Hi Jim, I have a rather unusual one for you. I’m trying to write a romance story dealing with two completely different species. However one of the characters who is going to be part of the relationship is only about 13 years old. Her race essentially reaches maturity at six years old, though […]
Writing Unorthodox Relationships #Writing #Author #Advice — James Harringtons Creative Work
Here’s another good talk about writing by UCLA professor Richard Walter.
March, 2015
I want to give a shout-out to all the writers (worldwide) out there for helping relieve stress and bolster the human spirit. These are particularly difficult times for everyone given the spread of the Coronavirus and its increasingly severe effects on the economy and on in life in general along with the bizarre and depressing political news that increases with each day, no matter which side of the aisle you sit on.
As I read more and watch more TV (particularly YouTube) with the increasing isolation and closure of so many restaurants and other public gathering spots, I come to realize how important a role writers play in our daily lives. Writers enable readers (as well as themselves) to escape into a more pleasant world, depending upon the genre of course. In all cases writers at least offer distractions in which the public can become immersed for a time and take its mind off the daily anxieties and fears around us. This is important, because taking our minds off our worries enables us to relax, however briefly, and allows us to heal psychologically and emotionally, both of which have healing effects on our bodies. These days, this nation and all others need healing in every sense I can imagine.
Stay strong. Better days are ahead.
March, 2015
I want to give a shout-out to all the writers (worldwide) out there for helping relieve stress and bolster the human spirit. These are particularly difficult times for everyone given the spread of the Coronavirus and its increasingly severe effects on the economy and on in life in general along with the bizarre and depressing political news that increases with each day, no matter which side of the aisle you sit on.
As I read more and watch more TV (particularly YouTube) with the increasing isolation and closure of so many restaurants and other public gathering spots, I come to realize how important a role writers play in our daily lives. Writers enable readers (as well as themselves) to escape into a more pleasant world, depending upon the genre of course. In all cases writers at least offer distractions in which the public can become immersed for a time and take its mind off the daily anxieties and fears around us. This is important, because taking our minds off our worries enables us to relax, however briefly, and allows us to heal psychologically and emotionally, both of which have healing effects on our bodies. These days, this nation and all others need healing in every sense I can imagine.
Stay strong. Better days are ahead.
March, 2015
I want to give a shout-out to all the writers (worldwide) out there for helping relieve stress and bolster the human spirit. These are particularly difficult times for everyone given the spread of the Coronavirus and its increasingly severe effects on the economy and on in life in general along with the bizarre and depressing political news that increases with each day, no matter which side of the aisle you sit on.
As I read more and watch more TV (particularly YouTube) with the increasing isolation and closure of so many restaurants and other public gathering spots, I come to realize how important a role writers play in our daily lives. Writers enable readers (as well as themselves) to escape into a more pleasant world, depending upon the genre of course. In all cases writers at least offer distractions in which the public can become immersed for a time and take its mind off the daily anxieties and fears around us. This is important, because taking our minds off our worries enables us to relax, however briefly, and allows us to heal psychologically and emotionally, both of which have healing effects on our bodies. These days, this nation and all others need healing in every sense I can imagine.
Stay strong. Better days are ahead.
Yesterday and tonight, I have made some progress in critical plot junctures in Shadows and Stars.
I went to Dumas yesterday to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy. I stayed to have a good, tasty dinner of Enchiladas Verdes at El Toro. Afterwards, I stayed close to three hours to write. I got home around 9:30 or 10:00. I had a pain (muscle strain) in my right leg, so I took some Tylenol PM and lay down and listened to more of The Exorcist on audiobook until the pain went away and I could sleep. I dozed off at some point, then finally rose and went to bed around 1:30. Then I had an idea pop up around 2:00, so I had to get up and write it down before it escaped. So I didn’t get to sleep until close to 3:00. I had to rise at 7:00 to go to work. It’s a good scene, a fun scene that will mix together comedy, drama, and suspense into a few tense minutes. You’ll have to read the book to find out more. I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
Tonight, I went into Dumas to pick up some groceries. Afterwards, I had the special plate (chile relleno, tamale, enchilada, taco, chalupa, rice and beans) at El Toro, then stayed to write for a couple of hours. I made good progress jotting down ideas I have been having since this morning and filling plot holes in Shadows and Stars.
