The Writing Life, 20 July 2024
July keeps rolling and I try to do the same.
Oh, hey, everyone, it’s just me trying to give the rub to some great independent book stores in Iowa1. I’ll talk about what’s been going on with me, but frankly it’s been a slow couple weeks.
The Home Front
There are approximately three stages to a summer vacation to a teacher. These can vary, of course, depending on the different calendars some might have for individual school districts. Generally, however, I’ve noticed such vacations proceed like so:
Phase One, Late May-Early July: Basically bugging out time, taking a massive breather from the mental marathon of the school year and doing whatever fits your interests, even if it means zoning out to watch Copa America and the European soccer championships like I did.
Phase Two, Early July-Late July: Still in vacation mode, but there is at least a small sense it will end at some point.
Phase Three, Late July-Mid August: Actively preparing for the school year to come while “technically” on vacation.
If you are paying attention to the calendar and to what I just wrote, I’m now nearing the end of Phase Two. There’s still some vacation to go.
For those who remember my US Men’s National Team (USMNT) rant of two weeks ago, it turned out the US Soccer Federation did fire Gregg Berhalter2 from his position, but we are now waiting for them to hire a proper coach for the World Cup in two years3. Hoping for the best.
The Olympics will be on for the next couple weeks, so some more soccer and basketball along with the gymnastics and swimming.
If you want to hear about other current events like the political stuff, this isn’t the place for it, my friend. But I wouldn’t bother with most of it because most political reporting nowadays, sad to say, is just brain-rotting nonsense.
What I’m Writing
One thing connected to that last bit, however; I have never understood writers who have claimed to be in an optimal writing mood when they are in a depressed or negative state. For example, some believe a good break-up might help to spark some creativity. I am of a completely different mindset, myself, so I’ve had to shield myself a bit to get any writing done, and I’ve not done as good of a job as I wanted.
However, there has some work done on the following projects:
The Yank Striker 2 (totally unoriginal working title), the sequel for The Yank Striker (look below for more information on the first book in the series). I started a new scene on this a few days ago. Hopefully I get back at it in a day or two.
One of these writing advice columnists I’ve subscribed to over the years mentioned something about if you write something life 200-210 words per day for one particular project, you will wind up with a full manuscript bu the end of the year. (200 words times 365 days equals 73,000 words, which is a pretty good sized manuscript.) Maybe I need to apply this standard to whatever project I’m working to complete a project? Seems sensible.The Untitled Pro Wrestling Family Drama project I first got the idea for more than a year ago. I’m working on a scene where I’m portraying a writer’s workshop and I’m about to present it to my writer’s group to see if it make sense. It’s a very meta situation.
Writing Quote for the Week
“Fiction is the lie that helps us understand the truth,” once said by the author Tim O’Brian, might be my all-time favorite quote about fiction I’ve ever heard. It also gets into the difference between factual truth and deeper Truth, something that became a major theme of his fiction throughout his career4. Here’s another quote from him along those same lines.
The goal, I suppose, any fiction writer has, no matter what your subject, is to hit the human heart and the tear ducts and the nape of the neck and to make a person feel something about what the characters are going through and to experience the moral paradoxes and struggles of being human.
Tim O’Brian
Author’s Note: The following material is some basic information about my sites and my books.
If you’re a returning reader and have already read about them, clicked on the links, or even subscribed to the site and maybe bought a book or two, feel free to skip until the end.
For those of you coming here for the first time, you might find what’s below useful.
A Few Links About My Books and Where to Find Them
My first book is a journalism thriller set in Chicago during the turbulent days of the 2008 election and the start of the Great Recession. Check out more about it here.
The Holy Fool
Debut novels are tricky things. While I’ve not asked this question specifically of some of my fellow writers, the general impression I get is most writers consider their debut novels both with pride at their accomplishment and ruefulness at missed opportunities for improvement. And I’m no different.
You can get the paperback version of this book on Amazon here and the ebook version of it here.
A fellow Iowa writer and organizer of the Windsor Heights Book Fair, Tyler Granger, recently did a review of my book: you can find it here.
My second book, the first in the The Yank Striker series, is a soccer drama telling the story of the beginning of a young American’s career as a player. There’s more about it here.
The Yank Striker: A Footballer's Beginning
What would an American soccer superstar look like? Not just someone who was a good player, but an actual legendary, world-class player, someone on the level of a Lionel Messi, a Diego Maradona, a Pele? Where would he come from? What would he be like as a person? And what would his path to soccer superstardom look like?
The paperback version of this book can be found on Amazon and the site of my publisher, Biblio Publishing. It is also available in ebook format on Amazon here.
For full links to these and other helpful places having to do with me and my writing, you can go to this page on my Wordpress site, Liegois Media.
You can also get my books in person at these fine Iowa bookstores:
Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Ave. # S1, Des Moines
Pella Books, 824 Franklin St, Pella.
The Book Vault, 105 S Market St, Oskaloosa.
I’m always looking for some new places to place my books, so feel free to hit me up in the comments if anyone has a suggestion.
Final Thoughts
It was a quick newsletter this week. Hopefully I might have more to discuss in a couple of weeks.
Writers keep writing and everyone keep safe.
-30-
Look, the longer you’re here, the more professional wrestling terminology you’re going to have to deal with. I like stealing cool phrases, and wrestling terminology is chock full of them.
The USMNT head coach, in his second stint in the role.
We don’t have to qualify for the tourney since we are hosting, but we don’t want to be an embarrassment, either.