Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Oops. And congratulations.

Martha -- Crowley & Aziraphale have people who have agreed to be in
the parts. Now we just have to hope Mr G can raise the money.
  

    
>>TG: It's got the same old stuff in it. [Laughs] But again, it's
interesting, because again we're taking a book that is incredibly
popular and ruining it for a lot of the readers, basically. [Laughs]<<

But I'm sure he'll ruin it in an utterly charming and delightful way.
*chuckles*

Mary - congrats! Woo!

A friend of mine asked if I would post this question to Neil, and I'd
like to extend it to all the authors here (it's something I'm pretty
interested in, as well,....)

"Neil, I noted you once said something to the effect of if you can't
see where a story is going after a 10,000 word treatment then you know
there's a problem with the story. I'm curious, how long was your
treatment for I Traded My Dad For A Goldfish? Seriously though, could
you maybe say a few words on the differences between writing say a
novel or even short story and a children's book? 
 - Michael"

Thanks!
-Kelly
  

    
Now I'll just wonder quietly what big people want to play the parts.  Ought
to be fun to play.
  

    
I'm not sure I would have said exactly that, since I don't think I've
ever written a 10,000 word treatment in my life. I might have said that
it's fine just to start a book without a real idea of what it is, but
that if you don't know where you're going in a book you're writing
after 10,000 words, you have a problem.

The biggest difference between writing a short, illustrated children's
book and a novel, is that if it doesn't work, I throw it away and try
again in six months or a year or so.
  

    
oops -- Martha. Well, it's not actually that huge a secret, given the
previous round of internet rumours.
  

    
Oh, but I don't go around following Internet rumors, so it's that huge a
secret to me!
  

    
        I might as well admit it and end the speculation: I've committed to
playing Aziraphale if they can meet my price.  It's now up to Gilliam
to squeeze the money people until he can come up with $75 and free
sandwiches.
  

    
Neil
  

    
Neil - Will is correct. Abebooks does have a few copies. 

You may also want to check out B&N used book service
(http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/oopbooks/OopResultsTitle.asp?userid=6BMJBRZ2HF&
mscssid=K0LE2X0R0RG58M3DG8M7JMH461A1FSWD&author=James+Thurber&title=The+13+Clo
cks&WID=55571&start=25&rstart=1)
You'll find 41 copies.

Jade Walker
  

    
Hey, Jade...
It's one of your Inscriptions subscribers, JaNell.
  

    
Hi JaNell...thrilled to hear you're an Inscriptions subscriber. It's
readers like you that keep me banging out the zine each week instead
of sleeping.  <smile>

I haven't been to this board in ages (greetings everyone, old and new)
As you can imagine, working for the media in NYC has kept
me rather busy lately. But when I saw Neil's posting on AG about
Thurber, I knew I had to help. In sixth grade, the school librarian
warped a younger version of myself with Thurber and Poe stories. I've
been a strange mixture of wry humor and 
deathmonger ever since.

Jade Walker
  

    
Jade~I got warped by Harlan Ellison at an even earlier age... "Repent,
Harlequin", and of course, Trek Classic ... and he seemed horrified to
hear that he had anything to do with making me who I am at all! But
that's another story...

I've actually used the classifieds in Inscriptions most; so far, my
work doesn't seem to fit what people are looking for, but there's
always next week.
Usually.

I know about the readers thing... what's the point, if no one is
listening?
  

    
Neil:

I’m a relatively new fan, so I’m just reading GO now.  And I’m
beginning to understand why you and Terry write "Burn this book" on it,
as it’s obviously a menace to polite society.  It’s an attack-dog sort
of book that inspires otherwise self-possessed people to forcibly
detain innocent bystanders and make them listen to the funny bits.

"Everyone sit quietly and listen to the Cast List, and nobody will get
hurt.  It’s funny.  I swear.  You NEED to hear this.  No, no potty
breaks.  SIT!"

And then it’s 150 pages later and they’re all sitting of their own
free will.