I decided to make a playlist for each of my works for sale on Amazon as well as for my works in progress. Though this will take some time, it will be interesting and fun…when I am not writing for whatever reason. I hope some of you have been listening to the playlists I already have up. I am really experimenting with trying to capture the mood of a work by producing a sort of soundtrack, hoping that if people listen to the soundtrack, they might become interested in the book. Sort of like when you buy a movie soundtrack at a store without having seen the movie. The soundtracks also help stimulate ideas or set the mood to work on Shadows and Stars. If you listen to any, let me know what you think. I am still tinkering with setting the tunes in an order that best captures the ebb and flow of the mood in the work.
I have only a couple of rudimentary test videos up now. I hope to make some headway soon in developing more professional ones.
I am really enjoying the audiobooks available on YouTube. I have really been catching up on my reading. I can turn on an audiobook, stretch out, and it’s like having someone read a long bedtime story to me. However, my bedtime stories tend to be quite serious in nature: works by Kafka, William Peter Blatty, Dostoevsky, Hesse, etc.
Although my website is not getting many views, the few I get are from all around the world. Today, I had visitors from:
The Arkansas County Writers Circle website had only three views today, all from Nigeria. Maybe someone from Arkansas is living in Nigeria. In any case, I am happy to have them visit me…unless it’s that phony prince that pesters people for money and promises them a fortune in return. I should find a spot in hell for him in The Man Who Escaped from Hell.
By the way, I am taking a break from reading Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. It’s too depressing. I am now focusing on finishing The Exorcist, which says something about The Jungle. Imagine a book so depressing that one reads The Exorcist for something more light-hearted and fun. After reading the first dozen or so chapters of The Jungle, I have to wonder how humanity has survived for all these millennia without cannibalizing itself. I know Sinclair worked in a stockyard as part of the research for the book, but after having done that and then sitting down to write it, it’s a wonder that Sinclair didn’t just hang himself or lose himself in alcoholism.
That’s all for tonight. Stay tuned. Hasta luego.
The ad announcing the Arkansas County Writers Circle on Arkansaswriters.com was posted on Monday. Check it out at: https://arkansaswriters.com/new-writers-circle-forming-in-arkansas-county
March, 2015
Just as I did in Farmington, NM, I am endeavoring to start a writers circle in my newly adopted home of Arkansas County, Arkansas. Although I have not yet researched the local area thoroughly, it seems there are no writers’ organizations in Arkansas County. I have started a website for the new Writers Circle, which I call the Arkansas County Writers Circle. I chose to go with the county name vs. a town’s name, because the towns around here are rather small and to have a sizable group to make the effort worthwhile, I will need to invite people from all over the county. We will probably meet in Stuttgart, the largest town in the county, but near the north end, or in DeWitt, which is in the center of the county. I reside near Gillette at the southern end of the county.
Of course, as no town for meetings have been determined, we have not had the first meeting. I hope to have the meetings as I did in Farmington, on the second Thursday of each month at about 6:30 pm. I will have to also determine the best places for posting flyers and notices as that seemed to work best in Farmington. I will also advertise on local community bulletin boards, with chambers of commerce, art organizations, etc.
I am also developing new social media accounts for the Writers Circle. I have one already on Twitter: @countywriters. I will probably also develop a Facebook page and a Tumblr account as well. Of course, the WordPress website will connect to those.
Unfortunately, in order to have the Arkansas County Writers website, I had to sacrifice and overwrite my Jack Thurston website. It was not getting much attention or traffic anyway. It was fun though. If you followed Jack Thurston, you were no doubt surprised to find your link to that was now the Arkansas County Writers Circle. My apologies for that. I made the decision suddenly and acted on it quickly.
There are several writers organizations in Arkansas, but there don’t seem to be any in or near Arkansas County. I have contacted the Art Center in Stuttgart. They don’t know of any (or at least the lady I spoke to didn’t know of any).
