A rude awakening

I was, as usual, jolted into wakefulness by my blaring alarm this morning. As I lay back after shutting it off, heart beating triple time, adrenaline coursing though my body, it occurred to me that this can't be a very healthy way to wake up. Every morning when the alarm rings, I feel like I'm being attacked!!!

A legacy

I read a comment here that talks about students reading stories aloud:

I recently substituted for an English teacher who, in team with another, was having a high-school class read "The Gift of the Magi." First, "reading" it means exactly that--the students divided into groups and took turns reading aloud. (Of course, this was only one day--I assume the next day featured a discussion of it.) One student read like a first-grader; another read rapidly and correctly, but with absolutely no inflection or pause for punctuation. Their comments before indicated they understood the use of irony, and when I interrupted to ask a question they seemed to understand the story. But they obviously had no ability to translate the words into the emotions behind them. An O. Henry short story and the minutes of the council meeting were all the same to them.

I, too, have students who read like this: they are able to read, but when they read, they pause at the wrong places, or have no inflection, no expression. And I realised that I probably can thank my mother, who read to me when I was a child, for showing me how the printed words on the page can come alive.

I don't remember her reading to me, but I know she did -- in fact, she says I learnt to read on my own, picking it up naturally, as she read to me and pointed out words in my books -- and it was probably through her example that I learnt the ebb and flow of the written word, the beauty and lyricism in it. How it can sneakily reach out and grab you by the throat with the emotions cleverly weaved into it.

So I have a lot to thank my mother for, I think. Because reading still remains my greatest joy to this day. It's no wonder kids don't like to read if they can't hear the words come alive in their heads when they do so.

I do believe it's a library I have

This is from an old blog that is no longer online. I had the archives in HTML and wanted to see the list properly, so I needed somewhere to post this. It's a list of all the books I own on the subject of writing. These books are all in a box in my uncle's basement, but I wanted to check which titles I already have.

1. Beyond The Words -- The Three Untapped Sources of Creative Fulfillment For Writers (Bonni Goldberg)
2. Bird By Bird -- Some Instructions On Writing And Life (Anne Lamott)
3. Chicken Soup For The Writer's Soul -- Stories To Open The Heart & Rekindle The Spirit Of Writers
4. Escaping Into The Open -- The Art Of Writing True (Elizabeth Berg)
5. Finding Your Writer's Voice -- A Guide To Creative Fiction (Thaisa Frank & Dorothy Wall)
6. How Not To Write -- The Essential Misrules Of Grammar (William Safire)
7. How To Write Funny -- Add Humour To Every Kind of Writing (edited by John B. Kachuba)
8. I'd Rather Be Writing (Marcia Golub)
9. If You Want To Write -- A Book About Art, Independence & Spirit (Brenda Ueland)
10. Indirections For Those Who Want To Write (Sidney Cox)
11. Language On A Leash (Bruce O. Boston)
12. One Continuous Mistake -- Four Noble Truths For Writers (Gail Sher)
13. On Writing -- A Memoir Of The Craft (Stephen King)
14. On Writing Well -- An Informal Guide To Writing Non-Fiction (William Zinsser)
15. Panning For Gold In The Kitchen Sink -- Everyday Creative Writing (Michael C. Smith & Suzanne Greenberg)
16. Pen On Fire -- A Busy Woman's Guide To Igniting The Writer Within (Barbara DeMarco-Barrett)
17. Surviving A Writer's Life (Suzanne Lipsett)
18. Take Joy -- A Book For Writers (Jane Yolen)
19. The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes -- And How To Avoid Them (Jack M. Bickham)
20. The Art & Craft Of The Short Story (Rick DeMarinis)
21. The Art Of Fiction (David Lodge)
22. The Borzoi Handbook For Writers
23. The Courage To Write -- How Writers Transcend Fear (Ralph Keyes)
24. The Forest For The Trees -- An Editor's Advice To Writers (Betsy Lerner)
25. The Modern Library Writer's Workshop -- A Guide To The Craft Of Fiction (Stephen Koch)
26. The Pen Commandments -- A Guide For The Beginning Writer (Steven Frank)
27. The Right To Write -- An Invitation & Initiation Into The Writing Life (Julia Cameron)
28. The Writer On Her Work (Vol 1) (Edited by Janet Sternburg)
29. The Writer's Idea Book -- How To Develop Great Ideas For Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry & Screenplays (Jack Heffrom)
30. What If? -- Writing Exercises For Fiction Authors (Anne Bernays & Pamela Painter)
31. Why I Write -- Thoughts On The Craft Of Fiction (edited by Will Blythe)
32. Wild Mind -- Living The Writer's Life (Natalie Goldberg)
33. Words Fail Me -- What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing (Patricia T. O'Connor)
34. Writers [On Writing] -- Collected Essays From The New York Times
35. Writing Down The Bones -- Freeing The Writer Within (Natalie Goldberg)
36. Writing From The Inside Out -- Transforming Your Psychological Blocks To Release The Writer Within (Dennis Palumbo)
37. Writing Past Dark -- Envy, Fear, Distraction, And Other Dilemmas In The Writer's Life (Bonnie Friedman)
38. Writing With Style -- Conversations On The Art Of Writing (John R. Trimble)

