Bang Ditto by Amber Tamblyn

I was browsing in an indie bookstore in Long Beach and came across Bang Ditto, a book of poetry published by Manic D Press. I remembered Amber Tamblyn from the tv show "Joan of Arcadia" and was curious about her writing, curious about her point of view of the world. And so I satisfied my curiosity. Her poetry is energetic and accessible; it's obvious Tamblyn enjoys playing with words, and I like that.  It's also far, far more interesting than the tabloids at the supermarkets.

Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris

Finding Nouf was published way back in 2008 by Houghton Mifflin. So no, this is not a self-published/indie literary novel I'm reviewing though I'm extremely open to reviewing self-published/indie literary novels! However, Finding Nouf is literary and a mystery. Yes, it's a literary mystery. Well written too! (Literary, mystery, and well written don't go together all that often.) (And I've used the word literary in this paragraph six times.)


Finding Nouf takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the mystery is about a dead sixteen year old girl and her very much alive and wealthy family. The  big question: Was her death an accident or murder? The unlikely duo of Ms. Katya Hijazi, a lab technician in the coroner's office, and Mr. Nayir ash-Sharqi, a desert guide, solve the mystery.  This pair is unusual because they aren't married or related in any way but do solve this mystery together, and this is one of the most interesting elements of the novel given Saudi Arabia's strict rules about gender. I highly recommend Finding Nouf.

Put Them All Together by Anne Commire

Recently I read about playwright Anne Commire in the obituaries section of the LA Times.  (The LA Times writes interesting obits.) Because of this article I wanted to read her controversial play "Put Them All Together" which is about a mother who kills her hyperactive son.  Way back in 1982 when it premiered in LA, a critic labeled the play "anti-child and anti-mother."  Commire said the play's message was "just the opposite, a cry for help."  Commire is also quoted as saying that she writes about "the breaking points of women." So of course I had to read this play.  What do I think?  It's intense and disturbing, and it goes where few writers dare to go.  I loved it!

The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen

I wanted to read this novel by Keija Parsssinen (and published by Harper Perennial) because it's a story about an American who marries a Saudi, and they live in Saudi Arabia.  (Not something I read about on a daily basis.) I also wanted to read The Ruins of Us because the author is an American who was born in Saudi Arabia and born into the world of Aramco.  (Actually, it's Saudi Aramco.)  I wanted to read about her Saudi characters, getting into the minds of the Saudi characters.  I also wanted to read about Saudi Arabia-- the place, the culture, the customs.  And I wanted to read an American's imaginings of Saudi Arabia.

So I read The Ruins of Us and read it quickly, and I highly recommend it.

Now what about issues like Othering and Orientalism and political correctness?  Oh, go on and think about those things, but Parssinen had her own issues to work out, and she did that in a healthy way by writing fiction.

Fiction Writing 101: Point of View

Welcome to some thoughts about point of view.  I saved this for last because point of view can be complicated, and I don't want this post to be confusing.  [Update: Due to overwhelming demand, this is not my last post about fiction writing.  A big thank you to my fans in Europe!] The first point to make about point of view is a general one.  Once the writer creates the rules about the point of view of her story, the writer must stick with them.  Okay, the writer doesn't have to stick to her own rules, but her story won't be as strong as it could be if she did stick to her own rules.  Actually, it might not be very readable if she doesn't stick to them.  However, rule breakers have invented all sorts of cool things, so please feel free to experiment once you have the hang of point of view.

One (to repeat because it's worth repeating): It's a good idea for the writer to stick to the rules she created about point of view.

Two: The writer must decide whether her story will be told in the first, second, or third person.

I can hear this question now:  Can a novel have a combination of first, second, or third person?  Perhaps.  But only if you're an experienced writer, and your rules are very clear in your head.

But I'm keeping this simple.

Decide whether the writer is speaking (in third or second person) or whether a character is speaking (first person).

If a character is speaking-- in other words, if the story is being told using "I"-- then what the character can tell us is only what the character knows or believes or feels.

If the writer is telling the story in third person-- in other words, if the story is told using he, she, and they-- then the writer must make another decision.  How much does the writer know?  Does the writer know everything or just some things?  For example, the writer can make the decision that she can report objectively about what is happening and only has access into the mind of one character.

How about choosing the second person?  In my opinion, this is an annoying point of view, and I'd avoid it.  As a reader, I hate being "you'd" to death.

Three: Decide to whom you are telling the story.  Usually, writers tell their stories to the reader, but sometimes stories are told to other characters so that the reader is, in effect, eavesdropping.  And some stories are told to the self; the reader is reading a character's diary, or the story takes place totally in the mind of the character, stream of consciousness.  Be aware that stream of consciousness is hard to pull off.

