What's Going On?

Dear Sentimental Ligers,

We had some snow, finally, here in New Hampshire. It took a couple minutes for me to switch my brain over to winter-driving mode. Luckily, the roads aren't too bad.

Anyway! What news do I have to report? Not much, really, but I felt I should post something. Anything to get away from the absolute painful chore of thinking of Christmas gifts. I need a personal shopper. I'll give you money. Make all the purchase choices for me, thank you very much.

So I finished my first real life writing workshop just recently. I've been in an online workshop for a while now, but it's the first time I've participated in one face-to-face with honest to goodness breathing people. So, what's the verdict? Was it worth the money?

I say, yes.

Did it make me a better writer? Possibly, marginally. That is not to say I can't use improvement. I surely do. But that only comes from continual reading and writing. Practice makes perfect, or at least moderately average. I think writing workshops--at least ones that last only a few sessions--help improve individual pieces of writing through the feedback process, but the only way it could improve a writer's overall writing is if they are just starting. In my opinion, it is during those early times when a lot of the improvement comes, and benefits a very great deal to supportive feedback.

All things being said though, I really enjoyed the workshop. Not only were there some great members that I looked forward to sharing my stories with every other week, but the structure of a writing class really forces you to, well, WRITE. To often, when I'm left to my own devices, I will undoubtedly put a DVD on or play a video game or futz around on the internet for several hours. While this is generally entertaining, it is horribly unhelpful for the writing process. I am a born procrastinator. Having a structured class forced me to write during every class and gave me the push I needed to fine tune stories at home in preparation for the next class. I look forward to the next class, schedule permitting.

I thought I'd take some time discussing some of the books I've read recently too. Two of the better ones: How to Break a Terrorist and Breathers: A Zombie's Lament. How to Break a Terrorist is a non-fiction book written by Matthew Alexander (a pseudonym), who is an Air Force interrogator who with the help of a whole interrogation team in Iraq, was able to find and take out Zarqawi. The pacing of this story is impeccably and thrilling. Alexander weaves in his philosophy of modern interrogation techniques (empathy, understanding local cultures, etc.) with the action is wonderful. I forgot at times that I was not reading a novel. Alexander champions these new techniques with conviction. He believes that a good interrogator needs to leave all feelings at the door. He/she needs to enter the room a blank slate, an actor that confirms to whatever the detainee needs him/her to be. The trick is to manipulate them into thinking that they are giving information for their own benefit, whether it is for a good word with the judges or just to assuage some sense of guilt. I highly recommend this book.

As for Breathers. What can I say? This book has everything I love in a novel: comedy (dark at most times) and zombies (inherently dark) in a tight package. It is billed as a zomromcom, zombie romantic comedy. It's a real fun time and tells the story of a recently zombified young man who has become accustomed to his new zombie existence. He lives in his parents' basement and goes to a Zombies Anonymous group to cope with his new undeadness. The only gripe I had was the tone in which is ended, which felt incongruent to the rest of the story, but it was a fun ride nonetheless.

I'm currently reading Little Green Men, which I have been looking forward to for a while. It's one of the few Christopher Buckley books I've yet to read. I'm only a third of the way through, but it doesn't feel up to par with his other work. We'll see how it goes!

What else? Hmm. I've been reading some of Kathy Reichs's Temperance Brennan novels because I like the show Bones, but surprisingly, the books are nothing like the show. The only thing they share is the name of the protagonist, although the nickname Bones is no where to be found in the books. Regarding the books, they aren't the most well written of their genre, but they are an interesting distraction. If you like authors like Patricia Cornwell or Tess Gerritsen, you should give Reichs a try.

This post is turning into a much longer one than I had anticipated (and probably fraught with typos, but I'm not going to proofread. It's the rebel in me). But a few more reading tidbits:

I've come to appreciate Stephen King. I find he's mischaracterized as a horror writer. His work tends to be supernatural or paranormal, but there are only hints of horror in most of his stories. Recently, I've read Carrie and The Dead Zone, which were both wonderful. They're very well written, with a depth of tragedy that I didn't expect. Check them out.

Also, check out Suzanne Collins young adult series, The Hunger Games. Only the first two books are out (third and final one next year), but they are great reads. Kids thrown in a last man standing death match? Killer idea, bad pun intended.

Next on the reading list:
Darling Jim
An Abundance of Katherines

On the DVD/TV front, there are too many shows/movies that I've watched to really get into it. Netflix is my video God. For the moment, I've completely caught up with The Big Bang Theory, which is laugh and a half. If you enjoy watching geeks bumble through attempts at social interaction, check it out. I watch it for tips.

Also funny, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this movie because I'm not a big Monty Python fan (blasphemy to some, I know). I am still not a huge fan, but this movie left me in stitches many times, including one scene where King Arthur fights a black knight who steadfastly and stubbornly refuses to concede defeat even as his limbs are hacked off one by one (not as gruesome as you'd think). It does end rather strangely though, but definitely worth a watch.

Until next time,

Matt