Covid-19

Time passes else
escapes us, we
creatures of this rock

who try to live upon it
sturdy souls and smile
grim lipped till the end

we’ve not been told of
loving those we know
praying for those others.

Evans’ Rag

Vol 2 Issue 18

Women Online

Since I began working the Internet circuit a few years ago, I’m curious to find myself ‘following’ writers I’ve never met. Started with a woman (always a good source for inspiration) who writes for BookBaby about the art of the pen. She’s given insight to a neophyte, for which he is grateful. “What’s your theme? Find the BIG! Find the heart of this!” Like the drill sergeant I never had. My impression is that she felt there’s no time to waste on bad writing, so I worked very hard not to disappoint.

My original query was asking if she thought I could divide a book I’d finished into two separate novels, mainly because it felt too long and kludge. [1]

From there, she sent me off on a mad chase through structural questions such as did I know about the three act arc? Which makes complete sense intuitively if you’ve read any fiction, but no, sadly I hadn’t. During the same time I had stumbled on Steven Pressfield, who led me to Shawn Coyne’s Story Grid. Sometime–like a year or so later –I sat down and worked an outline for how to divide my paperweight of a novel, which became the first draft of Kill Devil–Come the Storm.

As my engineering friend, Mel Straus would say, “You think it’s easy?” Don’t know if he stole the expression from somewhere and it doesn’t matter.

Love who love you—and a handful more on their off days.

One Medium writer whose work I’ll slurp like ice cream start to finish is Kyrie Gray. Her hit rate for humor is higher than the average bear–and while you couldn’t mistake where she’s coming from in the struggle of the sexes, she doesn’t carry a club on her shoulder the way some of the liberated sisters feel is necessary to prove their bona fides. Her stories teeter on the edge of the loony, as in slyly bent and offbeat. I’ve always loved wise cracking women. “Jane Austen’s Wastebasket” is the name of her column on Medium.

Headlines from Kyrie Gray’s current newsletter:

• How To Boost Productivity With A Morning Ritual That Summons Seetholth, Demon Of Productivity

• I’m Your Sourdough And I Can’t Handle This Emotional Burden

• Hot Singles Near You When You’re Stuck Inside Your Apartment

• 6 Scented Candles That Will Remind You Of Pre-Quarantine Life

• What Not to Say to Your Depressed Friend Who’s Seen Cthulhu

Guffaw is a link to Gray’s April newsletter, as it were. 

[1] Kludge is an adverb pronounced Kludg-ee: “An ill-assorted collection of poorly-matching parts, forming a distressing whole (Granholm); esp. in computing, a machine, system, or program that has been improvised or ‘bodged’ together; a hastily improvised and poorly thought-out solution to a fault or ‘bug’. from OED.

Or as Jackson Granholm said “There is a certain, indefinable, masochistic finesse that must go into true Kludge building.”

Kludge is a close rhyme to sludge with an extra syllable and a perfect example of onomatopoeia. My son the computer guru taught me the term.

Pages & Platforms

Another cohort of women I’ve spent time with–mainly on line–are found on Pages & Platforms. Last year I took a course on book marketing by Tim Grahl, which included a series of live coaching sessions mc’d by Sue Campbell. Later, Rachelle Ramirez edited a novella of mine, adding substantive value to the piece.

Last February, I flew to Portland (just before the nation shut down) for a three-day writing workshop, which was a first for me–and the first I’d met them in person, including Anne Hawley. And enjoyed the hell out of the experience, both for working with them as well as being in a room full of writers way smarter than I.

When I can scrape enough cash together, I hope to recruit Rachelle to edit Kill Devil–Come the Storm. Meanwhile, I’m furiously slogging through the follow-on novel, Riding With The Devil. And trying to decide if there’s a third one or not.

What’s weird about fiction writing is that stringing scenes together isn’t the same challenge as seeing where they’re heading off a cliff. That’s one thing a good editor can do for you.

As far as writers in the present age are concerned, men are outnumbered, so I’m careful who I piss off these days–at least while I’m online.

For Sale

As listed on the Lake Barcroft list server this week:

• Collection of 3 ½ Delph china dishes with invisible glue lines

• Collection of 2 ¼ Delph china teacups, no saucers

• Num-chuks newly cleaned

• Nun’s habit, dry cleaned and starched

• Set of 9 bowling pins–the tenth to be delivered after the murder trial

• Beaver skin

• Chipmunk skin–select pieces only

• Hedgehog skin, dry-cleaned and flea-powdered

• 1956 Studebaker sedan–low mileage–towing required

• Half loaf, pumpkin bread

• Bass fishing boat with engraved large-mouth bass, patching recommended

• Fishing reel with angry beaver attached

• Pam’s hedgehog–stuffed

• VW Bug–recovered by lake dredging operations– low mileage for a '63 model
  
  If any are of interest, please see your psychiatrist immediately for upping your meds.
  

Hurricane Dorian 

Speaking of Kill Devil, here’s a story you probably missed: The Enduring Ritual.

Hurricane Dorian sank Ocracoke under twelve feet of water.

Further north in Kill Devil Hills, it took out a large chunk of the old Avalon Pier. This link has videos worth watching–especially of the whale: Avalon Pier

Unless you’re dealing with worse—say a virus—don’t go surfing in a hurricane. Otherwise, who’s watching?