BOOKS & PUBLISHING
And a New Chapter BeginsLOS ANGELES 16 June 2009 |
|
I spent nine years writing Banned for Life, my recently published novel. I consider that a long time to work on a book; James Joyce, whose name I’m unfit to mention by way of comparison, worked on Ulysses for eight years, and that book is longer than mine by over three hundred pages. (I post this on Bloomsday.)
Was it worth it? I don’t really know, yet. It will depend, I suppose, on how it’s received. At the moment, a number of friends are reading Banned, or maybe some of them have finished reading, only they haven’t told me, either because they haven’t had time to write me or call, or they didn’t like it and they’re afraid to tell me, or they did like it and they aren’t quite sure how to express it. I’m an Author now. It’s not a big deal at all to me, the title of Author, but maybe it strikes some of my friends as a big deal, because so many people have vague plans to write a book someday but they deep down suspect they’ll never get around to it. I’ve had two friends announce their jealousy, or as one of them, a comely Scot, put it: “I’d like to slap your face!”
“Hey,” I told her, “if you want to spend nine years of daily torture working on a book, go for it.”
Of course, there was a great compliment in what she said, and I’ve lately gotten a couple of compliments in photo form. Here’s one of them:
That’s my friend Jeremy. He bought a copy of Banned just before he left for a long trek around Asia, and he posed for the photo at LAX. That was a month ago, and I didn’t know anything about the photo till he wrote me from Thailand to say that he’d read and loved Banned, adding that I should have a look at his Facebook wall and something labeled “Ousted from L.A.” I was blown away. I had no idea that my book would or could mean enough to him that he’d take such a picture. He left his copy of Banned behind at a hostel in Thailand, where, he wrote me, he hoped that someone else would find it and read it—another touching gesture that likewise blew me away.
And then there’s this, which my friend TJ sent to me yesterday on MySpace:
TJ’s photo included a caption that read: “I don’t have any fucking words, so I took this picture.” I wrote him back that if my book were a girl, her panties would be soaked. We spoke on the phone for an hour and a half earlier tonight, and he asked me questions about Banned, mostly having to do with whether I really did such-and-such, or if there really was such a person as X character. I hated to disappoint him with some of my answers. I’ve led an eventful life, which I daresay has easily been as eventful as the life of the Banned narrator, but my book, alas, is a novel and not a memoir. Besides, as Norman Mailer (among others) has said, all writing is fiction. We discard, as we tell stories, certain details and emphasize others, sometimes without so intending, because our memories are faulty, or sometimes because it simply makes for a better story. (Brin Friesen and are I planning to both wrote pieces about a trip to San Francisco we took together two and a half years ago and post them here at TNB, which struck me as an interesting, and possibly feud-sparking, experiment.)
Meantime, it seems to me that the story behind the writing of a book—any book—is easily as interesting as the story told in the book itself. Nine years certainly provided me with a lot of material. I spent the last four months of 2007 and the spring and early summer of 2008, for instance, successfully winning a court case against my landlords, who were trying to evict me. I lived in Belgrade, Serbia, with a few gaps, from 2000 to 2002, where I indulged my fondness for controlled substances, and frequently visited other eastern European capitals, including Warsaw and Budapest. I almost started a band with friends in L.A. in 2006, who started it without me before I’d attended a single practice, thus breaking my heart, which was also broken—repeatedly—by the girl on whom a significant character in Banned is partly based. I supported myself almost exclusively through my writing, contributing pieces to zines and alt-weeklies, and had a poem translated into Icelandic and published in a book in (where else?) Iceland. I sometimes picked up extra income by working as a courier, an air-purifier salesman, an art-department assistant on movies and videos, and, of course, a pizza-maker/delivery guy. There were a number of deaths to be endured: my on-off girlfriend of many years; my beloved grandmother; the feral cat named Roro who’d elected to live with me; and a dog named Roxy who used to camp outside my apartment in the hope that, if and when I drove to the store, I’d let her ride along. (She loved riding in cars, that dog, and she ended up getting killed by one, when she freaked out because of exploding fireworks on the fourth of July and dashed into the street—something she ordinarily would never have done.) I fell out with a few old friends and made new ones, among them Brin and TJ and the Asshole crew. Two of my three brothers got married, and I flew east for the weddings, just as I always tried to visit my family every Christmas and, if