A F@#$%&g Good Read

I am amazed as to how magical the F word has become these days. I don't think at any time before have I ever seen the word in print as much as I see it now. And what really amazes me is the word's use, itself, as a stand alone story or as a stand alone column. Just the mere appearance of the word conveys a powerful postive feeling. Readers react so well to the word that in a recent column I read a columnist who simply summed up his thesis by saying that the character in the story in question was 'f@#$%d' without explanation or deduction, and yet the crowd went wild with comment after comment of praise. I am not a prude. Anyone who really knows me, knows I am in NO WAY a prude. Look, I believe language is a living and breathing, shape shifting organism and this is simply because language's bits and pieces are ever evolving and changing and devolving; ;anguage's organs and extremities become a cliche or passe only to be replaced with something new or something shaded differently. I can't wait for the F word to go that way because it means writers will be forced to write, have to create rather than swear like a ten year old and use a single word as a default rather than as literature.

100

Yes this is the 100th post. For any of you into numbers 100, more than any other number, is considered a milestone. To Saint Augustin it is the symbol of the martyrdom. To me, today, my birthday, like my birthday, it is simply just a number on my way to ther numbers. See you soon. josephjpatchen.weebly.com

Now That Is Writing............

Maybe because my birthday is coming. And maybe because as we get older we tend to get philosophical. Heard TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD's SIXTEEN TONS on the radion and man I appreciate those immortal lyrics now more than ever. That's writing.

A Year Is Almost Up

We revived the idea, really revived the idea, of writing as a serious exercise less than a year ago. I did this as a response to getting another year older and closer to my mortality. In this time I am happy with the foundation laid. There is still a lot of work ahead and a lot I wish to accomplish. As this year is almost up, in September, we already know we will have stories coming out through the end of the year and in anthologies at that. This is a good feeling. But one should never focus on the positive, should never rest upon past laurels, we need to improve, we need to produce longer pieces, better pieces, novellas and novels for example, and that is where we will place our efforts this coming year. I am not abandoning the short story or even flash fiction, they will come, but we want and should always want more otherwise we should pack it up and wait for the inevitable.

Dracula is coming to prime time

NBC has announced Dracula will have his own prime time television series this fall. That announcement in itself scares me. Network television has failed to get anything right since the advent of Cable and some can argue since the advent of television. Jonathan Rhys Meyers will be Dracula. Now I am interested. He is a wonderful actor; he is force of nature on the screen and was simply phenomenal in 'The Tudors'. I just pray they do not squandor his talent. We will be watching of course, but kudos on that bit of casting. If you did not see 'The Tudors' purchase the DVDs and enjoy the intrigue, the writing, the direction and superb acting.

When a Rejection is a Rejection. Hey New Writers!

We all get them. No matter how many stories you sell and have published you will still have rejections. You new writers, take heart. In my case, not that I am anyone special, some of my best items have been ridiculed before making an impact somewhere else. The annals of music and literature are filled with misguided rejections. So take the rejection, hang it on the wall, file it away and keep plugging. True, rejections do bother and they should. It is only natural. One of my favorites is the good old 'sorry we wish not to publish ____ so good luck with that." 'Good luck with that'? What do mean by 'that'? Is my story something akin to needing to be lanced? Or the carefully worded "Good luck placing it elsewhere." I guess it was THAT BAD!? Many editors don't necessarily mean to be mean; but sometimes you wonder. Sometimes you wonder if 'open' submissions are actually 'open'. Or how about those who run on and on about all the 'big' names who will be included in their anthology and if you are chosen you will essentially be the only nobody and damn lucky you are! This is a marathon and not a sprint. Real writing matures and survives, the flavors of the month no matter what awards they may 'win' or self-congratulations they may manufacture do have expiration dates. Work on your craft. Write what you feel. Do your thing and don't worry about what others are doing or even saying. Write from your gut. We all go through this, just don't let them get to you.

Atomic Noir Contest going on right now.....

So they want 75 words on the meaning on Noir. Fascinating how folks define it. Hey, I don't write crime per se so here was my shot as posted on their website and if I am lucky in the introduction of their newest anthology. What do you think? "Noir is suffocation; that tightness laden in your chest, the gloom and stench of cheap whiskey, sub-budget colognes, sweat, smoke and all matter of oozing bodily discharge. Noir is also an itch that can only be scratched by tearing away her sweater and fingering your gun. Noir is what you use to hide from the light with the rest of the vermin because you don’t want to face yourself and what you had to do."