Learn Writing with Uncle Jim, Volume 2

Awesome trailer. Thanks for the link, James.

Izz said:

Have you read volume 1 of this thread yet?

It's the shizzle.

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Tis indeed. I think there's a lovely summarised and archived version of it somewhere, I remember ploughing through it...*EDIT*

Ah yes, here it is: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7987

I heart this thread so much. You're a genius, Uncle Jim.

FOTSGreg said:

Meanwhile, I've got another main character who's desperately in need of his help, a major character who could really use his help, and a villain who's so diabolical that without the help of the main character he's going to win (or at least be able to kill an awful lot of people).

Bleghhh!

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It's just a shot in the dark, but maybe the other main character is the real hero here, and it's their job to get the first main character to fulfill his destiny?

Suggestions like this are thin ice to skate on, but even if it isn't even applicable, they usually lead me down a new line of thinking. Cheers!

I never really got the whole book trailer thing...

James D. Macdonald said:

Jen, do you think it's time to teach them "The Vomit Song"?

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It never hurts. Mind you, that story's not actually in the book.

And BigWords, the caution is mostly because it's rather dark, but there is sex in there that's illegal in many U.S. states. Although if I ever get the novel that my agent is currently shopping around published, the sex in that will make the sex in my collection look Puritanical.

We could always do the hedgehog song instead.

The Vomit Song (to the tune of, and in the manner of, Bingo Was his Name-o)

There was a girl who wrote a tale
And vomit was its theme-o.
V-O-M-I-T
V-O-M-I-T
V-O-M-I-T
And vomit was its theme-o.

There was a girl who wrote a tale
And vomit was its theme-o.
V-O-M-I-[clap]
V-O-M-I-[clap]
V-O-M-I-[clap]
And vomit was its theme-o.


There was a girl who wrote a tale
And vomit was its theme-o.
V-O-M-[clap]-[clap]
V-O-M-[clap]-[clap]
V-O-M-[clap]-[clap]
And vomit was its theme-o.

There was a girl who wrote a tale
And vomit was its theme-o.
V-O-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
V-O-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
V-O-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
And vomit was its theme-o.

There was a girl who wrote a tale
And vomit was its theme-o.
V-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
V-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
V-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
And vomit was its theme-o.

There was a girl who wrote a tale
And vomit was its theme-o.
[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]-[clap]
And vomit was its theme-o.

So much wrong-ness there, Uncle Jim, I have even more respect for you now!

Almost finished with "Land of Mist and Snow," wow! Great! Unreal! You and Doyle could write a helluva horror novel, based on what I've read of this book. The tagline on the front cover of mine says: "An epic alternate history of dueling ships--and the ultimate war of dark magic and destiny"

That wasn't enough to prepare me for what waited between the covers. If I didn't have a bunch of stuff to do right now I'd sit down and not move until I reached "The End." As it is, I'll have to wait til tonight or tomorrow.

The girl's tale was themed what now?

smsarber said:

So much wrong-ness there, Uncle Jim, I have even more respect for you now!

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Shall I mention that The Vomit Song made its debut during a group dinner?


Many years ago, when we were writing YA horror, the publisher asked me for an outline. I sent it the next day, and the outline included this song (to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic):

Jenny Brodie's bloody body's bundled in a body bag
Jenny Brodie's bloody body's bundled in a body bag
Jenny Brodie's bloody body's bundled in a body bag
But her legs go marching on.

Gory, gory Jenny Brody
Gory, gory Jenny Brody
Gory, gory Jenny Brody
Her legs go marching on.

We got the assignment, and I was informed that the entire Art Department was singing "Jenny Brody."

I still think I prefer the hedhehog song. You can't sing it without alcohol. And you'll shock the neighbours, possibly into calling he police and/or the PETA.

The recipe for a perfect night.

Unfortunately I did not write it

The lesson here being, writing should be fun.

If you aren't having fun writing, well, why are you doing it?

I'm doing it out of peer pressure.

Just kidding. No, I enjoy it, but I think more than the fun is the motivation to be paid for it. This is coming from an unemployed person on disability, so yeah...

But I agree if I didn't enjoy it there'd be no point.

James D. Macdonald said:

The lesson here being, writing should be fun.

