Literary-Industrial Complex and Military Industrial Complex

Here's more on the literary-industrial complex. It plays off of President Dwight David Eisenhower's warning embedded in his January 17, 1961, farewell address. The quote is from Wikepedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia:

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.

I'll draw in its relevance to the situation of writers next time.

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The Literary-Industrial Complex

Dwight Eisenhower, in his farewell address, on January 17, 1961, posited the existence of a "military-industrial complex," a cluster of military and industrial companies, people, and institutions, that promote the growth of a strong military in society.

Eisenhower should know--he was a life-long military man, two-term president, and establishment figure par excellence.

We have in this country a literary-industrial complex as well. I'll talk about the more later.

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Rationalization

Rationalization is a really useful thing for us. It helps us understand our world and why people do things. However, it also enables us to lie to ourselves by denying things that we really know to be true.

The way a character rationalizes his or her or another person's behavior helps deepen the character and lets us inside.

For example in Scott Smith's very engrossing book A simple Plan Hank, the narrator, says to Jacob: "None of this would have happened if you hadn't killed Lou," which is a lie. It's absolutely not true, and the reader knows this. I took the quote from p. 242 of the St. Martin's paperback edition published in 1993.

If you haven't read this, read it. If you have already read it, reread it. You learn a lot more in the rereading.

I want to help move writers' careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?

I want to help move writers' careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?

To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.

To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

A Nifty Piece of Foreshadowing

I ran across a nifty piece of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is allowing you reader a tantalizing tidbit of the future direction of the story. A lover lifting her skirts just a little bit.

Scott Smith, on p. 166 of the 1993 St. Martin's Paperback edition of his very enjoyable novel A Simple Plan, says:

She was right, of course, or at least it seemed as if she was. But how could I have known then all the loss to which her simple plan would ultimately lead?

We've suspected all along that bad things were going to happen, just not what. Then this comes along and confirms our suspicions. We still don't know what yet, so we read on to find out. I'd have edited out "as if" but that's just me.

Again, the protagonist trying to let himself off the hook for his horrendous behavior.

But foreshadowing is like salt. Sparingly used, and at the right time, it enhances the taste of food. Too much ruins it.

I want to help move writers' careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?

To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.

To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

Voice, continued

Each of your characters has a voice. It makes them uniquely them. That voice can sound different to different characters and can change over time if your story takes place over many years.

Listen to Frank Sinatra. He had a clear voice in the early days. Harry Connick Jr. sounds a lot like early Sinatra. As Sinatra aged, his voice turned huskier and weakened in his later years.

Again your character's voice is not theirs alone. It's a cooperative effort between the character, other characters, you, and you reader.

I want to help move writers' careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?

To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.

To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

Your Voice

Your voice is what makes you uniquely you. In marketing they call it your brand. In network terms its your reputation. It's what makes Shakespeare different from Cormac McCarthy different from Ernest Hemingway different from Albert Camus different from Virginia Woolf.

Your voice is not all yours. You have a major stake in it because it's you your voice flows from. Those who hear it or read it have a say in your voice.

Your voice sounds different to different people and at different times. Herman Hesse spoke clearly to me in the '70s, but not today. Mark Twain sounded different to his readers than the do today.

Though your voice is shared with others, you have a major say in it. It has to flow from you first. You have your voice first, then others share it.

Voice is important--it's one reason people read your stuff. But it's only a starting point.

I want to help move writers' careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?

To get published as a Sherpa writer, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.

To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

Advantages of Ambiguity

In Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men the main character who carries out the absolutely worst and bloodiest crimes rides off into the sunset albeit with a broken arm. We never find out what happens to him. Rather than tie off all the plots he goes for mood and a larger message. It leaves the reader with a tremendous sense of unease.

Elmore Leonard's formula is to have all the bad guys kill each other off. Not so McCarthy.

Telling you the ending will not lessen the book's impact. It's an amazingly wonderful one. He's the Faulkner of the Texas-Mexico area. His body of work is absolutely brilliant.

I want to help move people's careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?

To find out about my new literary connectorship, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.

Read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

For my ideas on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

A Character is a Box

To me, a character is a box. It has boundaries, places that are in character and outside of it. We hear about a person acting "out of character." It's like that in fiction.

The character grows when he or she can increase the size of the box, trengthen it, build it higher or something.

If you don't build boxes around your character, you risk boring for the reader. You your reader giving up on your story because your story feels contrived.

I was in a writer's group with a writer who, every time her character faced a challenge, she simply had the character able to do something I never knew he or she could do. I couldn't stand it.

I want to help move people's careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?

To find out about my new literary connectorship, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.

Read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

For my ideas on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.