Fish Tank

Yesterday I saw the movie “Fish Tank,” which I initially thought of as just very good, with one fierce burning performance at its center. Now I’ve come to realize it’s even better—there are several sequences that will stay in my mind for some time—and that the movie has something to teach writers.

I went into it hopeful (everyone has raved about newcomer Katie Jarvis’s performance), but a little skeptical (often these “gritty low-budget” films have their own kind of pose, just as calculated and false as standard Hollywood fare). But what this movie does well, and at times brilliantly, is offer pure dramatic action: without explanation, justification, resolution. This is in general a strength of stage & screen over fiction—there is not such easy recourse to internal commentary, or extended exposition. But they, too, can fall prey to their own easy outs, such as clunky expository dialogue, the sudden flashback that neatly explains the present.

“Fish Tank” wants nothing to do with any of that. There are scenes here, constructed of the humblest materials, that—because of the carefully established dramatic context, and the patience to hold a moment of slow-burning tension to the breaking point—are as gripping and harrowing as you could ever hope for. Check it out. (Director Andrea Arnold’s previous film, “Red Road,” has one major flaw, but is otherwise tense, compelling stuff.)

Literary LA February ‘10

• Beginning Thursday the 4th and running through the weekend, Smart Gals celebrates ten years of smart cultural events with a “Reading Preserve” exhibit at the Barnsdall Municipal Art Gallery–culminating in a Winter Picnic Performance Sun 2/7 2pm.
• For another Superbowl Sunday alternative, check out my friend Doug Knott’s one-man show “Oil Fire” (burn, baby burn) at Highways (an alternative performance in Santa Monica, at the 18th Street Arts Center, 1651 18th Street) Sun 2/7 7pm; Doug shares the billing with Alexa Hunter.
• At Skylight Books in Los Feliz: Thurs 2/4 7:30pm, Joshua Ferris with The Unnamed; and Tues 2/16 7:30pm, local author Heidi Durrow, The Girl Who Fell From the Sky.
• Book Soup in West Hollywood has: Wed 2/3 7pm, long-time New Yorker cartoonist Bruce Eric Kaplan with his new collection, I Love You, I Hate You, I’m Hungry; and Thurs 2/4 7pm, if you hadn’t heard of Up in the Air until it was made into a movie, here’s your chance to check out the original with Walter Kirn.
• The New Short Fiction Series offers up some Valentine’s flavor on Sun 2/14 7pm with “The Name of Longing” and other stories by Shubha Venugopal; at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd.
• Diesel Books in Brentwood hosts a book release party for Dani Shapiro’s new book Devotion, Sat 2/20 6 pm.
• Word Theatre presents, Sun 2/21 3pm, a program of stories by T.C. Boyle (from his new collection Wild Child), including one read by the man himself.

Submission Opportunities (2)

First, a couple of promising-looking new journals gleaned from the latest Duotrope Weekly Wire (a free weekly newsletter on literary markets offered by the site Duotrope: an excellent resource–contribute a little if you can–though their info on simultaneous submissions is unreliable, so always confirm at the journal’s own site): Moon Milk Review (magical realism); Nashville Review (which pays).

And from Duotrope and other sources, a number of upcoming theme issues: The First Line (“Working for God is never easy” / deadline Feb 1–sorry for the late heads up on this one; other themes listed as well); subTerrain (“Signs” / Feb 15); Tin House (“Class in America” / May 1); Confrontation (“Transformation” / June 15); Other Voices Books (anthology, Men in Bed: Women Writers on the Male Sexual Experience / no deadline listed).

And finally, New Pages, a great resource which boasts listings for everything from literary magazines to contests to MFA programs, has a new Call for Submissions page, updated weekly.

Novels-in-Stories

A reader of this blog recently asked me to send cite ten examples of a novel-in-stories. And, somewhat to my surprise, Google searches along the lines of “novel-in-stories examples” are the number one way people who don’t know me have found this blog. In fact, if you do that Google search, my site is usually listed first. Who knew?

