Reading and Writing

If you check in on this blog with any regularity, you already know that I write here only sporadically, and lately have been slacking off big-time. I apologize--with an explanation/excuse.

I've been reading.

As writers, we are told frequently that we should read good literature to better understand our craft and find worthy models, and that certainly is true. My recent reading has included a number of books submitted to me for review--some really good, some not so good. And some well-written, but mechanically flawed. I'm finding that all of them help me in some respect. The really good ones teach and inspire me; the not-so-good ones heighten my awareness of the rookie mistakes that always want to worm their way into my work. (I can see them so easily in the work of others; maybe I'll become better about spotting them in my own.)

And those mechanically-flawed ones! As the self-proclaimed Queen of Typos, I'm not throwing stones here, but I feel compelled to say that we, as writers, have to remember how much errors detract from the positive impact of our work. I used to bristle at the idea that an editor at a publishing house might "whimsically" reject a query or manuscript just because of simple errors, but I have come to understand how that can be. We need to methodically inspect our work, then enlist the aid of others known to be meticulous in such matters, to go over the work again and again. And again.

My recent reads, in addition to Eric Norcross's "The Violin Diary" mentioned earlier, include "Sassy Pat Knitting: A Memoir" by Pat Richards; "Echoes in These Mountains: Historic Sites and Stories Disappearing in Johnsburg, an Adirondack Community" by Glenn Pearsall; "The Moose with Loose Poops," (don't ask!) by Charlotte Cowan, M.D. Most of these appear at www.BookPleasures.com.

I'm currently working my way through "Journeys: An Anthology of Short Stories" a collection of prize-winning stories published by The Creative Writer's Notebook, and "Your Spacious Self: Clear Your Clutter and Discover Who You Are," by Stephanie Bennett Vogt. I'm also reading some short stories submitted for the current Creative Writer's Notebook contest.

So that's my excuse, and some thoughts prompted by all the reading. Share with us here what you are writing or reading.

My best,
Perky
P.S. I've just gone over this thing and fixed about six errors. Let me know if you see more!