So those are three basic thoughts about point of view.  It's only a start.  Please feel free to email me if you have a specific question about point of view, and I'll attempt to provide you with a satisfying answer.  The most important thing to take away from this post is that once point of view rules are made, please keep them.

I conclude with a quote that has nothing to do with point of view:

"Fiction writers are, by their very natures, middle children. They are searchers, doubters, malcontents. They believe themselves somehow abandoned, uncoddled, unloved. They deserve more, understand more, desire more. They are voyeurs, con artists, liars. They are fallen angels, gold-hearted whores."

--- John Gregory Brown, "Other Bodies, Ourselves: The Masks of Fiction"

Fiction Writing 101: Dialogue

I love writing dialogue, but that's irrelevant. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when you write dialogue.  First, dialogue is an illusion of real conversation.  So leave out the "uhs" and "wells" and other unnecessary, clunky words.  Also, use contractions and put names at the end of the sentence. Here's a before and after example:

Before:
"Well, Sue, it looks like you are in trouble now."
"Jack, I don't, well, I don't think you know what you are talking about."

After:
"Looks like you're in trouble now, Sue."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Jack."

After, if Sue and Jack are from New Jersey:
"You're in fuckin' trouble, Susie-Q."
"You're an asshole, Jacko."

The best way to test dialogue is to read it out loud and trust your ear or ears if you have two.

The second point about dialogue is that it must have a purpose.  Dialogue is not filler.  It's not there to make your fiction longer.  Dialogue needs to convey information which contributes to moving the plot along and/or to develop the character.  Dialogue is not exposition.  If you need to give background info via dialogue, do it carefully and don't have the character go on and on and on.

The third point is that each character must sound unique. Each character must have a different voice.  I don't mean that one character speaks with a gravelly voice, and another one has a squeaky voice.  I mean that the way characters put words together, the way characters express themselves are all different.  Listen to a small group of people talking and you'll hear that everyone speaks differently.  If you can't hear that, then please reconsider your fiction writing aspirations.

The last point is:  Beware of writing in dialect.  Unless you write dialect extremely well, avoid it.  I'm sure I'll get lots of grief about the two lines of dialogue I used above which I think are actually more slang than dialect.  But I was born and raised in New Jersey, so I can take some liberties.  Are ya gonna argue with me about that or what?

Blood Sisters by Valerie Miner

This isn't a self-published novel that I'm going to say a few words about, and so it's not exactly a review.  (See the post about my desire to review self-published/indie authors.) I will save my in-depth reviewing for those indie novels that are pouring in from all over the world!  So here are my thoughts about Blood Sisters by Valerie Miner and published in 1982 by St. Martin's Press:

I can't imagine that this novel would be published by St. Martin's Press today. Consider Amanda Hocking, writer of paranormal romance for young adults (and former self-published/indie author and wildly successful) who is currently published by St. Martin's. I'm probably unfairly juxtaposing Ms. Hocking's work and Ms. Miner's work. You see, Blood Sisters is political, and it's rare that I come across recently written novels that are unapologetically political. Oh, I'm sure they're out there, and I'm just not spending enough time searching for them. But Blood Sisters is refreshing because one of the protagonists is a feminist and another is a member of the Provisional IRA. The protagonists, Liz and Beth, are passionately involved in causes that are much larger than themselves.

What's interesting is that the New York Times reviewer of Blood Sisters in 1982 wasn't that impressed by the politics. This is what Annie Gottlieb said: "The problem with Valerie Miner's novel is, oddly, that its modern politics, so important to the characters, never come to life."  I say a lot has changed since 1982 (understatement of the century), and Blood Sisters has more politics in it than most of the books reviewed recently (no, I don't know how long recently is) in the New York Times. The politics come to life for me because I'm comparing it to the absolute non-existence of politics in most fiction published today, either by the Big Six or by successful (meaning those who make significant money) self-published authors.

For those who want to know what else Blood Sisters is about, it's about mothers and daughters which, of course, is a politics all of its own.

Fiction Writing 101: Even A Kid Can Do It?

So today's New York Times has a front page article about parents getting their children's fiction published, well, self-published: Young Writers Dazzle Publisher (Mom and Dad). I'm not going to debate this because Tom Robbins articulates so nicely how I feel.

"'What's next? asked the novelist Tom Robbins. 'Kiddie architecture, juvenile dentists, 11-year old rocket scientists? Any parent who thinks that the crafting of engrossing, meaningful fiction requires less talent and experience than designing a house, extracting a wisdom tooth, or supervising a lunar probe is, frankly, delusional. There are no prodigies in literature... literature requires experience, in a way that mathematics and music do not.'"

Thank you, Tom Robbins, thank you.

By the way, most adults can't craft engrossing and meaningful fiction.