Since 2006, I have added these books:

1. How Not To Write A Novel -- 200 Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs If You Ever Want To Get Published (Sandra Newman & Howard Mittelmark
2. Escaping into the Open -- The Art Of Writing True (Elizabeth Berg)
3. The Weekend Novelist -- A Dynamic 52-Week Program To Help You Produce A Novel... One Weekend At A Time (Robert J. Ray & Bret Norris)
4. How To Write Like Chekov -- Advice and Inspiration, Straight From His Own Letters And Work (ed. Piero Brunello & Lena Lenček)
5. The Lie That Tells A Truth -- A Guide To Writing Fiction (John Dufresne) Birthday gift from my dad in 2008, with the inscription, "Hope this book would help to make you a great writer!"
6. Stein On Writing -- A Master Editor Of Some Of The Most Successful Writers Of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques And Strategies (Sol Stein)
7. Crafting Novels & Short Stories -- The Complete Guide To Writing Great Fiction From The Editors Of Writer's Digest (ed. Melissa Wuske)

UPDATE:
I just saw that #2 in the new list duplicates #4 in the old list. Aaaaand... FOURTY-FOUR books on writing? FOURTY-FOUR?! Clearly I need help.

A love affair

It's not so much that I love to read or that I read a lot. It's simply that I'm in love with books. I love being surrounded by them. I have books in the living room, books on the dining table, books in the bathroom, books on my bedside table, books in the study room. The only rooms with absolutely no books are the kitchen (wouldn't want to accidentally set one on fire) and the guest room (which might change if I run out of space to keep them books :p).

It doesn't seem to matter that I haven't even read most of my books and may never have the time to do so. It's enough that I love them, want to read them and fully intend to one day read them. Sometimes I feel guilty for neglecting them, but simply having them around makes me feel happy.

I am so weird.

Inexplicable passion

I can easily explain my love affair with books -- I live to read, d'oh -- but can't quite pinpoint why I have such a fascination with shoes. Saying I love to wear shoes not only doesn't sound quite right, it isn't even accurate -- I'd much prefer to go barefoot!

The subconscious is a fascinating thing

Was doing some spring-cleaning and came upon an exercise book in which I had written down a few dreams. I rarely wake up remembering a dream, and unfortunately this entry was undated, so there's no way of telling which year I dreamt this. The words are scribbled across the page, not neatly written on the lines, by which I deduce I must have woken up and written it in the dark so as to capture the images before they slipped away. I reproduce the notes here in their entirety:

*      *      *      *      *      *
Was at rooftop -- looked up and saw object beaming rainbows from both sides

Wondered what it was

People started hurrying out with cameras and filming equipment -- asked them -- "It's an astroid!"

Watched as it sailed across -- "You think that's creepy? Look down!" Next to building -- tanks (army) all over the place. Lined up in neat rows, waiting

Asteroid lands -- all tanks pointed at it -- something pops out -- comes sailing in the air -- lands on rooftop where we are. Everyone screams, me included. Somehow some dinosaur has appeared in the middle of rooftop too. Thingy opens and there's a whole fish on top of a can. Friend is right in front of it -- grabs the fish -- then flustered, hurls it back at dino and grabs can instead. Dino devours fish while she opens can, the rest of us stand back in fear...

*      *      *      *      *      *
And it ends with those exact words, on a cliffhanger! I'm wondering if I ate too much pizza for dinner that night or something...

Loot!

Bought 3 books yesterday, so am feeling a little guilty. Yes, I went to a bookstore. AGAIN. Two days in a row. *facepalm*  What can I say? I'm a sucker for punishment!

I'm trying to console myself that at least the books aren't fiction. You see, when I was a teen, my dad told me fiction is a waste of money: "You should buy informative books, books which you will reference over and over again. Novels and storybooks just sit on the shelf after you've read them."

What did I get, you ask?

1. Crafting novels & short stories: The complete guide to writing great fiction
2. Beaded jewellery: Step-by-step techniques and projects to create your own style
3. The brushstroke handbook: The ultimate guide to decorative painting brushstrokes

I nearly bought a fourth book, one on card-making, but I already have a collection of card-making books and I decided this particular book didn't really offer any new techniques I hadn't seen before. Phew, managed to cull one from the pile!

Nothing like an excerpt to help demonstrate the allure of a book. So here, I give you something from book #1 in the list above:

*      *      *      *      *      *

He was tall, 6 foot 2, with a nose to match, tall, thin, and straight.
  That's the author talking.  
He caught sight of his 6-foot-2 reflection in the window of a bagel shop, paused and studied his thin, straight nose, both in profile and straight on. Straight on, he decided, always show your nose to her straight on. Never from the side.
  This approach provides the same facts without stopping the story as if to say, "I'm going to describe somebody now." We see the reflection through the character's eyes, not the author's keyboard. We see action, both actual and implied. Plus, we learn somethhing about the character's personality. He's vain about the nose.