tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70180108573412800122024-02-20T15:29:40.512-08:00Ken TalksAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-71253032486263358312017-09-08T14:42:00.001-07:002017-09-08T14:42:29.109-07:00Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-40568639261842250072017-08-30T09:34:00.000-07:002017-08-30T09:34:28.024-07:00My Outlook<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .75in;">
My
Outlook</div>
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Psychologists often tell us that
the personalities of “normal people” are generally formed by one’s early
20s. Of course, certain unstable
personality types, such as those suffering from a borderline personality
disorder, do not fit under this generalization and have unstable
personalities. In going over the pages
of my science fiction novel from the early sixties, I find that my views and
outlook have changed little. After
extricating myself from a crisis of religious belief in my late teens, I had
settled pretty much a view of what Stephen King termed. “a dark Christianity,”
one based upon the views of Ecclesiastes and the sturdy old Medieval belief
that this world is a vale of tears and humankind’s true home lies beyond the
grave. Of course I am not an utter pessimist. Certainly this world offers joys
and pleasures. Some people are winners, some loser, often because of events
beyond their control.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-31698054054861975622017-08-30T09:30:00.001-07:002017-08-30T09:30:27.970-07:00Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-30729478006989657502017-08-23T13:47:00.001-07:002017-08-23T13:47:06.051-07:00A Relief<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .75in;">
A
Relief</div>
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As some of you may recall, I have
been preparing for publication the science fiction novel I initially wrote in
the 60s and rewrote in the seventies. I have been planning to do so for some
years. In the back of my mind lurked the possibility that I would be
unpleasantly surprised by what I wrote eons before. I am glad that so far I have found little
that needs changing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-1507898154827595432017-08-13T14:14:00.001-07:002017-08-13T14:14:36.224-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .75in;">
<st1:state>Florida</st1:state>
on My Mind</div>
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Recently my imagination has been
occupied by the fair blue skies. White sandy beaches, and tropical vegetation
of the state. My mother long wanted to go to <st1:state>Florida</st1:state>.
But my father had no interest in visiting the state. So in the summer of
sixty-three. Mom and I took a trip via Greyhound bus to <st1:city>Miami</st1:city>.
Indeed we had so grand the time that she and I returned the following summer.
In nineteen sixty-four and nineteen sixty-five I worked on the first version of
my science fiction novel, which I’m preparing for publication. Small wonder then that I set the novel in <st1:city>Miami</st1:city>
and the <st1:place>Everglades</st1:place>, especially since the setting fit.
Hence my recurring memories of <st1:state>Florida</st1:state>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-80074746539270420452017-08-13T13:59:00.001-07:002017-08-13T13:59:25.898-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .25in;">
Boasted Too Soon</div>
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A few weeks ago I
boasted too soon about being back in the saddle as far as blogging was concerned.
Alas, I spoke too soon. Again I had computer problems. Every now and then a
message appears stating that Windows is having problems communicating with my
computer and has to restart. I can’t prove my supposition, but problem began
about the time Windows forcibly switched my computer to version 10. The repairman cannot find the source of the
problem since it has never occurred while he was examining the machine. So apparently I’ll have to
endure the problem until it gets so bad it starts acting up frequently. By that
time I’ll probably decide to get a new computer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-43729362028948394422017-07-19T11:19:00.005-07:002017-07-19T11:19:53.337-07:00Computer problems have prevented my blogging for a while, but as Gene Autry would say, "I'm back in the saddle again."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-12975323284385131132017-06-29T13:01:00.004-07:002017-06-29T13:01:58.093-07:00Still Trying to Tame That Dragon<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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A few weeks ago I wrote about
buying a Dragon voice to text machine since I’m such a slow and terrible
typist. I was hoping to improve both my speed and accuracy. Like others, I learned the Dragon is rather slow
in attaining precision. It still makes
Dumbo errors. But it seems to be
improving, although I must check everything it types. But it is faster than my
rather clumsy typing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-83555435549006566452017-06-29T12:41:00.001-07:002017-06-29T12:41:14.987-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .75in;">
Fortunately or unfortunately, I am
one of those persons who have to write. It seems I’m always scribbling – or
perhaps I should say – tapping the keyboard– to write something, either fiction
or nonfiction. The only dry period I ever experienced occurred in the early 70s
when I came to Murray after getting my doctorate. My mind seemed worn out from
completing my dissertation, and for several years I couldn’t put my mind to writing
anything. Then I began writing articles, etc. I even wrote several novels, although
I had little hope that a publisher would be interested in them. Self-publishing
was years away. I went through my files the other day and discovered that I
have about five books completed. Despite my working on new material, I’ll be
working some of the old books into the line. Two I especially like: the others,
perhaps I’d better think about.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-40173538203771981832017-06-14T12:11:00.000-07:002017-06-14T12:11:47.641-07:00 A WORKABLE MS. AT LAST<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: center; text-indent: .25in;">
A WORKABLE MS. AT LAST<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last weekend I d
concluded my task of sorting out intermingled pages of my ancient science
fiction novel and now have two
manuscripts of the 1974 version, one of the original, the other of a carbon
copy. A few pages are missing from each manuscript,
but I believe I know elsewhere to look. If I can’t locate the three pages
missing from the original typed manuscript, I’ll have to improvise those
sections. As you may recall, I originally wrote the novel in 1964 and early 65.
