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 […]

Fill in the Blanks

After drafting a new chapter I return to the previous three. I’m keeping a sharp lookout for a drop off in energy. It may come from going too long on a topic not central to the plot. I have something like sixteen separate scenes in the four chapters. So, I will break up […]

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 […]

A Day in the Year of a Life of an Author…

The Sycamores of Calella, Spain February 2013 Sixteen months ago I put my second novel Bankrupt Heart on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I printed off 50 copies and those have been distributed to influential helpers or sold to fiction readers. At the same time I began plotting my third novel, a comedy with the […]

All About Bankrupt Heart

Bankrupt Heart A Novel by Dana Smith Bankrupt Heart explores the journey a man begins under some duress when his life on one fateful day vanishes. But wait! This is only where the story begins. Victoria, Ry’s long term life partner, a composer-pianist on tour in London is not only not coming back, but is […]

Children at the Brink

I was running with the wind again. Headed north with Lacey riding shotgun. We had dinner in Ashland Saturday night. Sunday stopped in Eugene for breakfast. I’d been the producer of the street performing program at the Eugene Celebration for a bunch of years. Downtown Eugene has gone from bad to worse in the last […]