possible, stop for a few days in New York to visit friends who are just like family, I’ve known them so long. I acquired two nephews, brothers of my first. Out-of-town guests came and went: John and Sabine from New York, Jonathan from Providence, and Bill from Portland, whose great band, Federation X, also crashed at my place while touring. I met with potential publishers, including one from Portland, and flew up to discuss details, crashing with Bill, and shook hands on a deal that fell through shortly afterwards, when a friend of the publisher’s read the Banned manuscript and declared it politically repugnant. I wrote songs that will probably never be heard by anybody. I did readings, including one that was unfortunately attended by a great many people. I drank too much and went to countless shows and had panic attacks, including one that almost sent me to the hospital, and had strange testicular pain that I was sure must owe to undiagnosed cancer, though tests revealed it didn’t. I frequently got sick, always a favorite host of the common-cold virus, and I broke a finger after tripping on a wire across the street from the famous L.A. music venue Spaceland, and fought that case with a lawyer whose office was lined with photos of himself surfing. I had one car impounded by the city, two other cars die, and am presently trying to kill the fourth I’ve owned this soon-to-be-over decade. I was interviewed—or supposed to be interviewed—on L.A.’s Indie 103.1 (which is sadly no longer around), but I could barely talk, between my loquacious friend Burke, who appeared on the show with me, and the Suicide Girls whose show it was and is. I met a number of admired figures, including Elliott Smith and Thurston Moore and Mark Ames, whose Moscow-based alt-weekly, The eXile, inspired me to journey to eastern Europe, and who later quoted me in a piece for The eXile: a joke I’d made about human-raping, wife-beating dolphins. And through every bit of it (and this list, which I’m obviously dashing off, is far from complete) I worked on Banned for Life. For nine fucking years. And then one day this spring the first copy arrived, and a friend said, “Wow, you must stoked, huh?”
“I guess. But, you know, it looks so small, compared to what I was expecting.”
“Small?! It’s four hundred pages long!”
“I know. But after working on it for nine years, it feels like it should be the size of the Manhattan Yellow Pages.”
Still, it was here. Yes, it had finally come: a decade, very nearly, that could be held and perhaps even kissed by friends, including those I have yet to make.
|
||
Related Posts |
Original comment thread:
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-16 03:23:14
a parcel arrived this morning, gutted when I opened it to find not Banned For Life, but a different literary purchase.
Nine years is a long time… and kind of makes me bad for a thought I had this morning, namely, ‘five pages a day and I’ll be done in a fortnight!’
Of course it’s not that simple.
And Everytime I read back I see just how much it needs to be tightened, smoothed over and generally improved.
I always figure that even short of getting published or people liking it, sitting down and working hard enough to get a novel finished will be rewarding enough.
Just knowing that people are reading your words is a pretty intense thrill.
I really can’t wait to read Banned For Life. It should be here tomorrow; all reading on hold til then.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 03:39:31
As I’ve said before, I hope you like it. Which should be filed under “Duh!”
I think the “five pages in a day and I’ll be done,” etc. is a natural feeling for a writer, or any “creative” type, to have. I was the same way. I never in a million years imagined that I’d be working on this book for nine years. Never. It was meant to be something quick, but it took me a year to start, and then it took me a year to write the first draft, and then I kept finding problems with it, and so on, and then one day I looked up and realized how much time had gone past.
Insane.
But it’s slowly becoming a thrill to be read. It wasn’t at first, because I wasn’t sure that it would even BE read, and now that a few reactions are trickling in, I’m starting to feel better.
Then, too, for a few hours yesterday, BFL was ranked 5000 or so on Amazon. The ranking lowers or raises with even a single purchase, or so I’ve noticed, so a bunch of people must have ordered copies over the weekend, because it was down around 500,000 when I checked on Friday or so. It’s a bad idea to check at all, of course, but I can’t help but occasionally do it.
I think the rise of the book on Amazon has just got to do with Nick’s summer-reading piece being published in hard-copy form. I can’t think of any other reason, and I noticed that Lance Reynald’s book, Pop Salvation, which was also covered by Nick, is being purchased in tandem with Banned enough for Amazon to take note of it. I don’t know how Lance will feel about that, but, hey, no complaints on my end.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-16 04:03:44
From what I gather your novel seems very complex and highly detailed.
