名作記

I haven't mentioned this anywhere officially, but I started taking singing lessons this month, per my New Year's resolution.

Unfortunately, a month is all I can afford to take -- I seem to be running out of on-hand cash from month-to-month, and $100/month on singing lessons is a bit of a luxury.

I've resisted writing this entry because I'm also undertaking another task, somewhat related to said New Year's resolution.

I'm starting the first Crux novel from scratch.

I've made no progress with the draft I was writing because I plain lost steam. And when I go back to read it, I'm not satisfied with the tone, and I'm not satisfied with how the characters are coming across.

In short, it doesn't have that ring of truth, however truthful a book full of lies can be.

AndyA has also pushed me to try something with the story that I've been too intimidated to try -- provide no backstory.

Just write the story in a manner that puts the reader right square in the middle of the universe. See, I'm still harboring that long shadow of Anne Rice's influence, and that woman did backstory into the ground.

But if I'm truly after a crime novel passing itself off as a horror story, I should keep the writing lean.