But whatever is the matter with poor maligned Manchester?

Neil/Mike/Martha question:

What sort of feedback, if any, do you value from readers?  Does it
differ from the feedback you value from writing peers?
  

    
Adriana:  I'm so sorry about your grandmother.  I'm glad you got to
say goodbye; it helps.  (I'll be emailing you, too.)

Mary: Congrats and good luck!  

Tara: In Madrid?  Wow, you do fling books in the most glamorous
places.  I'm usually just in my living room.

Will: For pretentious high brows, see Selma Hayek.

Tree: Thanks muchly.  Everything *is* better.
  

    
Email from Heather Luke:

Hello again.

JaNell, I'm really not that sweet. I think I probably fall into the
polite category, rather than the mannerly one. ;)

Neil, should I send it to Dreamhaven when I get it? I think I remember
someone saying that they hold schtuff for you.

Linda, you are very kind to offer people this option to email questions
without subscribing. I promise that next time I have something I feel
the need to ask, I will subscribe. Thank you very much,
  

    
Maure~ another illusion crashed! *sigh* 
...and she went out into the world, head shining brightly, looking for
a mannerly person to be her friend...

But at least I know what you've been reading. Have you read about my
early christmas gift yet? I'm still afraid to touch it, it's so perfect
and frosty and full of potential, I might ruin it...
E-mail me and let me know if my writing on Excentrica is readable or
not, I really need the ego-boo right about now.

Adriana, I've not been ignoring the news about your Grandma; it's just
that, 18 years later, I'm still painfully missing mine, the person
most like me in the whole family, who loved me warts and all.
  

    
Pamela, I'm just pleased when someone's read a story, and interested to hear
what they got from it.
  

    
Speaking of stories, I have 2 1/2 5.5 by 8.5 pages, broken up, to fill
for ConCat's program book, which I must finish by tommorrow.
Stories, anyone? There's now a sometimes it works, sometimes it doen't
email addy up. This is our 13th year, and we have horror writers, and
yes I'll take artwork...
  

    
Pamela--when I flew to the US earlier in the year, I was sitting on
the plane next to one of my co-workers, reading Good Omens. I got to
the bit with the bible collections, and said, "Mike, you have GOT to
read this!"

The bastard nearly didn't give me the book back.

And yes, to hell with Coke, everything goes better with monkeys.

Tree
Who apologises for all the Tree/Jinx multiple personality confusion,
but this is the fuzzy-slippered, antipodean personality.
  

    
Tree, it's funny you should mention the Bible collection in Good
Omens, because as I was surfing randomly around at work today (I was
extremely bored, so I visited bored.com) I found a link to a picture of
the "Wicked Bible"... "Thou shalt commit adultery"
http://www.flash.net/~bibleetc/wicked.jpg
  

    
Aw, jeez, I just figured out how to work the *other* one!
  

    
hahah Bill - how cool.

I've had to pass up very cool, old Bibles too many times; now that I
can afford them, I no longer find them. Sigh.

Thanks for answering, Neil - I found myself wondering similar thoughts
last night as I sat down to edit/finish/revise a mmm... invitation? I
don't know, a two page Very Short story that's supposed to find itself
illustrated, if I can ever stop fiddling with it. I leave it alone a
few weeks (or months, at one point), come back, make small changes, and
get annoyed that I can't fit another bit into it, even tho something
really needs to go,... sigh. (It's supposed to flow in a Very
Traditional fairy tale style, including repeating things three times,
except I've only got one thing repeated twice... I can't decide if this
is good or bad or moot, since I can't find a third place.)

Oh well,... suppose I should be pleased enough that I'm writing at
all.  :-)  Thanks again for answering Michaels question.

-Kelly
  

    
Hey all... been an interesting week. My dad had a major heart
attack... his heart stopped and had to be restarted six times. He made
it through, and is home now. The really odd thing is that he had the
attack on Monday, and Tuesday night we got a call from the Lake Tahoe
police because my uncle, my Dad's brother, had died on Sunday... exact
time unknown but basically 24 hours before my Dad's attack.