Fearing that I had not honed my writing skills enough, I did not submit the
novel to any publisher but rewrote it in 1974. By then, it had become so long
that I decided no publisher would at a book of 350 odd pages sent by a
first-time writer. Hence, I had hoped my Harpe brothers novel A WILDERNESS OF
TIGERS would gain attention, and I could get the science fiction novel
published. But during that 80s and 90s most publishers decided not to publish
fiction. Hence I had a hard time getting anyone to look at WILDERNESS. Then self-publishing became respectable and took
off like a rocket to the moon. I published WILDERNESS and fresh novels. Thus I’m finally getting around to going back
and printing my effort long ago. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-13225812001408785022017-06-05T19:33:00.001-07:002017-06-05T19:33:25.518-07:00Suddenly a New Horror Story<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .75in;">
As some of you may know, ever
since the winter of 2013, interrelated horror stories have been popping into my
head. Suddenly they sprout forth and
mature, whereupon I hammer out a rough draft. The imagination clicked again
last week as I was taking a daily walk. As I left my house, ideas started germinating
in my head, and by the time I got home, the plot was laid out. I spent several days last week writing out
the rough draft. Looking through the collection, I realize that I am getting
close to having a book- length work. However,
I have not rewritten any of these, not knowing how they would end up finally
being interrelated. Hence I have some work to do before the project is complete.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-244903517963423312017-06-02T18:04:00.000-07:002017-06-02T18:04:04.940-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .25in;">
Last week several
Facebook friends and I were commenting on the old Jayne Mansfield movie The Girl
Can’t Help It (1956). Not only did it feature Jayne Mansfield but a number of
popular rock ‘n roll are performers of the time in cameo parts– performers such
as Little Richard, Fats Domino, and the Platters. As a draw for adults, the
movie also included an appearance of songstress Julie London singing her hit “Cry
Me you a River.” I saw the film when it
first came out. A few years back, when I was writing No Marriages in Heaven, I
remembered this segment of the film and mentioned London and her hit in the novel's pages. Funny, how the imagination works. When the mind is in a creative mood, it
will grasp at anything that pops up. The imagination pulls from many sources,
even films seem long ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-33271588623045165812017-05-23T11:37:00.000-07:002017-05-23T11:37:50.940-07:00More Thoughts on Videos and Books<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .25in;">
Musing upon Kim
McDougall’s video for NO MARRIAGES IN HEAVEN, I reflected upon her photo of a
gray-haired man as Dr. Fell—evidently the best photo she had to represent the black-haired character--and decided the man in the picture could well represent my
character. However, as I was writing the
novel, my imagination fastened upon actor Victor Jory’s portrayal of the
villainous Jeb Torrance in THE FUGITIVE KIND (a 1960 adaption of Tennessee
Williams’ play ORPHEUS DESCENDING). I
also reflected that readers who had not seen the film or do not remember Jory,
or even those who do, would have a somewhat different image of Dr. Fell, none
really “more correct” than the others.
