There are writers I love to read, regardless of what they've written. It doesn't matter what genre it's in, what length, how it's published, I just want to experience their work.
Graham Greene is one of those writers. I was introduced to him through the movies that he wrote, principally The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles. Coincidentally, I wrote about that movie on StarWars.com here. After that, I read his book Dr. Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party, based on a friends recommendation and it blasted me right between the eyes. It was reading this book that showed me how I could wrap my head around writing a novel.
Then, over the years, I set out to devour everything he'd done. He'd written entertainments, thrillers, human drama, and many, many short stories. His book, The End of the Affair, was a direct inspiration on The Aeronaut. I wanted to bring some of his literary sense to a genre arena and bring a different audience to that sort of writing.
Everything of his I read taught me something different.
I found my favorite short story of Greene's online, and I wanted to direct people to it, hoping they could find something in it.
It's called The Blue Film and you can read it in its entirety here. It's only 1500 words, which is part of why I love it. It's such a quick, sharp read. There is nothing extra here and he's clearly a master of brevity and tone and character. Go read it and come back.
Got it?
Good.
It's breathtaking, to me, what he is capable of conveying in such a limited space. It's something to aspire to.
Every time I read it, I'm just awed. For me, it's up there with Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron and Long Walk to Forever, and Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants.
Please, tell me what your favorite short stories are, the ones where the craft is just flawless and it robs you of your breath every time you read it. And go into the comments and see what others have to say. Especially read those you think you might not enjoy otherwise, get out of your comfort zone.
As far as my writing, it's been a very productive week. I've turned in pieces for StarWars.Com, Star Wars Insider, City Weekly, and I've been submitted two different novels to publishers. Writing synopses is something I used to do all the time and I've gotten incredibly rusty at it, but putting them together for this project has been a great refresher course.
And then the waiting game starts, which is always my favorite.
The latest in my Cinema Behind Star Wars column came out today as well, and it focuses on The Wizard of Oz. You can go read that here.
Graham Greene is one of those writers. I was introduced to him through the movies that he wrote, principally The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles. Coincidentally, I wrote about that movie on StarWars.com here. After that, I read his book Dr. Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party, based on a friends recommendation and it blasted me right between the eyes. It was reading this book that showed me how I could wrap my head around writing a novel.
Then, over the years, I set out to devour everything he'd done. He'd written entertainments, thrillers, human drama, and many, many short stories. His book, The End of the Affair, was a direct inspiration on The Aeronaut. I wanted to bring some of his literary sense to a genre arena and bring a different audience to that sort of writing.
Everything of his I read taught me something different.
I found my favorite short story of Greene's online, and I wanted to direct people to it, hoping they could find something in it.
It's called The Blue Film and you can read it in its entirety here. It's only 1500 words, which is part of why I love it. It's such a quick, sharp read. There is nothing extra here and he's clearly a master of brevity and tone and character. Go read it and come back.
Got it?
Good.
It's breathtaking, to me, what he is capable of conveying in such a limited space. It's something to aspire to.
Every time I read it, I'm just awed. For me, it's up there with Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron and Long Walk to Forever, and Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants.
Please, tell me what your favorite short stories are, the ones where the craft is just flawless and it robs you of your breath every time you read it. And go into the comments and see what others have to say. Especially read those you think you might not enjoy otherwise, get out of your comfort zone.
As far as my writing, it's been a very productive week. I've turned in pieces for StarWars.Com, Star Wars Insider, City Weekly, and I've been submitted two different novels to publishers. Writing synopses is something I used to do all the time and I've gotten incredibly rusty at it, but putting them together for this project has been a great refresher course.
And then the waiting game starts, which is always my favorite.
The latest in my Cinema Behind Star Wars column came out today as well, and it focuses on The Wizard of Oz. You can go read that here.
As a reminder: The Aeronaut and Escape Vector are still out and still need your purchases and reviews. If nothing else, they can use you telling people about them. If you want signed copies, visit the shop here on this page.
Also! here's the full list of "rules and guidelines" I've been collecting over my years of studying writing advice and process.
Also! here's the full list of "rules and guidelines" I've been collecting over my years of studying writing advice and process.
As far as my work outside of all this: There's a lot of great stuff on Big Shiny Robot! and Full of Sith for you.
And please, please, please don't forget to check out any of my books, drop reviews of them on Amazon or Goodreads, and follow me on twitter and Facebook!
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