I have contacted the Arkansas Writers website. They will post an announcement about the Arkansas County Writers Circle in their news section on Monday, November 4.
If you live in or near Arkansas County, please let me know if you would be interested in participating in our Writers Circle. There are no fees and writers of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, journalism, fantasy, comic books, graphic novels, romance, action, horror, etc.) are welcome.
Even if you don’t live in or near Arkansas County, feel free to follow the website. I hope to have some excellent news and articles up soon.
March, 2015
Just as I did in Farmington, NM, I am endeavoring to start a writers circle in my newly adopted home of Arkansas County, Arkansas. Although I have not yet researched the local area thoroughly, it seems there are no writers’ organizations in Arkansas County. I have started a website for the new Writers Circle, which I call the Arkansas County Writers Circle. I chose to go with the county name vs. a town’s name, because the towns around here are rather small and to have a sizable group to make the effort worthwhile, I will need to invite people from all over the county. We will probably meet in Stuttgart, the largest town in the county, but near the north end, or in DeWitt, which is in the center of the county. I reside near Gillette at the southern end of the county.
Of course, as no town for meetings have been determined, we have not had the first meeting. I hope to have the meetings as I did in Farmington, on the second Thursday of each month at about 6:30 pm. I will have to also determine the best places for posting flyers and notices as that seemed to work best in Farmington. I will also advertise on local community bulletin boards, with chambers of commerce, art organizations, etc.
I am also developing new social media accounts for the Writers Circle. I have one already on Twitter: @countywriters. I will probably also develop a Facebook page and a Tumblr account as well. Of course, the WordPress website will connect to those.
Unfortunately, in order to have the Arkansas County Writers website, I had to sacrifice and overwrite my Jack Thurston website. It was not getting much attention or traffic anyway. It was fun though. If you followed Jack Thurston, you were no doubt surprised to find your link to that was now the Arkansas County Writers Circle. My apologies for that. I made the decision suddenly and acted on it quickly.
There are several writers organizations in Arkansas, but there don’t seem to be any in or near Arkansas County. I have contacted the Art Center in Stuttgart. They don’t know of any (or at least the lady I spoke to didn’t know of any).
I have contacted the Arkansas Writers website. They will post an announcement about the Arkansas County Writers Circle in their news section on Monday, November 4.
If you live in or near Arkansas County, please let me know if you would be interested in participating in our Writers Circle. There are no fees and writers of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, journalism, fantasy, comic books, graphic novels, romance, action, horror, etc.) are welcome.
Even if you don’t live in or near Arkansas County, feel free to follow the website. I hope to have some excellent news and articles up soon.
Through the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
Past the wan-mooned abysses of night,
I have lived o’er my lives without number,
I have sounded all things with my sight;
And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.
I have whirled with the earth at the dawning,
When the sky was a vaporous flame;
I have seen the dark universe yawning
Where the black planets roll without aim,
Where they roll in their horror unheeded, without knowledge or lustre or name.
I had drifted o’er seas without ending,
Under sinister grey-clouded skies,
That the many-forked lightning is rending,
That resound with hysterical cries;
With the moans of invisible daemons, that out of the green waters rise.
I have plunged like a deer through the arches
Of the hoary primoridal grove,
Where the oaks feel the presence that marches,
And stalks on where no spirit dares rove,
And I flee from a thing that surrounds me, and leers through dead branches above.
I have stumbled by cave-ridden mountains
That rise barren and bleak from the plain,
I have drunk of the fog-foetid fountains
That ooze down to the marsh and the main;
And in hot cursed tarns I have seen things, I care not to gaze on again.
I have scanned the vast ivy-clad palace,
I have trod its untenanted hall,
Where the moon rising up from the valleys
Shows the tapestried things on the wall;
Strange figures discordantly woven, that I cannot endure to recall.
I have peered from the casements in wonder
At the mouldering meadows around,
At the many-roofed village laid under
The curse of a grave-girdled ground;
And from rows of white urn-carven marble, I listen intently for sound.