In other words in reading, we allow our imaginations leeway in responding
to the author’s words, so that none of us pictures the same Macbeth. Here we have another way authors and readers
become collaborators. British critic John Carey provides a fine discussion of
this aspect of reading in his book WHAT GOOD ARE THE ARTS?<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-69824315661233312082017-05-13T19:29:00.001-07:002017-05-13T19:29:34.926-07:00About the Video of No Marriages in Heaven<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .75in;">
I hope that by now you have been
able to see my video on Facebook, advertising my new novel <i>No Marriages in Heaven.</i> Kim Dougall has done a fine job of catching
the spirit of the story. Of course, she has to use copyright free photos,
music, and film clips. Neither she nor I can afford to hire actors. Hence some
discrepancies appear between the figures on the screen and the characters in my
story. For instance, Dr. Fell has black hair in my pages but is gray-haired in
the photo. Her picture of Earl Hollo is not quite a representation of how I
imagine him but close enough to be meaningful. I do not know where Kim got the
film clip of Maggie before my heroine was shot, nor do I know what that the
little wisp of smoke-like substance that flutters before her is , but this clip
contains an figure that resembles Maggie and captures the feeling of the scene
well. Hence, I recommend Kim’s work highly if you wish to have a video made.
Her firm’s name is Castelane. It can found on the Internet under that name.<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-22224237831482172062017-05-03T16:46:00.002-07:002017-05-03T16:46:26.028-07:00Writers and Readers as Collaborators, Part 2.<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: center; text-indent: .25in;">
To Say Exactly What I Mean<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps this goal
can never be fully performed, since in literary criticism one is dealing with the
intricacies of language and the complexities of the human mind. But I thought a few additional comments might
clarify my last post on readers and writers as collaborators. Forgive me for drawing on one of my own
works, my Civil War novel set in Kentucky <i>I
Pray the Lord My Soul to Keep, </i>but I believe it suggests what I mean. Jeremiah Manningham flees from the Battle of
Fort Donelson. Stunned by his cowardice and the bloody horrors of war, he
retires to lead a monk-like existence, brooding about his character and the
nature of God. Later he learns that
Jerry Manning, a rebel guerilla, who could be his brother, has been captured by
the Northern forces. Jeremiah travels to
the jail cell to conduct a makeshift communion service for Jerry, using wine
and household bread. A devout man borrowed the novel from some friends to take
along on a vacation. Upon returning, he told me that he had enjoyed and
profoundly been moved by the novel, especially by Jeremiah’s believing that he
had a heavenly ordained mission to perform. I thanked him, glad of his response. Sometime later, without mentioning my novel,
I asked my clergyman at the time whether a communion administered by an
unordained celebrant would be valid. His answer was prompt and unambiguous:
No. Communion had to be administered by an
ordained member of the clergy. I do not know whether he read the novel. If so,
he might have seen episode as presenting a pathetic mock ritual, or, even while
holding this belief, he could have been moved by Jeremiah’s good will. A non-Christian could have read the scene
with disgust, seeing the ritual as superstitious foolery. Or an atheist could
have read these pages and, while not believing in the Holy Supper, could have
enjoyed the scene because of what it reveals about Jeremiah’s character. Each of these views would have validity for
their particular holders. As to communion services being administered by a
layman being valid, I have no certainly. But I believe God would approve of
such devout emotions. Later, at the end
of the novel, when Jeremiah becomes the inheritor of the plantation, he makes a
momentous decision that good-minded people today would applaud, but would it have
been practicable or even beneficial in the long run during his era? Does Jeremiah remain at the end of the novel a
Jungian Holy Fool, or does he move up with Jungian ladder to become the Hero or
savior figure? I don’t know. I leave the
decision to the reader. Of course, not all interpretations would be valid. If
someone argued that Jeremiah was the devil in human form or an unwitting agent
of the devil attempting to damn Jerry by administering an invalid service, I
would shake my head. In a novel an interpretation cannot simply be superimposed
upon the action. Most works of literature have pointers to suggest how certain
events should be interpreted, but even sometimes skilled readers may disagree
about the interpretations. Nothing
