Category: Writing

  • Personal Review: “Foster” by Bryan Washington

    (The short story “Foster,” by Bryan Washington, was featured in the June 14th, 2021 issue of The New Yorker.)

    I am always amazed by writers who use so few words to explain something, like the setting, and instantly I know specifically where they’re talking about. It’s like a magician making a large object emerge from a very small space; how did they pack all of that in there? Bryan Washington did that with his short story “Foster.” Washington dropped the word, “Montrose” in the second section of the story, and half way through the first page, I knew I was in Houston; along with the urban sprawl, sticky humidity, and vibrations of that city. This writer has skills in his word use.  

    “Foster” is a story about two estranged brother, one who leaves a cat with the other. The brother who takes the cat, lives alone in his apartment though his boyfriend, Owen, asks about moving in together. The story is told in short sections, which keeps the story moving at a fast clip. A co-worker at a university is introduced, the cat gets sick, and reflections on the past are brought up. There are thoughts about life with the estranged brother, and a slight mystery resolved about where the cat’s name comes from – All leading to a satisfying, though predictable, conclusion.

    I enjoyed this story. I liked the narrator, and wanted to learn more about him, especially his relationship with Owen, and their creation of a, I want to say, unit, as family isn’t quite right. The way Bryan Washington brought in these pieces, to make a mosaic of the narrator’s life, showing how connections sometimes happen and are thrust on the narrator, but still have value and meaning to him, was engrossing. As I thought about all of these pieces, I began to see the underling structure of the story, A+B=C. That’s not a knock against the writer, but to me shows someone knows how to craft a story.

    Like a good magician, Washington’s “Foster” is a story with a lot of sleight of hand happening. You’ll enjoy the trick while also knowing how it was done.

  • Making My Own Writing Work

    We started the conversation last night about my returning to work. It was an open ended, “let’s just start talking about this topic” kind of conversation. We were just sharing our thoughts a feelings, before we actually have to sit down and make a plan.

    The first fact of our situation, that we both agreed on, is that I am taking care of the kid while she is in remote school for the next three weeks, and for the Summer vacation as well. Come September, when the kid is back in school, like actually back in the school building, then that will be my first opportunity to work.

    And I need to work. We are getting by, which is good, but we are not getting ahead. I’ve talked about our debt before, and that is the albatross in our life. Until that’s put to rest, we can’t save in a meaningful way, or get a new place to live, or retirement, or the kid’s college. So… the second income is needed.

    Now, what will that work be? That’s the trick.

    I will clean up the old resume this Summer, and keep an eye out in the theatre and arts world to see if something shows up.

    Professionally writing fiction is about a ten-year journey, and I’m about year one into it. I say that because all the people I know who are published, it took them about ten years of writing, submitting, networking, and just persevering. And there is still no guarantee there.

    I like blogging, but that also isn’t a guarantee either. All the professional and unsolicited advice I have received has all told me the same thing; blog about something that you are passionate about, and that no one else does. My first response was, ME, but that seems narcissistic and counterproductive. After having created a list of topics I care about, the only one that popped out to me was to blog about the puppetry community in New York. That seemed to make sense to me.

    I mean, I have been working as a puppeteer on and off since 2006. I have friends in the community. I go and see puppet shows on my own accord. Then, I see that there aren’t a lot of people writing about puppets. Maybe it’s worth exploring.

    Either way… Albatross!

  • Looking for Writing Work

    I am down to the final three months before the kid is back in school, and I need to have a job. I will be honest, working from home would be ideal, but when push comes to shove, and if it’s a good job, then I will be willing to go where I am needed.

    The other thing is that I have been at the blog for 11 months now, and I do value the 4 of you, on average, who come by to check it out. It is a huge improvement over my daily average of .5 people when I started on July 20th. The goal was to write about what I was interested in, and try to craft it in a short, concise way, 250 words per post, that was entertaining, but also made a point. The fact that the blog grew, from 60 subscribers to 215 in less than a year, might not be earth shattering, but at least showed there was interest.

    The other goal was to work on the skills that would enable me to go forth and find employment as a writer. That one is all on me. I think my first desire was to be able to purchase a new computer from the earnings of writing, which is still an admirable objective. I would like to add if I could bring in about $500 a month, I would be over the moon happy.

    So, I stand at this crossroads. If I am serious that this is what I want to do, then I need to start putting in the work to make it happen, at least, more than I am doing right now.

    But, the lingering thought in the back of my head is, I have no idea how to get started… Who do I talk to? Do I need a resume? Writing samples? An introduction? What is the first step? I am here, but I want to get there… Just, how?

  • Sticking the Landing, And the Climax

    I have been kicking around this idea for novel for about two years in my head, but only in the last six months have I started to try to get some work on it done. Originally, I was not going to think too hard about the first draft, and just write the damn thing, and see what happens. (I had done this for the other two novels I have written, but let’s be honest here, that was 20 years ago, and they aren’t very good.) I got about three chapters into it, and then the thing petered out. I knew how I wanted it to start and the whole first act, and I knew what the second act would be, but the ending was still a little vague, and I wasn’t clear how I would connect the three acts. Then, I sucked it up, and did a rough outline of the book. It helped get the first and second act to work together, but the third is still unfocused, and all over the place.

    I found myself looking up at the ceiling last night, trying to get the thing to work in my mind. Maybe I should make it a bit of a literary parody of the type of protagonists that Roth, Ford, and Updike would have written? (You know, the overly sexual white guy who fails up.) It could be funny, but also a cheat to get an ending, as I would be, well, stealing one of theirs. Maybe I should stop working on it? Should I set it aside for a while, work on something else, and see if the absence will help me come up with an ending? Maybe doing this outlining work, thinking about the story is actually holding me back, as I am not actually writing it? Maybe I need to make the time and actually write it, and not this system of “pre-production” work of outlining… I don’t know.

    But getting it right, sticking the ending, when it comes to my writing, is not my strong suit. It seems like in all things, there should be some sort of exercise one could do, to work on this skill. I see lots of writing workshops on how to outline, or getting your idea out of your head on to paper, or how to stop talking and start writing. But I haven’t seen any type of workshop that’s “How to End Your Story Strong.”

    Just an idea.

  • Why I Still Blog, And Thanks Everyone

    I do feel that from time to time, I have to remind myself what it is that I am doing here. Yelling into the void, used to be what came to mind when I would post a blog. Back in July 2020, when I made a choice to focus and work harder on my writing, this blog was a great place to test out those muscles. The dark void faded away, and I started to see that creative endeavors, no matter how large or small, do serve a purpose, sometimes to an affect that doesn’t seem relevant for some time. After having kept this up for nine months, the one thing I can so for certain is that I can now keep my personal deadlines and goals when it comes to writing.

    The other thing I can say is that I now have over 200 followers! Back in July 2020, I had around 60, so gaining 140 followers in nine months, I take as a compliment. I am also sure the majority of these new followers are not Russian bots. Being that this is a blog which, subject wise, is all over the place, and doesn’t seem to be much more than I guy sharing opinions and trying to learn how to write better, I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read.

    Spasiba!