Learn Writing with Uncle Jim, Volume 1

smsarber · May 25, 2009

smcc360 said:
I'd hate to be rude to a man after enjoying the hospitality of his (figurative) house.

Yeah, a friend PM'd me and wondered how long it would take for the first deleted post after realizing who the writers are. I just wonder if FotsGreg's comment of disliking the premise of the cover is a joke. I mean, it sounds like a joke. Probably sticking my foot in my mouth now :Shrug:

.

Krintar · May 25, 2009

But wouldn't it be worse to be rude to someone who isn't around, since they don't have the opportunity to rebut/learn from your comments?
Or to put it another way: if you feel that your comment was too rude to direct at Uncle Jim's work, then how would it be any more appropriate directed at someone else?
Just be honest. I severely doubt he's going to get you banned just for expressing your dislike of a page he wrote.

smsarber · May 25, 2009

Krintar said:
Just be honest. I severely doubt he's going to get you banned just for expressing your dislike of a page he wrote.

NO SOUP FOR YOU!

euclid · May 26, 2009

smsarber said:
But you're not American!

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all Americans are created equal…"

euclid · May 26, 2009

There should be no place for rudness here - not toward anyone. Constructive criticism is fine. Rudeness is not. It doesn't matter who the author(s) is/are.

smsarber · May 26, 2009

euclid said:
"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all Americans are created equal…"

Just out of curiosity, were you born over here? I mean no disrespect, I was only teasing about not being American--you live on the Emerald Isle, right?

Sometimes rudeness and constructive critisism can be a very fine line drawn in the sand and scratched out. That's always my biggest fear if I critique something. My personality and the way I talk can be easily misconstrued. But a lesson I learned is to grow a thick skin, or I have no business trying to be a published author. Because there is no way to please everyone, someone will always have something negative (constructive or not) about things you write. But if you recognize what you've said about another author as rude, you should certainly retract the statement. I agree wholeheartedly with that.

euclid · May 26, 2009

I was found under a cabbage patch in Dublin, Ireland (not Dublin, Ohio) - or was it a rhubarb plant.

I visited USA in 1992 (mostly business) Phoenix, Flagstaff, the GC, Canyon de Chelly, then the US Open Golf Championship at pebble beach CA on the way home.

I returned in 2003 with my wife. I took her to the GC, she looked at it, said, "Wow!" and went off to buy some Native American jewelry. Women!

pictopedia · May 26, 2009

euclid said:
IWomen!

Was that an example of constructive criticism?

(Just kidding. Couldn't resist to stick something into "There should be no place for rudness here - not toward anyone. Constructive criticism is fine. Rudeness is not. It doesn't matter who the author(s) is/are.")

James D. Macdonald · May 26, 2009

Oh, gracious.

I'm not going to take offense at anything said. That's indeed the first page from my second novel written (seventh published). The first novel (not counting the Hardy Boys pastiche in my youth) has never seen the light of day. I should certainly hope that I've improved as an artist since then!

My unflinching egotism, though, may soon post the second and third pages. (I'm being slowed in this by my need to retype; no electronic copies exist in any form usable by me--the original was on 5.25" Atari floppy disks.)

If I were to delete anything, it would be off-topic chatter. We're talking about writing here.

Cyia · May 26, 2009

euclid said:
I was found under a cabbage patch in Dublin, Ireland (not Dublin, Ohio) - or was it a rhubarb plant.

Under a cabbage patch? Someone buried you???

FOTSGreg · May 26, 2009

smsarber, It wasn't a joke, but I meant no disrespect. I just don't go in much for that sort of setting.

Bookdragonette · May 26, 2009

I like sci-fi, so I would turn the page to see what happens. The amount of names in quick succession threw me off, though, so the second page has to really offer some incentive to go on.

RJK · May 26, 2009

Do we have rose petals for skin, or the hide of a rhinoceros? I'd hate to think this group is going to fall into the "Politically Correct" world of carefully saying nothing worthwhile.

Rushie · May 26, 2009

James D. Macdonald said:
Oh, gracious.

I'm not going to take offense at anything said. That's indeed the first page from my second novel written (seventh published). The first novel (not counting the Hardy Boys pastiche in my youth) has never seen the light of day. I should certainly hope that I've improved as an artist since then!

Awesome! I'm sure you have. Maybe the most important ingredient to becoming a successful writer is not to let criticism stop you. Several years ago I posted a short story on a writer's forum. Someone replied something like, "That is the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen." I'm sorry to say I let that bring my writing to a grinding halt. It literally took years for me to try again.

Now I can look back and see what I did wrong (purple prose, no plot) and it was nothing more than ordinary beginner mistakes. Easily corrected if someone had taken the time to politely help me. Rude people easily destroy my resolve. Developing a thick skin is one of the toughest chores I need to do connected with writing. You've got a handle on that because your confidence and self-assurance comes through loud and clear. You probably didn't let somebody calling your work garbage stop you (if anybody ever did). I gotta work on that.

motormind · May 26, 2009

James D. Macdonald said:
Oh, gracious.