suggests that the devil is using Jeremiah to damn Jerry. <o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-88316329487752250992017-04-21T19:17:00.001-07:002017-04-21T19:17:24.089-07:00Writers and Readers as CollaboratorsLong before the controversial heyday of reader response criticism in the eighties, I stumbled upon a variation of this idea in 1963. I turned in a paper on George Eliot's<i> Adam Bede</i> to Dr. Mary Burton, our primary 19th century scholar at the University of Louisville, and received a B+. Her complaint about my paper was that I was too kind in my evaluation of Arthur Dunnithorne, the seducer of Hetty Sorrel. Now I have never been an admirer or defender of seducers, but I felt that Dunnithorne showed ample penitence for his sin by trying to help Hetty. I was a bit confused by my professor's comment.. Of course, those were the high water mark days of the New Criticism and the idea that a complex work of literature could not be reduced to a moral or simple statement,. yet so often works of literature were analysed as though they were mathematical problems to be solved so that everyone got the same view of a character or action. I must say that Dr. Burton did not teach me the novel; I choose it for my term paper. But we disagreed about how one of the major characters ought to be judged. She felt him irreparable; I thought he had redeeming characteristics. (I must also mention that I haven't reread the novel; perhaps if I did so, I would agree with Dr. Burton.) Hence, we were both allowing our subjective views to color our understanding of a major character. It seemed to me then that neither one of us could be "proved" wrong. Our sensibilities reacted with and modified in different ways Eliot's portrayal of a character. Hence, each of us in a way was a co-creator with George Eliot. I believed thereafter in this view that situations and characters in novels could be ambiguous, and that readers could been given some leeway in their interpretations. Of course, this view cannot be applied to all characters and all novels. Some characters are nearly 100% evil, like the Harpe brothers in my <i>Wilderness of Tigers, </i> Francis Edward Sweeney, the mad butcher in my historicalEliot Ness novel <i>Trickster, </i>and the psychopathic country prosecutor in <i>The Fall of the House of Spade, </i>just to point out that I have created characters who are overwhelmingly evil and shouldn't be applauded by a sane person.. Still, most of my characters are mixtures of good and evil who can be understood in different ways by different readers. The course of action Earl Hollo, my detective, takes in <i>No Marriages in Heaven </i>could create different reactions in different readers. I might point out that I do not believe that <i>all </i> literary interpretations are equally valid, but this is a very complex matter that perhaps I'll touch on some other day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-87559263135233812192017-04-03T12:45:00.001-07:002017-04-03T12:45:47.628-07:00What to Work on Next?A question that has my brain spinning slowly, but still slowly. I still have a number of books in my head, but I don't know how many years I have left to complete them. I have been planning three books on Elizabethan literature--my academic specialty--and a book on the nature of God, defending Christianity. I've been working on these for years, adding a bit to them each year. Since more research is required for such books than for fiction, these take me longer to work on. Besides, writing fiction is more fun and I give more time to it.. Moreover, I'd like to write an introductory book on Shakespeare for the general reader. Of course, a number of these are out, but I'd like to do one just for the fun of doing so and to share some of my knowledge about my lifelong specialty. Moreover, I have several novels written in long hand before computer days that I would still like to publish, as well as several unwritten ones in my head. I spent the winter adding to my planned nonfiction works. I plan continuing to do so through the spring, but also want to resurrect one of my early completed novels from the early sixties. Sometimes I wish I could had a machine that would allow me to slip periodically into another dimension where time did not exist, so I could get all these planned works done.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-44713271469106552052017-03-30T11:22:00.002-07:002017-03-30T11:22:42.370-07:00On rereading Euripides' Suppliant Women<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .25in;">
Last week I
reread Euripdes’ <i>Suppliant Women, </i> generally not considered one of his better
plays, but an effective one. Like many of his dramas it is fiercely antiwar. I cannot help remembering Kurt Vonnegut’s
quip in <i>Slaughter House Five: </i>That writing an antiwar novel is like
writing an anti-iceberg novel. Euripides fiercely wrote against the
Peloponnesian War in his plays. Yet Athens was defested and its democracy
suspended temporarily,<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-67810429873026890052017-03-21T19:24:00.000-07:002017-03-21T19:24:13.561-07:00More About Ambiguous Writings<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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During the summer
of 1960 I stumbled upon the type of literature I like best. In those days I was
an avid reader of modern drama. I was a
bit put off by much of the drama of the 1930s since during the Depression much
writing was valued for its social significance; or message—an underlying thesis
supposedly showing how to reorganize society. Always a more of an art for art’s
sakest, I felt that the work of art itself should be valued for itself rather
than whatever message one could extract from it. (Hence, I was pleased to find
support from T. S. Eliot and the New Critics—as they were called at the time
and later—John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Cleanth Brooks, and company. One afternoon I was reading Arthur Miller’s
play ALL MY SONS. The basic plot
follows. Joe Keller, a successful businessman, a manufacturer of air plane