I have haunted the tombs of the ages,
I have flown on the pinions of fear,
Where the smoke-belching Erebus rages;
Where the jokulls loom snow-clad and drear:
And in realms where the sun of the desert consumes what it never can cheer.
I was old when the pharaohs first mounted
The jewel-decked throne by the Nile;
I was old in those epochs uncounted
When I, and I only, was vile;
And Man, yet untainted and happy, dwelt in bliss on the far Arctic isle.
Oh, great was the sin of my spirit,
And great is the reach of its doom;
Not the pity of Heaven can cheer it,
Nor can respite be found in the tomb:
Down the infinite aeons come beating the wings of unmerciful gloom.
Through the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
Past the wan-mooned abysses of night,
I have lived o’er my lives without number,
I have sounded all things with my sight;
And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.
Through the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
Past the wan-mooned abysses of night,
I have lived o’er my lives without number,
I have sounded all things with my sight;
And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.
I have whirled with the earth at the dawning,
When the sky was a vaporous flame;
I have seen the dark universe yawning
Where the black planets roll without aim,
Where they roll in their horror unheeded, without knowledge or lustre or name.
I had drifted o’er seas without ending,
Under sinister grey-clouded skies,
That the many-forked lightning is rending,
That resound with hysterical cries;
With the moans of invisible daemons, that out of the green waters rise.
I have plunged like a deer through the arches
Of the hoary primoridal grove,
Where the oaks feel the presence that marches,
And stalks on where no spirit dares rove,
And I flee from a thing that surrounds me, and leers through dead branches above.
I have stumbled by cave-ridden mountains
That rise barren and bleak from the plain,
I have drunk of the fog-foetid fountains
That ooze down to the marsh and the main;
And in hot cursed tarns I have seen things, I care not to gaze on again.
I have scanned the vast ivy-clad palace,
I have trod its untenanted hall,
Where the moon rising up from the valleys
Shows the tapestried things on the wall;
Strange figures discordantly woven, that I cannot endure to recall.
I have peered from the casements in wonder
At the mouldering meadows around,
At the many-roofed village laid under
The curse of a grave-girdled ground;
And from rows of white urn-carven marble, I listen intently for sound.
I have haunted the tombs of the ages,
I have flown on the pinions of fear,
Where the smoke-belching Erebus rages;
Where the jokulls loom snow-clad and drear:
And in realms where the sun of the desert consumes what it never can cheer.
I was old when the pharaohs first mounted
The jewel-decked throne by the Nile;
I was old in those epochs uncounted
When I, and I only, was vile;
And Man, yet untainted and happy, dwelt in bliss on the far Arctic isle.
Oh, great was the sin of my spirit,
And great is the reach of its doom;
Not the pity of Heaven can cheer it,
Nor can respite be found in the tomb:
Down the infinite aeons come beating the wings of unmerciful gloom.
Through the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
Past the wan-mooned abysses of night,
I have lived o’er my lives without number,
I have sounded all things with my sight;
And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.
Traci HalesVass, moderator of the KSJE (90.9 FM) program “Write On Four Corners” is looking for writers to interview on her show. The criteria are: “The show focuses on ‘local and regional’ authors. That includes authors from afar who write about this region, the broad four corners. Most of my interviews are by phone and pre-recorded…They can reach me at halesvasst@sanjuancollege.edu.”
KSJE is the local Farmington, NM, public broadcast station.
Tonight, Roberta Summers, a founding member of the Farmington Writers Circle, arranged to have our writers networking event (which we currently refer to by the working title of “the Meet and Greet”) at the Artifacts Gallery, 302 East Main, Farmington, during the city’s Art Walk on June 9 between 5pm-9pm.
Details on the event are still being worked out, but we plan on inviting as many authors and novelists from the Four Corners area to be there to meet their readers, participate in readings and book-signings and to network with any local publishers, critics, reviewers, and anyone else involved in the local writing industry.
