Emotional Biographic Imagery in the Mind Cave

My work is emotionally autobiographical. It has no relationship to the actual events of my life, but it reflects the emotional currents of my life. I try to work every day, because you have no refuge but writing. Tennessee Williams The Mind in the Cave Barcelona’s Gothic’ February 2013 You can see Ice Age Art: […]

The New Narrative is a Comedy

I set out to tell the truth. And sometimes the truth is shocking. Tennessee Williams 1981 The Writers Desk Time comes up again and again in conversation. We reserve in this go-go era a respect for original, finely crafted narrative. As it stands we are at a humanitarian crossroads. Ancient myths are vaporizing before our […]

The Truth of the Thing

“I asked Norman Mailer which of the other art forms he thought being a novelist was closest to. “Acting,” he said. Under the Influence, Andrew O’Hagen. April 27, 2013 Financial Times Following the River, Guided by the Light WHAT WE USE Most of us are familiar with the list of elements that the novelist utilizes […]

When Time Stood Still

Speed as Histrionics I set out on the outline of Hot Spring Honeymoon on January 1, 2012. I’d finished Bankrupt Heart in June of 2011. By finish I mean the manuscript was completed and the only thing left was to scrub the thing for errors in spelling and grammar. I rested my imaginations muscle for […]

Close Your Eyes and You’ll Miss YOU…Tomorrow I’ll….

Blinded By the Light… What is your narrative? How much of the story do you know by heart? How much of your narrative remains hidden from you? Thought experiment! “I’ll never get that job. I’m no good at math. I’m always late.” Some of our narratives are harmless while others are not. […]

Economic Tragedy Played as a Comedy

The formation of the eurozone and a half-century of relentless globalization have altered the global economic landscape, rendering once-proven policies ineffective.” Kaushik Basu aka…Doug McKechnie The comic novel is an exploration guided by discovery. The author hunts for the funny side of phenomena. We can’t tweeze out the least preferred parts of life and […]

Trial and Error in the Comic Novel

In the Distance the town of Meadowhawk, Nevada I soon discover whether a situation is inherently funny. If it isn’t funny it becomes clear that the scene will depend on characterization. If character and circumstances fail next is to write a funny line to try and carry the scene. Then, after being dissatisfied […]