See my sidebar and click the page Claudia: a Novel-in-Stories for my own definition of the form–in particular, how it differs from a collection of linked stories. There is a Barnes & Noble listing that combines the two, and includes some books (like Annie Proulx’s Accordian Crimes) that don’t seem to belong. There are also multiple listings for a number of titles, and some significant exclusions, but it’s worth a look. And at his fine blog Perpetual Folly, Cliff Garstang has a series of Missing Links posts where he, too, throws the two forms in together. (He posted eight short reviews late last year and hasn’t added one for a couple of months–but he’s teaching and writing and promoting his own story collection, In an Uncharted Country.) The two forms certainly belong on the same continuum, though in my mind there’s a clear aesthetic distinction to be made.

All that said, here’s a not entirely unbiased list of mostly recent examples:

• Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout (which won the 2009 Pulitzer)
• Stones for Ibarra, Harriet Doerr (a National Book Award winner, published before the term was in vogue, but very much with that feel)
• Up the Junction, Nell Dunn (also pre-dates the term)
• A Brief History of the Flood, Jean Harfenist (who used to belong to a writers group I’m in)
• Normal People Don’t Live Like This, Dylan Landis
• More of This World or Maybe Another, Barb Johnson (which I’m reading and will later review for The Short Review)
• Our Kind, Kate Walbert
• Monkeys, Susan Minot
• How to Hold a Woman, Billy Lombardo
• O Street, Corrina Wycoff

Writing Resolutions 2010

• The aim this year is to develop a sturdier, deeper writing practice. A big part of that is combating distraction–and, not having a TV, a lot of my distraction lives in my computer. Much more on this later, but the basic plan is: begin the writing day with paper & pen, not at the computer; no e-mail till at least noon; no internet till somewhat later; no social networking like Facebook till late afternoon; and, crucially, a “computer Sabbath” from Sat PM to Mon AM.
• Another element will be to develop a more focused, regular routine. The above will, I think, go a long way towards that. Much more on this later as well: but I’ve come to believe that a writing practice can be buoyed greatly by a spiritual practice. Writing is very much a form of meditation–and a deep and difficult one at that. One can simply thrown oneself into it (which may work for some); or one can consciously develop the various ‘muscles’ (physical, emotional, spiritual) that go into sustaining a writing practice. I’m opting for the latter.
• Helping to ground that daily routine is a rough yearly plan. Basically what I’ve done is break up the year into thirds (I was tempted to go with quarters, but that makes for a lot of goals, and three months is a time period, it seems, that can really get away from you) and sketch out not only writing but reading goals for each. I’ve allowed myself to become far too unfocused and undisciplined a reader.
• One reason for the importance of a better routine this year is I’m going solo–withdrawing for the time being from writing groups and workshops. This is not to dismiss all I’ve gained (and may yet) from such group learning and collaboration. But there comes a point in a writer’s life where you’ve accumulated both some solid instincts on what makes a story work, and a critical mass of story ideas and ongoing projects–and where it may make sense to lean on those instincts, largely alone, and see how far you can take them. As a wonderful teacher once cautioned me: there are distances in a writer’s life, and in each individual story, that must be traveled alone. More on this, too, in a future post.
• But writing entirely in a bubble doesn’t sound like much fun, and so community will play an ongoing, if different, role in my writing life. I will continue to read for a small group of fellow writers: having a circle of trusted readers is essential for most of us. And when I make a commitment to read I will do so promptly (I was prompt for a couple of people last year, but not for others)–sharing work is a kind of sacred trust. I’m also hoping that limiting my time on the internet will generate greater focus and purpose for that time. The distractions of Facebook and other sites have caused me to neglect the deeper writerly connections offered at places like the Zoetrope Virtual Studio and the Poets & Writers Speakeasy.
• No definite goal when it comes to submissions (though if you are someone who hasn’t made submitting a regular part of your writing practice, that may be a good idea). At this point, 100 seems a minimal goal, and I expect to hit that. I have ten stories (a couple done, a few needing a polish, the rest a significant rewrite) I expect to send out in the first few months of the year: I’d like to have a bunch of stories in the till when I get to AWP in April. And I hope for another big run of submissions in the fall.

Year-End Report 2009

On balance, a solid literary year for me. I had five stories published, my best year by far in that regard. In print: “Call It Beautiful” (New Madrid) and “Fred” (River Oak Review). Online: “Secret World” (Sotto Voce), “Harold Digs His Way to China” (580 Split), and “Rocks Against My Window” (Metazen). Plus, I wrote three reviews of short story collections for The Short Review.