I'm not going to take offense at anything said. That's indeed the first page from my second novel written (seventh published). The first novel (not counting the Hardy Boys pastiche in my youth) has never seen the light of day. I should certainly hope that I've improved as an artist since then!

Do you want an honest reply or a diplomatic one?

euclid · May 26, 2009

Cyia said:
Under a cabbage patch? Someone buried you???

Haven't you ever hard that expression? It's very common around here. Not sure exactly what it means, though. Sex education is a no-no here, so when kids ask: "Where did I come from, Dad?" they usually get the cabbage patch reply (or the one about the stork).

smsarber · May 26, 2009

FOTSGreg said:
smsarber, It wasn't a joke, but I meant no disrespect. I just don't go in much for that sort of setting.

Oh, I get ya. I didn't catch what you meant was setting. I blame all my faux pas on the happy delerium brought upon by the new baby.

Uncle Jim, sorry for being off-topic.

MiltonPope · May 26, 2009

James D. Macdonald said:
Will you turn the page?

Yes, I'd turn the page. This page has the strengths and weaknesses of a certain kind of science-fiction adventure; the kind I like to read, then more or less forget. (Well, in recent years, more-or-less forgetting is universal.) For this kind of book, the potential stopping point is a few pages further in.

--Milton

Ken Schneider · May 26, 2009

James D. Macdonald said:
Oh, gracious.

I'm not going to take offense at anything said. That's indeed the first page from my second novel written (seventh published). The first novel (not counting the Hardy Boys pastiche in my youth) has never seen the light of day. I should certainly hope that I've improved as an artist since then!

My unflinching egotism, though, may soon post the second and third pages. (I'm being slowed in this by my need to retype; no electronic copies exist in any form usable by me--the original was on 5.25" Atari floppy disks.)

If I were to delete anything, it would be off-topic chatter. We're talking about writing here.

You could always scan the pages and upload them. I wish I had the second book. The Long Hunt was awesome. I wonder, is the whole series still available?

Blue Sky · May 26, 2009

Thanks for showing old work and giving us a comparison, Jim. I thought it might be you, but was not sure. Look forward to the reading the rest. The difference between your latest novel and this first page is tre-men-dous. Congrats!

What a great spontaneous exercise! We showed ourselves our "doings." Honesty is not synonymous with rudeness. Perhaps try to share with tact, as if the writer had a six-gun on his or her hip?

I've learned the hard way, not meaning to hurt feelings. Although I tend to spot weaknesses easily, the writing is usually secondary. Our understanding of what we want to say often seems to be the biggest buggaboo.

James D. Macdonald · May 27, 2009

Still too much time on your hands?

Watch the story-telling and dialog in this silent classic, Pandora's Box, starring the lovely Louise Brooks, directed by the great G. W. Pabst.

Plot and story, kids. Plot and story.

euclid · May 27, 2009

I don't have THAT much time on my hands!

FOTSGreg · May 28, 2009

Bumping ya'll back to the front page.

Uncle Jim, I've heard it said that "One damned thing after another is a perfectly good plot". I interpret that a couple of different ways - 1) That you can keep throwing things at your characters until a story happens, and 2) In the original vein (maybe) it can mean that having awful things happen to or chasing your characters, and those characters not being such nice people either, is also okay (especially in horror).

But what's your take on that comment?

smsarber · May 28, 2009

Uncle Jim posted this 4/13/2007: (#6 may help you)

James D. Macdonald said:
Kurt Vonnegut offers advice on writing:

http://puppetmaker40.livejournal.com/326453.html

Some writing advice by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on the subject of short stories from Bagombo Snuff Box

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

James D. Macdonald · May 28, 2009

The other day I was down at the lumber yard (getting boards to fix the floor of my porch), when the young man who worked there worked up enough courage to ask a personal question.

"Mr. Macdonald," he said (for I have grown so old that the young address me thus), "Does it cost a lot of money to publish a book?"

"No," said I. "It doesn't cost anything. Publishers pay authors, not the other way around. If someone comes up and says, 'If you give me money I'll publish you,' that person is a scammer. Rely on it."

I gestured around the lumber yard. "You don't pay to work here, do you?" I asked.

And he was enlightened.

=================

I know all of you know it, but "How much did you pay to get published?" is a question that anyone who writes for a living hears all the darned time.

Learn Writing with Uncle Jim, Volume 1

Coming soon to a nightmare near you

Coming soon to a nightmare near you

Where did I put me specs?

Where did I put me specs?

Coming soon to a nightmare near you

Where did I put me specs?

exactly, sort of

Your Genial Uncle

Rewriting My Destiny

Today is your last day.

Differently Actual

Sheriff Bullwinkle the Poet says:

Where did I put me specs?

Coming soon to a nightmare near you

Absolute sagebrush

Your Genial Uncle

Where did I put me specs?

Today is your last day.

Coming soon to a nightmare near you

Your Genial Uncle