Mine isn’t. It’s really an incredibly simple story which I like to think has a few surprise turns, fun references to pop culture and amusing jokes. I’ve surprised myself, I never intended to include Dan Orlovsky, Donte Stallworth or Lucius Fox but now have.
The plan is to get it done, from start to finish and then build up from there. Theoretically I should have a draft done pretty soon, but the editing and re-writing will take longer.
In the meantime I’m trying to sneak as many TNBers in as I can— got a few so far, someone is an artist, someone else has their initials as a part of a chemical formula and another lends their name to an elderly baker who gets his leg broken in a tangent.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 04:07:40
Wow. Do I have any say as to where my name comes up, if it does? But it would be very easy to do, with my initials, if anyone goes to a dentist or the emergency room — the elderly baker in the last case.
I like the sound of your book. And your plan of execution is spot on. Yes, get it all out and refine afterwards. Just don’t take nine years to do it!
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-16 04:32:31
Haha. You very nearly got put in earlier, as a Senator with a mysterious friend, but ‘Haney’ didn’t feel right. (I’m using surnames mostly, because they tend to be less common.)
There are two people so far who I’ve names after TNBers and inadvertently made the rolls bigger than intended. The person who ended up being Senator has a pretty unusual name.
And my main character was original only a catalyst, but his role as main character reflects his namesakes role at TNB.
Of course all references are subject to change, right now its mostly for fun and the challenge. Also because it’s a convenient method of coming up with names. Until very recently every male character I ever wrote was called ‘Jack.’
Alot of characters are named after obscure soccer players from 1999 too.
If I ever need to name a doctor though it’ll probably be you.
I’m going to need to more than refining, I think, I’m probably going to have to add more ingredients first. I’m aiming to be working on draft two by mid summer and refining over the Autumn.
I want to be finished by Christmas (thats what they said about WWI, right?) I think I have a bet with Sheree that fits with that timescale.
Whatever the weather, I’m just glad I can say with all sincerity that this is the most effort I’ve ever put into anything.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 04:50:40
Oh, please don’t name anyone “Jack.” I used to do that, because I was always kind of partial to the name, but then a movie producer I know said, “You can always tell a screenplay is going to be bad when it has someone in it named ‘Jack.’”
“Why?”
“Because that’s the name EVERYBODY uses.”
Depending on the length of your book, you may well have a first draft by the date set. And here’s what I’d suggest when you do: have people read it and respond. A number of people. I made the mistake of keeping the first draft of Banned from almost everyone, except for my friend Burke and those in our writers group, and that’s one reason it took me so long to finish. There were a lot of valid concerns expressed when I finally loosened up about showing around the MS (which I considered, laughingly, finished), and I could’ve saved myself a lot of time and trouble if I’d invited comments earlier.
You won’t agree with some of the comments, and perhaps not even most of them, but it’s still useful to hear how your work is being received, though you may momentarily find yourself stunted by them. And tell people to be HONEST, as they usually are, but still. In some cases, I learned the true reactions of early readers through mutual friends, to whom they’d stated themselves in less polite terms.
And I hear you absolutely on “this is the most effort I’ve ever put into anything.” So it was with me and Banned. That in itself is a victory.
You are, and I say this without hopefully sounding condescending, a remarkable kid, and a credit to your generation. I was never too enamored of my own, and I look to yours to hopefully correct it.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-16 05:05:34
My generation are largely bad people, most of them hate me at worst, at best think I’m kind of lame. You don’t sound condescending— in fact its good to be reminded how young I am. It makes me feel better when I think what I’ve done is pathetic/rubbish/etc.
At first in my burning excitement I wanted to send people what I’d written after about half a chapter.
I never thought I would be, but I’m my own worst critic. By and large I think the 26 or so pages I’ve written are utter shit and have no flow.
I’m going to send it to a few people after draft one, I’m not sure who yet. Whoever will take a look, I guess.