Mary - great! Now you just need to get the money so you can patroness
me! (hrm.. that sounds vaguely dirty when I write it... but then again,
most things I write have been sounding vaguely dirty lately.)

Neil - So glad that you're learning to take care of yourself and to
say "no"...

On recompense - I had a fun experience at Burning Man where I was
visiting a camp full of friends of a friend, and they asked me to do
some Shakespeare. I went into Hamlet's "Oh that this too sullied flesh
should melt" speech, which rather surprised them since they didn't
think I could actually do it. After I finished, they gave me lots of
presents. It was kind of like the exact opposite of Neil's car story
and still makes me smile.

On Frantzen - My understanding wasn't so much that he didn't want
people reading his book, but that he didn't feel that Oprah's selection
of the book and the subsequent hooplah was any sort of validation. The
quote as I read it had more to do with his feelings that being
selected as Oprah's book club didn't necessarily have anything to do
with the writing being high quality literature.
Regardless, it was still tacky.

On being one of the mob - Neil, your comment sparked a thought. (like
that never happens). Bay Area Barking Mad Poker is having it's second
session after Thanksgiving and looks like it may become a semi-regular
thing. If any of the mob plan on being out this way, let us know and
we'll see if we can have a Poker Night while you're out here.

Kelly - so true. I'm lucky to have a techie job that's only 40 hours a
week... but it's in education and the pay is mediocre, really. and
lord knows.. things suffer as a result of it. Fortunately, it's been
pointed out to me that I have the mutant power of being really busy
without acting like I'm too busy at all.

Streak - Fine... then I'm playing Crowley. I've played enough ne-er do
wells and even demons before... it's typecasting, but what can you do?

Pamela - Selma Hyak a pretentious high brow? *throwing hands over
ears* I'M NOT LISTENING!
  

    
Our Guest of Honor at ConCat, Yvonne Navarro, just emailed me; someone
here forwarded a post of mine to her, # 618.
Please, don't.
Allow me some dignity today.
  

    
And, as the friend I'm staying with does not have a phone, but DOES
have a cable hookup, I'm online for a bit tonight (before I crash...
oooh, bad choice of words considering the 2 very bumpy plane rides to
get here... New Orleans, that is) 

Um, nose is mostly okay now. Scars are mostly not noticeable on the
outside now - apparently more damage was done inside where she nearly
bit through. But even that is mostly better (long as I'm careful when
scratching at my nose). And the ratty was punished (nay, nearly
traumatized!) by the car ride to my parents' house, where all the
squeakers are staying until I get back.

jinx - Actually, I got the blood stains out before they set, so the
carpet is still a gross shade of tan.

Kelly - I dunno, 'amorphous furry blobs' just reminds me of the hats
in my friend's shop...

Tree - mmm... monkeys... and fuzzy feet - really the only way to go. 

Jouni - Excellent artwork! And I had no problems understanding any of
it, so I guess you'll just have to deal with your English being fine.

dianna - Kathi Li's got a more detailed review of it (the one she
posted here) under the 'round 2' section. I had no idea Chris put my
quote up. Mute indeed...

Mary - Congrats on the teaching certs to be!

And no one listen to Maure, as she really is sweet. Incidentally, if
you're listening, oh, have I got some interesting photo ideas for you!
(be afraid)

Dan - Glad to hear that your dad pulled through! And yay for
Shakespeare  - I just accidentally recited one of the sonnets wrong in
the shower this morning (really, when you're forced to awaken at 3AM
after falling asleep just after midnight, do you need a reason to ask?)
and it turned into a new song. Anxiously awaiting Barking Mad Poker -
and I may bring a friend who has more poker games for us to learn.

squeaks, who spent far too much of her limited budget on quilting
supplies for the next 4 projects, but doesn't care just now because
she's in New Orleans, seeing Neil tomorrow, and has been awake for far
too many hours  (egads, is it really 9PM?)