Anyone who reads anything or is involved in reading, writing, or literature is invited to attend. If you are a reader or writer of any genre (published or unpublished), an arts or literature critic, a reviewer, a publisher, a literary agent, someone who interviews writers or authors on radio or TV, if you promote reading, writing, or literacy in any way, manner, shape, or form, you do not need an invitation, you are invited to attend.
The names of the authors and novelists expected to attend will be announced as they respond to our invitations, but, if you are an author/novelist, you don’t need an invitation to attend. Just show up, meet new readers, and pass out your business cards and other contact info.
The entire purpose of this event is for writers of all types to make contacts and to network.
Refreshments will be available along with a salsa-tasting. At least some of our local members will have books to sell.
Check back for more details as we approach June 9. Submit any questions you have via this website. Don’t forget that you can find a link on the right-hand menu to sign up to follow our blog.
Through the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
Past the wan-mooned abysses of night,
I have lived o’er my lives without number,
I have sounded all things with my sight;
And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.
I have whirled with the earth at the dawning,
When the sky was a vaporous flame;
I have seen the dark universe yawning
Where the black planets roll without aim,
Where they roll in their horror unheeded, without knowledge or lustre or name.
I had drifted o’er seas without ending,
Under sinister grey-clouded skies,
That the many-forked lightning is rending,
That resound with hysterical cries;
With the moans of invisible daemons, that out of the green waters rise.
I have plunged like a deer through the arches
Of the hoary primoridal grove,
Where the oaks feel the presence that marches,
And stalks on where no spirit dares rove,
And I flee from a thing that surrounds me, and leers through dead branches above.
I have stumbled by cave-ridden mountains
That rise barren and bleak from the plain,
I have drunk of the fog-foetid fountains
That ooze down to the marsh and the main;
And in hot cursed tarns I have seen things, I care not to gaze on again.
I have scanned the vast ivy-clad palace,
I have trod its untenanted hall,
Where the moon rising up from the valleys
Shows the tapestried things on the wall;
Strange figures discordantly woven, that I cannot endure to recall.
I have peered from the casements in wonder
At the mouldering meadows around,
At the many-roofed village laid under
The curse of a grave-girdled ground;
And from rows of white urn-carven marble, I listen intently for sound.
I have haunted the tombs of the ages,
I have flown on the pinions of fear,
Where the smoke-belching Erebus rages;
Where the jokulls loom snow-clad and drear:
And in realms where the sun of the desert consumes what it never can cheer.
I was old when the pharaohs first mounted
The jewel-decked throne by the Nile;
I was old in those epochs uncounted
When I, and I only, was vile;
And Man, yet untainted and happy, dwelt in bliss on the far Arctic isle.
Oh, great was the sin of my spirit,
And great is the reach of its doom;
Not the pity of Heaven can cheer it,
Nor can respite be found in the tomb:
Down the infinite aeons come beating the wings of unmerciful gloom.
Through the ghoul-guarded gateways of slumber,
Past the wan-mooned abysses of night,
I have lived o’er my lives without number,
I have sounded all things with my sight;
And I struggle and shriek ere the daybreak, being driven to madness with fright.
The Farmington Writers Circle will meet again on October 13, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. not at Starbuck’s at 4337 East Main, , but at Mary’s Kitchen (the student cafeteria) at San Juan College. Follow this link to the Facebook page for Mary’s Kitchen for directions. The meeting will actually take place just outside the cafeteria after it has closed, so bring your own refreshments (if desired).
The evening’s topic has not been determined.
The Farmington Writers Circle is nascent organization of Farmington-area writers who are interested in finding or developing innovative ways of publicizing and marketing their works. Meetings are usually round-table discussions, although occasionally a member will lead the discussion when it deals with an area of the member’s expertise. There are no fees or requirements to attend meetings. Writers of any and all genres, regardless of writing experience, and non-writers with an interest in the art are welcome. Previous topics have included establishing a website to maximize the use of social media in publicizing works, writers’ conferences, and finding an agent among other topics. Meetings generally run for two hours. For more information, contact me via this website.
