Grand Slam Communication
A NICE PROBLEM TO HAVE
I was reading two books at the same time.
And then three books I had on hold with Overdrive came in all at once.
Now I’m juggling a bunch of books.
I have several other items on hold.
I hope they don’t come in this week.
Too many books is a very nice problem to have.
I’M HANGRY FOR THAT BOOK
I heard his lecture series on Masterclass.
He gave a fabulous presentation.
I picked up the first Atlee Pine book, Long Road to Mercy.
It was so engaging that I read it in one sitting.
I picked up the second Atlee Pine book, A Minute to Midnight.
It was so engaging that I read it in one sitting.
And now, to my overwhelming disappointment, I find out that the third book won’t be published until November.
November!
What am I supposed to do for two months?
Wait?
That’s just crazy talk.
I need to know what happens.
I’m hangry, but not for food.
I’m hangry for that book.
NATIONAL BOOK LOVER’S DAY
Today is National Book Lover’s Day.
My favorite book ever is John Steinbeck’s East of Eden.
It is a beautiful retelling of the story of Cain and Abel.
It’s the story of fathers and sons.
It’s the story of sin and redemption.
It’s the story of love and rage and free will.
I have my grandfather’s copy.
It’s dog eared and coffee stained.
And I love it because they are his dog ears and his coffee stains.
I never met my grandfather, but we read this book together.
“His whispered word seemed to hang in the air: ‘timshel.’
And he slept.”
IT COULD BE A VERY INTERESTING CONCEPT
I’ve been binge-reading Baldacci thrillers.
I’ve been binge-watching True Detective on HBO.
I can’t help but notice the similarities between Rustin Cohle and Amos Decker.
They both suffered devastating losses.
They both suffered brain injuries.
They both are insufferably self absorbed.
And they are both trying to do the best they can with the rotten hand they’ve been dealt.
Now I want to see a crossover where Cohle and Decker work a case together.
Marty Hart and Melvin Mars would have to show up too, to keep them from killing each other.
It could be a very interesting concept.
QUARANTINED WITH A TYPE ONE DIABETIC
The nice thing about being quarantined with a type one diabetic is that I can’t stress bake.
T1D has saved me from gaining tons of weight during this quarantine.
I’ve been stress reading instead.
Reading is 100% carb-free.
Who knew that type one diabetes could come in so handy?
MY INCITING INCIDENT
Day Whatever of the quarantine.
The grown son has been flicking fruit stickers willy-nilly around the kitchen.
This may very well be my Inciting Incident…
SEASON ONE OF TRUE DETECTIVE
I just finished Season One of True Detective.
It wasn’t really a cop show.
It wasn’t really about a cold case.
It wasn’t really about what might have happened all those years ago.
That was just the vehicle to tell the story.
The real story was about sin and redemption.
And grief.
And enduring friendship.
I can’t wait to start Season Two.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
On this day in history…
On January 29, 1845, The Raven was first published.
Quoth The Raven, “Nevermore.”
WRITING ON AN UNFAMILIAR TOPIC
Writers often ask if they can do writing on an unfamiliar topic.
“Do I have to limit myself to writing what I know?”
The answer is NO.
Stretch your mind and write on any topic you choose.
But be careful.
Your manuscript might get passed if your story doesn’t make sense.
I recently read a manuscript where the main character was a painter.
The author wrote about chiaroscuro.
But she clearly didn’t understand the notion of this artistic concept.
And she didn’t even spell it right.
I read another manuscript with Jewish characters.
But this author clearly didn’t understand Yiddish slang.
Words like “kvetch,” “schlock,” and “schmutz” were used completely out of context.
I started to binge-watch a popular Netflix series, but I had to quit.
The main character’s backstory is that he was a baseball phenom in high school.
However, there was a batting cage scene with the actor in a ridiculous batting stance.
A phenom should know how to position himself at the plate.
How in the world did this scene pass a technical edit?
I quit watching the show.
I quit watching that actor.
I’ll never get that goofy batting stance image out of my head.
The bottom line is that it’s OK to write about an unfamiliar topic.
But do your research.
Or your manuscript will get passed.
Or worse, it will get produced, and then it will become a laughingstock.
I BINGE-WATCHED FLEABAG
I binge-watched Fleabag on Amazon Prime.
It won a bunch of Emmys so I had to check it out.
What a fabulous example of amazing script writing.
It’s gritty and off-color.
And very, very funny.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
I’ll just say that the fourth-wall element was incredible.
And it wrapped up beautifully with that wave at the end.
This story has a little bit of everything.
Comedy, grief, guilt, guinea pigs, love, acceptance, sin and redemption.
And some theft.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge not only starred in the series, she wrote it too.
Now I have to stalk her and check out all of her work.