Naturally I hate criticism, but I read Rafa Nadal talk about losing recently. He said that you need to lose to make the winning have meaning. It’s like that with criticism and praise I guess. And people here have been very kind, lots of praise which is probably what gave me enough confidence to even dare try writing a novel.
Shit. I have a character called Jack.
Does it count if he’s only a kid? I named two kids after the kids next door (they think I’m cool)
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 05:20:16
Hey, as you know, there are exceptions to every rule. Besides, I was being flippant, and hopefully somewhat funny, when I made the remark I did about “Jack.”
Also, you know, it’s very easy to change a name in a book (and perhaps otherwise). I changed a few in Banned, and in one case I changed it back, because “Astrid” evoked a couple of adjectives that I felt applied to her: acidic and astringent.
You do need confidence in undertaking a novel. There may be no other quality, aside from aptitude, skill, and time, that’s quite so necessary. For that reason, you should definitely resist the burning impulse to send off chapters while you’re still in the act of creation: if people don’t react as you hope, you may be discouraged from proceeding.
I’d suggest that you wait until you’ve got a first draft, and then give yourself a little breathing time, and send out the draft when you’ve braced yourself for whatever may come. Then, when you’ve gathered reaction (which will never arrive at the speed desired, but rather will trickle in, bit by bit), again give yourself some time before going forward. You’ll need it, to sort through what you’ve heard and decide what is and isn’t applicable.
And it’s good that you’re your own worst critic. Someone needs to be, and you know how to handle your own jibes better than anyone else’s, wondering, in the latter instance, where exactly they’re coming from. At least with yourself, you have a good, though imperfect, idea. We’re mysteries to ourselves, finally, but not so mysterious as everyone else.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-16 05:50:03
I know you were kidding about ‘Jack.’ I didn’t think the novel was ruined.
I’m waiting til my first draft, in fact I intend to give draft one a quick once over first. As much as I want to show someone I don’t for the very reason you describe. I know there is a lot not to like so far and that one less comment short of absolute praise will deflate me. I like to think that I’m slowly learning discipline through the experience. Certainly this is a rare case of restraining myself.
Right now the biggest thing I know I need feedback on is the style. I’m writing in a way that has had postive praise before but is kind of unusual. Each chapter is more like a thinly related vignette.
I can see most of my flaws, despite being fairly optimistic. Then again I’ve never received savaging criticism, so maybe I’m deluding myself.
All part of the journey I guess.
I would like to say though that I feel I have an incredible advantage with the good people of TNB, writers and readers alike. It’s nice to have a little support, people who want you to write a novel. Thats why I’m stealing your names for literary purposes, I figure it’ll be a nice ‘thank you’ if it evers cuts the mustard and gets published.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 06:05:07
Ah. My literal-mindedness kicking in where I was apprehensive about the “Jack” thing.
And you’re right about TNB. I didn’t have high hopes when I arrived here two months ago, but that had nothing to do with TNB per se. Rather, I don’t have high hopes for much of anything. And yet TNB has been nothing short of fantastic for me, in every conceivable way. It’s probably the best thing that’s come my way so far this year, including the publication of Banned.
Just go on writing, my friend. Every piece of writing is a puzzle, and often the meanings remain puzzling for a long time afterwards, and even then. But with a book, the puzzles have to be sufficiently unraveled by the time the book appears, which is why input is so valuable.
But sometimes a puzzle should remain just that. Which is why it’s so hard to generalize, though I do so constantly as I egostically attempt to advise you, based on experience that may have no bearing on what you’re doing.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-16 06:25:50
I didn’t realise you were such a recent addition to TNB. I can’t believe it’ll be half a year next month for me.
TNB is utterly fantastic and the thing I am most proud of. I’ve been published in two magazines, but TNB is something else. It had a higher readership, I believe, for a start. But just the fact that there are so many talented writers here makes being part of it feel pretty special. And it’s such a warm community as well.
Almost instant friendships formed, kind words said. I think TNB live sums up the whole spirit of the place really. Any website that has its own cheap slide whistles is a website to admire.
I think this is as close as I’ll get to feeling part of something bigger. I tried to write about being part of TNB but it’s impossible to sum up my love for the place.
I love writing… never the same experience twice. I feel incredibly flukey. Here at first I was just waiting to trip up, to expose myself as a fraud. I thought that time had come with Kerb, where I hadn’t submitted an article I was supposed to write. I got a phonecall and a thirty minute deadline, just as I stepped out the shower. Wrote it there and then, naked as the day I was born (this appears to be a running theme with me) and got it in with a few minutes to spare. Editor loved it. It’s on the website. That was an adrenaline rush. Writing under pressure is good fun.
And please, never shy away from offering advice. Some advice I ignore, because its bad, but I’m always willing to hear it.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 06:38:12
The thing is, Irwin, you haven’t so far met in person, to my knowledge, any of your fellow TNBers. I had the pleasure of doing so recently, and it was just that: a pleasure.
But, as enthusiastic as I feel about TNB, I wouldn’t entirely discount the prospect of something else, something bigger to which you can a part, appearing in the future. None of us know what’s coming round the bend. Even a calamity can seem glorious in hindsight, for the bonding it provided.
I can’t say that I find writing under pressure as much as pleasure as do you. I have at times, but, overall, no; it exacted quite a toll.
Fortunately, that pressure is entirely absent at TNB.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-16 07:23:32
Pressure is the only thing that makes me focus.
For example, I’ve written about 1, 700 words today, but I could have written twice that. But I keep coming back here.
Whats really weird is that I feel like I’ve known alot of TNBers for years already, without having met them. Of course part of that is to do with the insane amount of communication channels available— and thanks to Gloria I’ve spoken to Brad on the phone. I can’t imagine meeting one person at TNB who would be a waste of time to talk to, or anything less than lovely.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:05:32
I’m a bit of a work-best-under-pressure person myself, but it’s a bad habit to acquire, leading to manufactured drama and self-induced pressure.
I haven’t attempted to imagine every person at TNB, since I’m only just becoming familiar with some of them, but I imagine you’re right about the “lovely” business.
I am jittery as fuck as I write this. Too much caffeine. Oh, shit. I hope I don’t have an over-caffeinated panic attack.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-17 01:51:52
I’d agree. It is a vey bad habit. Thats how my last spell in educated ended, or partially. I had stuff to do that I couldn’t write under pressure, but there were a whole ton of other factors that had led me to not doing the work and not being able to do it.
Of course I haven’t imagined everyone, mostly the regulars. Although its occured to me that there are a lot of new regulars, yourself included. Which is good, I think TNB is noticeable busier of late, a few months ago I could post and still be the latest entry a couple of days later. Recently it has been the case that I’ve posted and not even made it to the top with several other posters.
This is a good thing, I’m not bitching or complaining, TNB is fantastic at the moment. The general vibe is a good one; busy writers, good writers, regualr writers. It’s exciting to be part of. Feels like there’s more energy running through the place.
I really can’t believe that you and Smithson are recent additions. Can’t imagine a TNB without you. Maybe its the fresh blood thats made it feel busier…
I’m drinking too much caffeine these days. Hardly drink tea anymore, which isn’t good for the stereotype…
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-17 02:52:09
I read a book about nineteenth-century Paris bohemia a few years ago, and profiled in it was Henri Murger, who wrote the book on which La Boheme was later based, and apparently Murger longed for a proper bourgeois life in the countryside, which the success of his book seemed to afford him, but he could never achieve it — because he couldn’t break the habit of writing all night while drinking coffee!
I am doomed, I thought, when I read that.
Of course, we’re all doomed. Some of us are just closer to the front of the line than others.
Anyway, there’s an longstanding association with writing and speed — as in amphetamine — which I didn’t realize till I read an old interview with Susan Sontag, who said that even she would take speed before writing, after which she’d go on working for days (and nights). Caffeine, I think, qualifies as a mild, “safe” version of speed, as does nicotine (though a physician might quibble with that classification). And why is speed necessary, as some feel it is, to write? Sontag chalked it up to the sheer difficulty of shutting oneself up all alone at a desk, which, as social animals hard-wired for constant physical activity, amounts to a form of perversion. How to concentrate when you’re going against nature? With speed!
Some writers, on the other hand, are known to write while drunk, but I personally never do, apart from the occasional harebrained e-mail or comment on a message board — though never, so far, this one!
You know, when I arrived at TNB, you’d recently posted something, so I thought you were a longtime TNB contributor. I thought everybody was. I was, frankly, a bit intimidated, and I’m grateful to those who helped to make me feel welcome. And now, maybe, I seem like somebody entrenched to newcomers. Life finally amounts to ongoing role-swapping. And then we join the dead — the final role.
Cheery, huh? I blame caffeine-induced insomnia.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-17 03:29:23
I like writing at night, but I also like to get up early and get cracking. Naturally this is conflicting. And I have terrible discipline. Recently I’ve managed to fal asleep around 2am and get up by 7 feeling good. Good enough balance.
I once saw my aunt all hept up on speed, urinating all over the floor and being taken away by men in white coats. There were other issues involved, but as an anti-drug advert it kind of worked…
Can’t imagine writing on drugs. I’m perfectly comfortable at a desk. Then again I’m slightly anti-social. I love writing for hours. And if I get too tired when I want to continue I think about what Hemingway once said about how you should stop writing whilst you still want to to replenish your writing well.
I used to write whilst drinking and listening to music. Now I find it hard to listen to music and prefer to be sober. Sometimes its nice when its late to take a little whisky and write, but by and large sobriety is an advantage. I’m writing my novel sober. One of the best things about it is the numeorus references back to previous innocuous comments, which would be absent if I was less mentally sharp; because it’s not planned, I suddenly think ‘hey, I could reference …….. from the end of chapter …..
And Tea and Coffee are probably my favourite drinks. Root beer is good too, but hard to buy over here.
Interesting thought… probably not cheery, but I don’t feel uncomfortable mentioning death. It’s natural, I guess. It’s part of the ride. The end of the ride.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-17 03:46:59
Yes, Hemingway was a big one for writing first thing in the morning. I’ve never followed his advice in that regard, or in many other ways, aside from his practice of correcting the previous day’s work and the natural lead it provides to the new.
But I think that’s the way most writers work.
Hemingway also said he was distrustful of adjectives. You’ll notice that he doesn’t use many of them. He also wasn’t much on metaphor. Mailer was, I think, excellent with metaphor. It was one of his strongest suits.
I’m afraid I don’t have much gift for metaphor, alas. Apparently, neither did Mailer, initially, but he worked hard to sharpen his skill.
I used to write a lot to music. Certainly, much of Banned for Life was written with music in the background. But I kind of broke that habit, in part because I was being routinely terrorized with threats of eviction by my landlords, and I didn’t want my neighbors to complain and so give my landlords added ammunition. There had been a number of complaints in the past.
My God, this exchange has become quite the symposium on writing!
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-17 04:44:04
I can’t really write very first thing, I have on occasion, but I have a bit to do in the AM that means I can’t start til around 9 or 10.
I’ve broken into a new routine for writing which tries to get all the days obstacles out of the way so the afternoon is free. I have to walk the dog everyday, although thats quite good for writing, I think. I tend to use the time of peace and exercise to consider the chapters I’ll be working on when I get back and fine tuning the story.
Most of my novel was actually concocted whilst walking the dog. The very immediate idea came from a sentence I read on the internet, that inspired the original concept, then each time I took a walk I’d add a new idea, change something until its where it is now. It’s not totally in stone because I want the flexibility whilst I’m writing to prevent boredom.
For a while I wanted to be Hemingway, or at least his idea of himself. I like his writing but I’ve found I can’t read too much at once. A couple of my favourite writers are like that. Others I’ll read and re-read endlessly.
I love metaphors, I use them alot, usually for comic effect though. Vonnegut doesn’t like semi colons, which annoys me because they seem to be the medicine for all my grammatical ills. Although Brad recently told me that Word spellcheck is useless, so I might end up on KV Jr’s side.
Almost as soon as wrote about not being able to have music on I started listening to music. It seems to vary. I was listening to Springsteen and wrote one of my best chapters so far. Put in a different album and completely lost my ‘groove’ as it were.
I find it fascinating talking about writing with other writers. I was in a writing group at university but no one ever really talked about the process.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-17 05:01:02
I love to take walks. I try to do it every day, and if I’m working on something, I’ll always use my walks to reflect on it.