I got off to a solid start on the submissions front–hitting the 100 mark mid-way through the year–but then slacked off considerably, finishing at 110, down from 187 in 2008. And only two story acceptances: “Rocks…”, published right after it was accepted; and “Head in Bag,” due later this month in Confrontation. Also, a theatrical monologue, “Brick,” was performed as part of the Encinco Theatre’s Monologue Festival.

In study, for the fourth year in a row I attended the Tin House Summer Writer’s Conference, this year studying with the incomparable Dorothy Alison.

coming up next week: a previously promised post about upcoming Submission Opportunities; my Writing Resolutions for 2010; and Litmag News & Notes

Literary LA Jan ‘10

• The New Short Fiction Series kicks off the new decade by switching to a new time and new venue:  the show now takes place the second Sunday of the month, at the LA Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Art Park (4800 Hollywood Blvd).  The show is still at 7pm, doors at 6:30.  The price is $15 at the door, $10 online in advance.  Up this month, Sun 1/10:  Andrea Lisa Leeb, with Painted Bicycles & Other Stories.
• Sun 1/10 8pm, the irreverent Chinatown series Vermin on the Mount presents Vanina Marsot, Porochista Khakpour, Goodloe Byron & Vicki Forman
• At Skylight Books in Los Feliz:  Tues 1/19 7:30pm, highly-regarded graphic novel artist Joe Sacco with his latest, Footnotes in Gaza; Thurs 1/28 7:30pm, Audrey Niffenegger with Her Fearful Symmetry, her follow-up to The Time Traveler’s Wife; Sat 1/30 5pm, rock legend Patti Smith with her first book of prose, Just Kids, which recounts her fascinating relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe.
• At West Hollywood’s Book Soup:  Tues 1/5 7pm, Rani Singh’s new book about famed ethnomusicalogist Harry Smith (live music as well); Sat 1/23 7pm, David Lynch: Interviews, with Richard A. Barney; Tues 1/27 7pm, memoirist and poet Nick Flynn with his latest, The Ticking is the Bomb, in which he interweaves memoir with his efforts to meet and interview the Iraqi men depicted in the infamous Abu Ghraib photos–Aimee Bender calls it a “gleaming, brutal, beautiful” book.
• Stories Bookstore/Cafe in Echo Park lauches a new reading series, “Homo-centric,” Thurs 1/14 7:30; their website is not always current so become a fan on Facebook or sign up for their newsletter

LitMag News

• Electric Literature continues both to publish excellent writing (their last issue featured Colson Whitehead and Lydia Davis), and to make innovative use of the new media–offering (in addition to a traditional print subscription) distribution via a range of electronic means, including Kindle and e-book. They also produce some really cool videos previewing or riffing off their stories. Now through Dec. 24th, they’re offering subscriptions at a special Holiday rate.
• Five Chapters is another terrific online journal. Most weeks they ’serialize’ a new short story by a single author. This week they’re departing from that with a Holiday story, “Viva Lost Vegas,” by five different authors, Jerry Stahl among them. And on Saturday, they kick off their twice-yearly Story Marathon, sixteen new stories in sixteen days.
• At the end of the month, more litmag news, featuring some new submission opportunities.

Write-a-Thon

The Write-a-Thon benefiting the charitable work of Dzanc Books (who I talk about in a previous post) begins tomorrow. Click HERE to sponsor me via PayPal.

The Ecstatic Gap

One of my pet writing peeves (one that I continually guard against, not always successfully) is the overly self-aware character–especially, but not always, as narrator. The character who appears to know exactly what they’re feeling, and is able to articulate that, either in narration or dialogue.

This simply doesn’t ring true to me. And it makes for one- or two-dimensional writing, absent the fascinating gaps between thoughts and words, reality and perception. I’ve always argued that, for the most part, a character’s actions should be two steps ahead of their awareness; and that writers should seek to inhabit their characters’ flesh & blood selves, not just their thoughts.

A recent feature in the New Yorker about playwright Richard Foreman (and I think playwrights are generally better at avoiding the overly self-aware character) had a great quote from Foreman’s introduction to one of his earlier plays:

There are writers who despair that a gap exists between the self and the words that come, but for me that gap is the field of all creativity–it’s an ecstatic field rather than a field of despair.