Irritable1

:sniff: Um, while I :sob: enjoyed the poignancy of both love stories, and also the way 1550 Loring Lane connected them, I could've used a little more background on the modern-day couple. How did Kevin get to the point of staying over? And how did he manage to get past being shot? I take it he was having the same dreams from the opposite end? Is that why he had those phobias? I would've liked :honk: to see the conclusion take place rather than being told about it...

Just looked at the tags and cracked up.

Happy birthday!

Hey, that's fantastic! Well deserved, Cole!

Ewww, Asher, how can you talk about poor Michael that way!! Oy this whiplash.... I need to go lie down.

I thought of one more thing you could try, warrior, if you're concerned about expense: a lot of schools put syllabi up on the web, and you might be able to obtain the texts and read them on your own time. A lot of the Great Books are even in the public domain, and second hand critical works should be available on amazon.

I have a minor in Creative Writing from my science school. I'm not a writer of fiction now, though. I don't know how things would be today in a creative writing class in a bigger or more competitive program. The classes I took had a few big positives: 1) the instructors were professional, disciplined writers who enjoyed teaching 2) we had required readings from writers who weren't necessarily popular, but useful to read. My short story class was my first exposure to Hamlin Garland, for example. And my last... 3) we got used to a workshop forum and had to be prepared to give and receive criticism in an intelligent way. So basically we were paying for the company of motivated fellow-students and externally-imposed discipline. If money is short, I don't know if you really need to pay for the classes. It might be possible to audit classes for free. There are online courses that could be cheaper. Or you could perhaps use the web as a substitute. A whole degree program might well be overkill. I agree entirely with Zombie above. There's really no substitute for having something to say. Learning to hone what you have to say, that's what a writing program might help you with, but so could discipline, willingness to read extensively (easier now than ever before), and persistence in seeking out useful readers. Edit: oh, and obviously no program ever takes in novices at one end and spits out perfect writers at the other. All authors have to expect to go on working at it. Like cellists.

Many happy returns, Cole! Sevens squared! (trying to come up with a Button-equivalent expression that refers to 49, and failing)

I've got to say, I'm totally on Corbin's side about his blind item. It seems incredibly heavy-handed for University staff to be getting involved at all, let alone the possibility of suspension.

Oh man, I'm so sorry Button lost his Mirabelle! And poor Graham---I was wondering after the paintball story whether he was starting to feel left out... it can be rough sometimes to be a parent. when the only constant is change. Cole I can't tell you how much this story has grown on me! I just love your insights into the kids' emotions.

Oops, I didn't know this thread was here when I started the other, sorry! I love Agatha Raisin, but my favorite of the series is probably Quiche of Death, because the title cracks me up. Now working my way through Harold Bloom's What to Read and Why.

Wow, this brilliant. I hope you write a lot more.

Aw, and we were getting along so well ;-). I have to object to that characterization of the classics.... I mean they are overflowing with unhappy endings, unless you stick pretty closely to Dickens and Austen. And even the "greater" Dickens works are pretty ambiguous, I mean look at Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. And I'd say that The Destiny of Me (one of the Larry Kramer plays I read last month) is a happy ending thats "earned" as strenuously as by any Dickens hero. Or am I not understanding you? Edit: although that's actually a terrible counter example because Larry Kramer knows death better than most people in the western world at this point.

All my Victorian writers go on and on about Scott and how fantastic his work is and how easy it is to get sucked into one of novels, and right out of the stern business of being a Victorian woman, making the shirts and teaching the children. When you say this: I totally agree, and when I'm reading old books I try to sort of bootstrap my way into the emotional reality of the book by comparing our own emotional reality with that of the characters, at the main points we have in common--birth of children, death of loved ones, and so on. For example, and at the risk of being morbid, I'll say that the treatment of the death of a child is something that hasn't really changed in literature as far back as I've read--it's never described as anything but the most shattering blow, something that rocks the self and destroys hope. Which gives you an idea of how incredibly stressful life must've been before antibiotics (whatever nasty cracks Harold Bloom makes about "historicism"). But between those nodes where emotion seems pretty much identical between 1700 and 2014, there's all these spaces where I feel like there's meaning, but I can't get to it because the context is lost. So I guess that's where Mr. Bloom comes in

Hey, I read a chapter of Don Quixote once! You know what it is for me---when they're that old, and in translation at that, it's really hard to pick up any emotional affect from the words. I start to feel like I'm just either not getting the joke, or not crying in the right places, or both. I wouldn't recommend Ngaio Marsh unreservedly, as she has some issues, especially in the later books. But in Light Thickens I get the impression she's too happy with her Macbeth to waste much energy on anything else. And that makes me happy.

Happy birthday NS!!

Well, that's given me the impetus to continue, thanks! And I could definitely use some lessons in Shakespeare appreciation. But OMG, Mr. Bloom's authorial persona is... not very warm Maybe that's just his schtick. You know who does a fantastic Intro to Macbeth? My favorite Ngaio Marsh, in Light Thickens. It's a murder mystery set in a production of Macbeth, written by a stage professional who adores Macbeth. Definitely a "breakfast in bed," but so great!

Can't listen to it till I've had more coffee. 100 points for Ravenclaw for the lyrics alone.

Happy birthday Graeme!!!

Eugene, I got this out of the library tonight, on impulse. I'm on p23 and starting to twitch a little bit...

This is very good. I'm usually not crazy about audio poetry, but he's used the mike really well.

OMG I got into so much trouble for that at the GRRM forum (A Song of Ice and Fire). I don't post there any more But, but, the content? Ok, I'll admit, I'm actually scared to read it. Tommyknockers just about did me in.

I do it too! So how does It function as a blankie?

Oh Michael. Ian was so right about you!

If you need emotional support check out markreads.net. He's got a chapter-by-chapter review of the whole series and it's pretty hilarious to read his reactions. The only thing is they're in reverse order, so watch out for that if you're worried about spoilers.