Virginia Woolf used to do that kind of thing. She’s constantly mentioning her walks around London (and elsewhere) in her diary. (I like Woolf’s informal writing — her diary and letters — much more than I like her fiction, which is a little too proper for my taste — strange for someone considered a foremost modernist.)
Like you, I wanted to be Hemingway for a while, and I’m still fascinated, though less than I used to be, with his Paris period. I don’t think his novels hold up particularly well, however, which is hardly the most original of positions. His short stories are the best stuff, and his best book, I think, is his first collection, “In Our Time,” which was published when he was in his early twenties.
The semi-colon: I never, ever used to use semi-colons. That was partly because I’d never been taught how to use them. It was only when Ken Gee, who edited Banned, began to suggest them to help me with my longer sentences that I became a late-blooming advocate. I can’t see now how I ever got along without semi-colons, though I wouldn’t say they’re a cure-all.
Ken told me that he believed there was a gender divide where semi-colons are concerned: women use them a lot, and men rarely. He works as an editor at a major magazine, so he’s constantly scrutinizing writing.
Brad is right about spellchecks, alas, Word or not. I mean, sometimes they can be useful, but mistakes frequently occur. And I hate having a computer check my grammar. Maddening!
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-17 05:35:58
I can’t imagine London being a great place for a walk… it always strikes me as too noisy. I sort of like it, it has an amazing atmosphere, but its very crowded. I think one problem it has is the pavement. Compared to typical US sidewalks they’re tiny and never designed for the modern metropolis…
I feel the same way about Hemingway’s Paris period. It may sound stupid to say so, but to me TNB is almost like Hemingway’s Paris, in terms of diverse and friendly writers coming together. A good writing community. I think this conversation would probably be more enjoyable over drinks at the Dingo, but without the cyber world it wouldn’t be hapening at all…
I prefer shorter Hemingway stuff. I’m about half way through The Sun Also Rises and I’ve gotten a bit bored. Luckily I have no trouble leaving a book halfway through, reading something else and coming back to it, so I might do that. I do think it’s pretty good, but very slow moving. It’s also funnier than I expected it to be. Not laugh out loud funny, but he is capable of coming up with some very good lines.
I never used semi colons before TNB. I didn’t use much punctuation to be honest. It was actually Word spellcheck that turned me on to them, now I understand them I use them alot, maybe too much. Not as much as ellipsis though… my all time favourite punctuation…
I only use spellcheck, or intend to use it, to pick up on typos. I’m a poor typist and make frequent errors when writing at speed (usually ‘i’s and ‘e’s the wrong way around.) It’s good for that, I’m not very observant. But then it highlights grammar, so I’ll tend to take a look. On Brad’s advice I’m getting hold of a grammar text book to immerse myself in the technical aspect. Due to being a terrible athlete but a fan of sport I like to think of writing as a sport. I need to work on the technical aspect of my game… I don’t even know how to finish that analogy…
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-17 07:30:15
I’d recommend The Elements of Style. And then there’s the Chicago Manual of Style. Ken referred to it quite a bit during the editing of Banned, though he–and we–didn’t rely on it exclusively. There are many competing ideas as to punctuation; but the rules don’t vary quite so much with grammar, though they certainly evolve.
London is terribly noisy, I agree. I think it may be the noisiest city I’ve ever visited, or at least that’s true of the heart of London — Oxford Street, etc.
I also agree with you about The Sun Also Rises. It’s kind of dry, given its reputation. I always read several books at once, and it’s the measure of a book I love when I forsake all others for that book alone. At the moment, unfortunately, I don’t have the time to read much of anything. I mean to correct that.
I never think of Paris in the twenties as being particularly convivial. It’s fascinating primarily, or it is to me, because of the high concentration of important artists who were living there at the time, but I think there was a lot of back-biting and rivalry and so on. Hemingway was forever falling out with people. Someone once said of him: “He didn’t have old friends, he had former friends.” At least I think that was said about Hemingway (as opposed to someone else), and if I’m right, the remark was made by one of his wives.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-17 08:14:27
Oxford street is horrible. I don’t care much for London if I’m honest. It’s a very unfriendly city.