The Farmington Writers Circle will meet again on October 13, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. not at Starbuck’s at 4337 East Main, , but at Mary’s Kitchen (the student cafeteria) at San Juan College. Follow this link to the Facebook page for Mary’s Kitchen for directions. The meeting will actually take place just outside the cafeteria after it has closed, so bring your own refreshments (if desired).
The evening’s topic has not been determined.
The Farmington Writers Circle is nascent organization of Farmington-area writers who are interested in finding or developing innovative ways of publicizing and marketing their works. Meetings are usually round-table discussions, although occasionally a member will lead the discussion when it deals with an area of the member’s expertise. There are no fees or requirements to attend meetings. Writers of any and all genres, regardless of writing experience, and non-writers with an interest in the art are welcome. Previous topics have included establishing a website to maximize the use of social media in publicizing works, writers’ conferences, and finding an agent among other topics. Meetings generally run for two hours. For more information, contact me via this website.
The Farmington Writers Circle will meet again on October 13, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at Starbuck’s at 4337 East Main, #101 (near the intersection with 30th Street). The evening’s topic has not been determined.
The Farmington Writers Circle is nascent organization of Farmington-area writers who are interested in finding or developing innovative ways of publicizing and marketing their works. Meetings are usually round-table discussions, although occasionally a member will lead the discussion when it deals with an area of the member’s expertise. There are no fees or requirements to attend meetings. Writers of any and all genres, regardless of writing experience, and non-writers with an interest in the art are welcome. Previous topics have included establishing a website to maximize the use of social media in publicizing works, writers’ conferences, and finding an agent among other topics. Meetings generally run for two hours. For more information, contact me via this website.
The Farmington Writers Circle meets tonight on September 8, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. Because of the closing of Hasting’s Hardback Cafe, the Writers Circle will now meet at Starbuck’s at 4337 East Main, #101 (near the intersection with 30th Street) until further notice. The evening’s topic has not been determined.
The Farmington Writers Circle is nascent organization of Farmington-area writers who are interested in finding or developing innovative ways of publicizing and marketing their works. Meetings are usually round-table discussions, although occasionally a member will lead the discussion when it deals with an area of the member’s expertise. There are no fees or requirements to attend meetings. Writers of any and all genres, regardless of writing experience, and non-writers with an interest in the art are welcome. Previous topics have included establishing a website to maximize the use of social media in publicizing works, writers’ conferences, and finding an agent among other topics. Meetings generally run for two hours. For more information, contact me via this website.
The Farmington Writers Circle will meet again on September 8, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. Because of the closing of Hasting’s Hardback Cafe, the Writers Circle will now meet at Starbuck’s at 4337 East Main, #101 (near the intersection with 30th Street) until further notice. The evening’s topic has not been determined.
The Farmington Writers Circle is nascent organization of Farmington-area writers who are interested in finding or developing innovative ways of publicizing and marketing their works. Meetings are usually round-table discussions, although occasionally a member will lead the discussion when it deals with an area of the member’s expertise. There are no fees or requirements to attend meetings. Writers of any and all genres, regardless of writing experience, and non-writers with an interest in the art are welcome. Previous topics have included establishing a website to maximize the use of social media in publicizing works, writers’ conferences, and finding an agent among other topics. Meetings generally run for two hours. For more information, contact me via this website.
The Farmington Writers Circle will meet again on September 8, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. Because of the closing of Hasting’s Hardback Cafe, the Writers Circle will now meet at Starbuck’s at 4337 East Main, #101 (near the intersection with 30th Street) until further notice. The evening’s topic has not been determined.
The Farmington Writers Circle is nascent organization of Farmington-area writers who are interested in finding or developing innovative ways of publicizing and marketing their works. Meetings are usually round-table discussions, although occasionally a member will lead the discussion when it deals with an area of the member’s expertise. There are no fees or requirements to attend meetings. Writers of any and all genres, regardless of writing experience, and non-writers with an interest in the art are welcome. Previous topics have included establishing a website to maximize the use of social media in publicizing works, writers’ conferences, and finding an agent among other topics. Meetings generally run for two hours. For more information, contact me via this website.
Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher 