). Tweeted it over the weekend.

It did inspire me. Still in the pondering stage for the new novel, but my process lines is similar to others I heard and that helps give me patience for the process (OMG, I should be WRITING! fades a bit)

The prizes:

Biography: “Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits” by Linda Gordon

Current Interest: “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers

Fiction: “A Happy Marriage” by Rafael Yglesias

Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction: “American Rust” by Philipp Meyer

Graphic Novel: “Asterios Polyp” by David Mazzuchelli

History: “Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance 1950-1963” by Kevin Starr

Mystery/Thriller: “The Ghosts of Belfast” by Stuart Neville

Poetry: “Practical Water” by Brenda Hillman

Science and Technology: “The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom” by Graham Farmelo

Young Adult Literature: “Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don’t You Grow Weary” by Elizabeth Partridge

Innovators Award: Dave Eggers

Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement: Evan S. Connell

 

done done

Well, done for now. The problem with novels is that you can tinker with them endlessly and it’s not always clear at first when it becomes counterproductive. HOWEVER, for now, I am done with Wrestling Alligators. I gave it to four trusted readers. They only had light notes, so I’m getting better at revisions. Then I read the whole novel aloud. Surprising what you catch (even after it’s been past 5 pairs of eyes) so it’s a technique I highly recommend.

Go read my friend Andrew Panebianco’s post, Six Degrees of Robert Langdon (Dan Brown’s protagonist). If you want the longer, juicier version, go here.

List of the words circled by David Foster Wallace in his dictionary.

So, the dreaded synopsis (is there a writer who likes writing them? no), a short bio and the first three chapters are out to an agent. As all writers know, Tom Petty was right.

The Norman Mailer Writers Colony invited me back (with scholarship) for one of their summer workshops, so am hoping the timing works out.  It was nice to hear that they consider my work the quality of a Fellow though they could not seat me as one of the seven this year. A week’s probably better than a month for me considering how busy this summer will be. See there? Things work out for the best.

 

I feel the need… the need to read

Nathan Bransford at Curtis Brown blogs about ‘gap’ books. His key is books most people have read, so bear that in mind. What are yours?

He’s right about the recut trailers. A feel-good Shining. Good exercise to think of your story in a new way, too.

And if you need a reality check, The Rejectionist is happy to give it to you.

Pronouncing authors names correctly here

Reading my novel aloud today (and possibly for a few days!). Started the new one, but really looking forward to getting Wrestling Alligators out into the world next week.