parts, is hosting a backyard barbecue shortly after World War Two. During the afternoon we learn that Keller’s
firm accidentally produced a series of defective parts. Fearful of the company’s financial loss,
Keller hastily decided to send them on to the government. The possibility is
made known that the defective mechanisms caused the crashes of several planes
and the deaths of several pilots, very likely including that of Larry, one of
Keller’s two sons. Chris, the idealistic
second son, becomes aware of his father’s malefaction and demands that Joe
Keller turn himself into the police and threatens to report his father if the
latter will not do so. The upshot is
that Joe Keller, unable to face the disgrace
and a prison sentence, shoots himself in the head. Chris is horrified at
what his noble intentions have caused. The play astounded me. Here was more
than a simple disguised treatise on the evils of wealthy businessmen. (And
indeed some should be condemned). But here was a play showing that life is
complex, complicated—that we are all subject to what has now become called the
law of unintended consequences. Today we
commonly demonize those who disagree with us, but Miller portrays Keller with
some sympathy. At the conclusion Keller’s
wife urges Chris to forget what happened and live. But, having unintentionally
caused his father’s suicide, how can he? The play stunned, excited, and
overwhelmed me. It showed me that life
is more complex than I had suspected. Ever since I have generally preferred
this type of writing rather than that which sought to promote a specific
religious or political doctrine.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-76412314150143414722017-03-20T13:56:00.000-07:002017-03-20T13:56:11.258-07:00Ambiguous Endings<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> I
mentioned on Face Book some time back that MUIRSHEEN DURKIN has two distinct
conclusions. The situation is not that of giving the reader a choice of either
one ending or the other. Both “occur.”
How I do this, you’ll have to read the book to find out. But I give the
reader a choice as to which ending presents the more realistic view of human
existence. I’ve long been intrigued by writings that leave something open ended
as far as a thematic conclusion. I don’t care for underlying one-sided
messages. Like Keats, I don’t like a
writer who has a design on me, (Not exact quote); that is, seeks to convert me
to a certain cause or to make me accept a certain message.) For me the best writings are open-ended
enough to allow the readers to make up their own conclusions in so far as
judging the situation. I certainly don’t have all the answers to life’s
problems. For me the best writing points to the uncertainly of our knowledge</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-3125476615013926702017-03-20T13:54:00.001-07:002017-03-20T13:54:07.826-07:00Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-61264246967348959172017-03-20T12:59:00.002-07:002017-03-20T12:59:22.606-07:00At lastI have finally received copies of my detective novel NO MARRIAGES IN HEAVEN. It is available on AMAZON. Within a few days I shall begin selling copies from my website.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-20550987904343191722017-03-14T12:20:00.001-07:002017-03-14T12:20:16.407-07:00<br />
<br />
I have contracted with Kim McDougall to have her make a video advertising <i>The Trickster. </i>It should be available within a week. She made the fine one for my <i>Kentucky Colonel in Wagner Land.</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-6889147924755935122017-03-05T17:02:00.000-08:002017-03-05T17:02:01.403-08:00New Videos<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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I am
planning to have advertising videos made for THE TRICKSTER and NO MARRIAGES IN
HEAVEN. These will be available at my website and on You Tube.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7018010857341280012.post-76129851534472600112017-03-04T19:31:00.001-08:002017-03-04T19:31:57.230-08:00More About the Previous Subject<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
On the Previous
Subject<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course,
I did not mean that one should not use copy editors. These persons are necessary. No one can
be so expert as to see all the errors in one’s own manuscript—misspelled
words, omitted words, awkward punctuation, and a basketful of other
errors may appear. Our minds can easily trick us:
We know what we want to write, and our unconscious puts it in our prose. Almost all self-publishing companies offer
copy editing in package deals. Generally, the copy editor will read simply for grammatical
errors and omissions. By paying a higher price, a writer can have the
copy editor check for inconsistencies in the plot and improbabilities and the correctness
of facts. Sometimes editors who are sincere can offer helpful advice. When my short story “Morning Glory” was
published in the anthology <i>Legends and
Legacies </i>by the Midwest Writer’s Guild of Evansville, an editor suggested
that I should add a paragraph to the beginning.
I saw the value of her comment and constructed the short addition. I feel that her suggestion indeed improved
the story. Sometimes editors provide
valuable insights: Generally they are not the prima donnas who like to show off
their expertise that I warned about in the last blog.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667060806159915707noreply@blogger.com0