Tag Archives: Miriam Toews

Life…

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Graham Strong

“Life. Don’t talk to me about Life.”

Marvin, the Paranoid Android

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted – too long in fact. I’ll blame it on Life, the Universe, and Everything.

No, I haven’t gotten a lot of progress in the actual writing of the novel. But that’s not to say I haven’t been busy. Actually, I’ve gone through some of the most creative days since I started, jotting down many notes. The shape of the storyline is really starting to come together now. I don’t want to misrepresent myself; there’s still a long way to go. But for the first time, the actual frame of the story with the character interactions, plot points, etc. are really starting to come together. Not only that, but I’ve really made some headway on the themes (not to mention, how to pull it all together).

So yes, I am very happy with my progress, even if it is not the tangible, words-on-the-meter kind of progress… Continue reading →

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Day 4 – The Apartment Song

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Graham Strong

Tom Petty - The Apartment SongAnother bit of a struggle today, though again not affecting my output. Developed a bit more of the main character while the “second” main character spent most of the time sitting on a couch in an apartment, where today’s scene took place.

I’ve been concentrating on ensuring there is plenty of dialogue — that’s one of the main points that Miriam Toews mentioned in her workshop. Too much narrative, not enough dialogue kills a story. However I’m suspecting that I am leaving out too much information by not narrating enough… Continue reading →

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Return of “Return of the Native” (or, The Adventure Begins!)

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Graham Strong

Writers used to be the lighthouse keepers of the arts world: lonely horizon searchers given to madness and drink. To write a novel in the “old” days (like, say, the 1990’s) you had to hole up by yourself in some quiet corner of the world, coming up only for air and coffee before scurrying back to your desk.

Writing is still largely a solitudinal act, but thanks the Internet, you can get instant feedback. For example, I know many of you are already madly scrolling down to the comment section to let me know that “solitudinal” is not a word… Continue reading →

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