I guess my writing style is called “narrative non-fiction,” because I take events from my life, and I recreate them in a hopefully interesting and dramatic fashion. That comes from reading a lot of David Sedaris, Dave Eggers, and other authors who get to swim in that great pool of writing while I watch through the fence. I can see that influence in the stories that I put in Dancing Barefoot, and in weblog entries like The Trade and Fireworks. It’s a fine line that I dance across, where I allow myself to be inspired and compelled to write without just being derivative.
One of the great bits of advice Stephen King gives us in his “On Writing” book is to read and read and read, because it makes you a better writer. (I have always preferred reading to TV and movies . . . I wonder if that preference contributed to my lack of success in the entertainment industry? They say that actors should watch lots of other actors, and directors should watch lots of other directors . . . hrmmm. Interesting. But not what this post is about.)
I’ve always been a reader. When I was a kid, I was allowed to stay up as late as I wanted, as long as I was reading, so I still read every night before I go to bed. I often find myself sitting between a cold mug of tea and a dying fire well past midnight, lost in some other author’s world, hours after I told Anne, “I’ll be right there.”
Night before last, I was reading “Wizard and Glass” (Part IV of The Dark Tower series) and I hit the book’s point of no return; that place where something happens and I become consumed by the story. I can’t put the book down, and when I am forced to, the characters live in my mind, sometimes to the point of serious distraction during my day.
All day yesterday, in an effort to leave Roland and Susan and Bert and Mid World behind for a few hours, I thought about other books I’ve read, and what their points of no return were. I share them now, off the top of my head, without going to the bookshelf to cheat. I think I’ll recall the Point of Intrigue as well as the Point of No Return, because this is my blog and I say so. Nyahh.
Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes
POI – the first time Morpheus spoke, and it was in such wonderful lettering, I knew that I was in for something wonderful.
PONR – When Morpheus goes into Hades, and all three incarnations of Satan speak to him, I was hooked.
Neverwhere:
POI – I can’t recall. It must have happened when I read the back.
PONR – “Mind the Gap.”
American Gods:
POI – When Shadow gets called into the Warden’s office for early release.
PONR – On the airplane, when Odin addresses Shadow by name.
I swear, I’ve read stuff by authors who are not named Neil Gaiman. Witness:
Best American Non-Required Reading 2002
POI – “Edited by Dave Eggers.”
PONR – In his introduction, Dave Eggers talks about floating in a stolen swimming pool at night. His description of the blue light shimmering on the walls was perfect.
The Gunslinger:
POI and PONR- “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” I love that line so much, I can quote it in my sleep.
Fables:
POI – You mean it’s like fairy tales, but they live in the real world?
PONR – Bigby Wolf is a detective? Where do I sign?
Ringworld:
POI – It’s a solid ring, one Earth-orbit in circumference.
PONR – Fist of God.
Hitchhiker’s Guide:
POI – Don’t Panic!
PONR – When the Vogons tell Arthur that the plans to demolish Earth are exactly the same as the plans to demolish his house.
Okay, I could easily go on for days like this, but I’ll end now with the my current read, because I bet this is more interesting to me than anyone reading it.
Wizard and Glass:
POI – I had to find out how they beat Blaine the Mono.
PONR – Dinner at the Mayor’s mansion, when Roland dances with Susan.
Have a great weekend everybody. If you need me, I’ll be in my reading in my chair.
programming note
The two entries that follow were written this afternoon during a big old Thunderstorm. We’ve been without power for about 4 hours . . . and it’s like 52 degrees, and it’s even been raining with thunder for most of the day.
So all of us here in Los Angeles dug our battery-powered TVs out of the earthquake kit in the garage so we could watch TEAM WEATHER as they kept constant vigil on STORM WATCH!!!1 with SUPER DOPPLER RADAR 5000 all afternoon.
Anyhow, the power just came back on, so I have Internet again. It’s been a terrifying few hours, but somehow we managed to get by, here in the City of Angels.
my favorite day of the week
Remember your favorite day of the week when you were a kid? For some, it was Friday, because that was the end of school for the week. Others chose Saturday, because it brought a seemingly endless parade of morning cartoons. In my entire childhood, I never once met someone who had any of the remaining five days as their favorite . . . but I’m sure there was some egghead who couldn’t wait for Monday to roll around so he could get around to screwing up the curve for the rest of us in school.
Saturdays were always my favorite, because of the cartoons, unless it was a Friday that my brother and sister and I were spending with Aunt Val — that meant sugar cereal, Love Boat, and Fantasy Island.. Many have pointed out that those shows were on Saturday, not Friday. I blame my memory lapse on the secondhand smoke that always billowed out of my parent’s den on . . . Fridays? Saturdays? I don’t remember. Now I need to eat some chips.
So it remained until just a few months ago, when Wednesdays became my favorite day of the week . . . because Wednesday is Spend The Day With My Wife Day.
I love it that we set a day aside for each other each week. I love it even more that we both have jobs that allow us to it!
We always make the most of our day together, too. We’ve been to the Huntington Library, on long hikes up to Henninger Flats, and down to the beach. We’ve just hung out at home and cleaned the house together, or walked the dogs around the neighborhood.
Today, we had breakfast together, and caught the first showing of Pieces of April over at the Laemmle near Lake. It’s a truly wonderful movie, and I hope that it’s a breakout for Katie Holmes. She’s such a fantastic actor, she should be in more serious movies. I hope Hollywood is paying attention to her.
After the movie, we had time for coffee and some gingerbread before we picked up Nolan from school, who proudly showed us that he scored 104% on his math test.
Wednesdays rule.
Old rocking chair’s gonna get me
This is not the weblog entry I sat down to write . . . but the rain is so cool right now, I just needed to mark this moment.
Earlier today, while I waited for Anne, I sat in my car and looked up at the clouds through my sun roof. It was the coolest thing to see these huge, cheerful, fluffy white clouds moving one way while dark, brooding, grey clouds behind them moved the other way. Occasionally, they’d cross each other at just the right moment, and a little blue sky would peek out.
Right now, an incredibly angry (for Pasadena) thunderstorm is raging over the mountains. It’s just recently begun falling over our house, and each thunderclap is accompanied by —
Holy fuck. Thunder so loud the whole house just shook. It was concussive, like someone was launching artillery shells. Riley raced under the table, and Ferris just looked up at the window, head cocked to one side like, “What was that?”
Anyway, each time there’s a thunderclap (except the most recent, too big, I guess) a murder of crows that hangs out in the tree behind our house takes to the air, and circles around for a moment before they return. They are black spots against the greenish-grey sky.
The last time they took flight, I watched them swirl around the sky above my house, and I wondered, wistfully . . .
Why the hell didn’t I clean out my gutters when I had the chance?
WOAH!
Okay, that blast of thunder was bigger than the one before, and it’s still rolling across the sky while I type this.
And the power just went out. Good thing I’m composing this on my iBook!
Hold on. I gotta light some candles. It’s totally dark in my house.
Okay, the only candles I have are those smelly ones from Yankee Candle Company, so the house, while adequately lit, is this nauseating melange of Cotton, Pumpkin Pie, Cool Citrus and Basil, Midnight Rain (whatever the hell that is) and Ocean Breezes.
Yuck. Maybe I’ll just sit in the dark.
