On Writing Carefully - Musings on Theroux and Franken

Writing can get you into loads of trouble, hence the need to practice the art of writing carefully. By writing carefully, I do not mean applying good grammar, although that certainly helps, or covering your ass with footnotes or endnotes (which many writers misuse). What I mean is being careful to convey meaning, without inflicting unnecessary harm. A writer needs to learn how to engage their reader without pissing them off to such an extent that the reader can no longer read the work and goes scurrying off to pick something else. Once you lose a reader – it’s very difficult to get them back. What many writers forget – is that without readers? You might as well never type or draw a word. And in order to grab readers – you have to communicate your thoughts in a way that will engage them and not make them want to throw your book in the garbage can. If you do wish to inflict harm and offend – and some writers do – then you better be prepared to take the consequences. Most people don’t wish to inflict harm or offend – it’s usually accidental. But there are a couple professional writers that do it in order to get sold or make a point – two of those writers I read over the holidays. Writing carefully is far easier to do in fiction than non-fiction or analysis. Non-fiction writing requires much more attention to detail, syntax, tone, and structure than fictional writing does, which is one of the many reasons I’ve always preferred writing and reading fiction to non-fiction – it’s safer. However – as many people know, I have dabbled extensively in non-fiction writing these past few years – and I’ve gotten myself in trouble a couple of times because of it.

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Two Impressions of Return of The King

Went to Return of The King with my mother over the holidays; it was only fitting since I saw the first two installments with her. My mother is *not * a fantasy geek nor has she read the books. Basically she’s a good representative of 55% of the audience. I, on the other hand, have read the books, albeit 20 years ago, and seen the Ralph Bakshi animated versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings. I also played the Great Goblin in a theater version of The Hobbit while in the seventh grade. I’m no expert on the works and do not consider myself a fanatic – ie. I don’t read all the literary criticism, haven’t re-read the books, and have yet to see the extended versions on DVD. (Don’t own a DVD player nor do my parents – yes, I know we are behind the times, but my parents don’t see the need quite yet. ) So the comments in this review are based on impressions of people who just saw the film – not all the add-ons.

While Mom enjoyed the flick, her comments echo those of most of the critics I’ve read:
Includes Spoilers for Return of The King.
( A Non-Fantasy viewer’s impressions )

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My analytical impressions on character, metaphors and story regarding Return of The King.

In some ways the books may be richer than the films and in some ways the films are better than the books. Andy Serkis who plays Smeagol/Gollum lends a vulnerable humanity to the character that I do not remember in Tolkien’s prose. Gollum’s journey is a counter-point to Frodo and Sam. ( spoilers for Return of The King )

Comfort Food, Rod Serling and Joss Whedon

Everyone has their favorite comfort food, and for some reason the best ones are made by Mom. Mine are "Greek Metballs with Rice" and "Lasagne" and they have to be made by Mom. Over the holidays, Mom kindly made most of my comfort foods - some of which I haven't had since a child. Just the right thing for a recovering chest cold. Still have the remanants of it. (From my quick perusings of Friends live journal entries - I'm not the only one who got sick this holiday season. Boy, when they say it's the worst cold/flu season ever, they weren't kidding. At least 65% of the people I know online and off seem to be sick or have been sick. Frightening. Reminds me of a Stephen King novel.)

Speaking of colds - Comfort drinks included a great recipe for sore throats and coughs: Hot Toddy - this is basically hot water, whisky (Mom used Jack Daniels), lemon juice, and honey. Very nice. Was my grandfather's recipe. My grandmother uses Cherry Herring. Another helpful remedy is peppermint tea. I've also used honey, ginger root, lemon tea.

On December 29th, I watched a very interesting American Masters presentation on Rod Serling, entitled Submitted for Your Approval - Rod Serling. Below are thoughts inspired by the presentation and how much of what I saw reminded me of Joss Whedon's work and the current media climate.

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