If you aren't having fun writing, well, why are you doing it?

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I agree whole-heartedly. There was a period when I was feeling particularly "hackish" that I dreaded sitting down to try to write. Remember, I've only been doing this for four years, so when that hackish feeling set in I let it have control for a while. The unhappy result was about three months when I wrote nothing (well, next to nothing). It was worse than the hackish feeling. After I forced myself to write, I regained my confidence, and I felt better, my mood was better, I was a happier person. I do have fun writing--what can be more enjoyable than creating characters and worlds and conflicts in your mind, then getting them down on paper? The printed word gives the creation life... it is awesome.

James D. Macdonald said:

A dramatic reading of Atlanta Nights, chapter by chapter....

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HAHAHAH

YES!!!

James D. Macdonald said:

The lesson here being, writing should be fun.

If you aren't having fun writing, well, why are you doing it?

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The big payout coming my way. Oh, that's rich.
No seriously, it can be stressful. You don't know what you're going to write next, and you feel that what you've written is crap. You don't know anyone who can help you or publish / option / sell your work, and the odds of you meeting that lucky person are exactly zero. I guess you have to believe in the story, believe it matters, and believe in your power and effectiveness as a writer to have a reason to keep going.

James D. Macdonald said:

Shall I mention that The Vomit Song made its debut during a group dinner?


Many years ago, when we were writing YA horror, the publisher asked me for an outline. I sent it the next day, and the outline included this song (to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic):

Jenny Brodie's bloody body's bundled in a body bag
Jenny Brodie's bloody body's bundled in a body bag
Jenny Brodie's bloody body's bundled in a body bag
But her legs go marching on.

Gory, gory Jenny Brody
Gory, gory Jenny Brody
Gory, gory Jenny Brody
Her legs go marching on.

We got the assignment, and I was informed that the entire Art Department was singing "Jenny Brody."

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Reminds me of "Gory, Gory Halelujah" sung by troopers in the 82d Airborne Division also to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. It's been a loooong time and although I was a paratrooper, I was not in the Eighty-Deuce:

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright
As he checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar
He ain't gonna jump no more

Gory, gory what a helluva way to die
Gory, gory what a helluva way to die
Gory, gory what a helluva way to die
He ain't gonna jump no more

It goes on to paint the rookie trooper's unsuccessful parachute jump. Gory. Quite.

Oops! The formal name is "Blood on the Risers," for all you military graveyard humor fans.

James D. Macdonald said:

Finally, a book trailer that actually makes me want to read the book.

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It's nice, but what language is that guy speaking?

SoloArtist said:

It's nice, but what language is that guy speaking?

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The Queen's English, as practised in New Zealand.

Hi Uncle Jim,

Just wanted to thank you for these wonderful threads. I stumbled onto this site and spend the past 2 and a half weeks reading Volume 1 and 2. Very imformative and entertaining. I hope you have another Christmas Exercise instore for us.

Thanks.

Dan

James D. Macdonald said:

The lesson here being, writing should be fun.

If you aren't having fun writing, well, why are you doing it?

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Here's me having a little extra fun:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4320629#post4320629

I do writing because it's fun, and solely because it's fun. I remember in grade school I could touch type, and the teachers were all amazed because I typed faster then their excersizes could go. Why? Because I wrote. A paragraph assignment in my hands turned into eight pages, ten size font. Of course, my grade school stories did lack that whole plot thing...

I feel as if we begin writing because it is fun. Then we continue writing as a form of learning to write. This learning to write points out the things about our writing which are not fun, and thus I feel the ultimate mastery of writing is again finding it fun.

Hmmm...

To add a little something to this discussion. . .

I write because for me it's a fun adventure. Putting words together to create creatures, people, worlds, religions, etc. And doing the research to make it work. That's what works for me. I won't say I'm good at it, but I enjoy doing it. I learn along the way.

On a side note: I got, as an early Xmas present, the Sony eReader. It's because of that, I finally got a copy of Uncle Jim's book Land of Mist and Snow. Once it starts, it doesn't stop moving. Of course, being in first person helps. Something I haven't mastered yet. I can do it for about one thousand words, before it starts to change to third person. I'm working on it.