The best place I’ve been in London was at the launch of Kerb magazine, which I was involved with way before it printed issue one. The venue was on Greek Street, but round the corner was a cheap rock bar. The walls were covered with vintage concert posters, it was dark, the bar was wooden and small yet seemingly offering the widest selection of drink I’ve ever seen in one place. And the juke box was great. Great atmosphere, drinks half the price of the launch venue.
And outside I got recognised by a Japanese tourist who had been handed a free copy of the magazine. Thats one of the few good times in that town.
I should probably start reading more than one book at a time (BFL still not arrived.) Confederacy of Dunces arrived Monday. Perhaps I’ll let you, Toole and Hemigway fight it out between you.
When I was younger I tended not to stop reading until I’d finished the book. The night before I was going on holiday I picked up a book at about 10pm and was reading the final page as my alarm went off at 6am.
The 1920s Paris that appeals to me is the rose tinted Paris Hemingway describes in A Moveable Feast. I was kind of disappointed when I later learnt that actually Hemingway was one of the wealthier ex-Pats in Paris and never really struggled for food.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-17 08:32:45
Damn that postal service!
But thanks for giving me a chance to duke it out with Hemingway. I never had such an opportunity before, and I don’t know when I’ll have it again.
Toole — well, I’ll keep my opinion to myself, for the time being. I’d like to hear what you think first.
I read somewhere that Toole visited Flannery O’Connor’s farm in George–Andalusia–before he killed himself. Have you read O’Connor? She’s another of the all-time great short-story writers, alongside Hemingway, though in a very different way.
I don’t know that Hemingway was wealthy, but his wife during his Paris years, Hadley, had a stipend or an inheritance or something, so he certainly didn’t struggle. I visited a couple of the places where Hemingway lived when I was in Paris once. One of them wasn’t far from where Joyce lived, which I think was on the Rue de Cardinale, where the words IRON MAIDEN were spray-painted on his building. I don’t remember the name of the street where Hemingway lived, but it was upstairs from a small dance hall. I entered the building and walked up to Hemingway’s landing, which I knew was his landing from one of the biographies I’d read. There was no plaque or anything along those lines to announce Hemingway’s former residency. Yet Gertrude Stein’s place did bear such a plaque. Then again, I think she lived there for decades. Hemingway was only in Paris for a few years, during which he moved at least three times. One of his other apartments was above a sawmill.
Among the wealthiest of the American expats was a little-known poet named Harry Crosby, who died in 1929 in a sensational double suicide, or possibly a murder/suicide — there was some doubt in the matter. He’s the subject of a terrific book entitled Black Sun, which I recommend.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-18 00:31:37
I spent ages writing a reply to this. And checking in to see if you’d replied to it I have found that it never posted.
This is happening frequently right now.
I think I’m expecting too much from the postal service. I did choose the site I bought it off because it’s very quick with its (free) delivery. I imagine I have to wait for the company to get it frome the US first. Should have gone with amazon, I think.
ON my american literature course at university (which was sadly only a few months as a ‘taster’ for the second year) I got to argue with hemingway’s views on the ending of Huck Finn.
I bought Toole’s book because I keep hearing that he’s supposed to be very funny and I’ve been reading a lot of serious stuff of late.
Not read any O’Connor (or Crosby) but I’ll be sure to take a look when the reading list has diminished a little.
I believe Hemingway has a steady cash flow from his work with the Toronto Star as well as his wife being fairly well off.
I’ve been wanting to go to Paris for years, but my usual travel companion has a girlfriend who has put him off. She says it smells like dog shit. Personally I don’t see that as a bad thing. Smells, good or bad, make for an interesting atmosphere.
Its about an hour away by train. I really should visit, as well as Hemingway’s Paris there is Jim Morrison’s grave and the hotel Wilde lived out his dying days.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-18 00:52:55
I noticed in a comment you’d posted elsewhere that you’d had trouble getting a comment through. That’s just the sort of thing that would happen to me. Computers and all things technical hate me.
Another suggestion, if I may presume to make one: always write a comment in Word and save it before pasting it into a comment box, both on TNB and elsewhere. There’s little as frustrating as working on something, only to have it eaten by a computer.
But you’ve probably done this before.
On lit matters: I don’t remember Hemingway’s views on the end of Huck Finn, though I do know he once praised it as the defining book of American literature, or at least the literature to come after it. And I believe the money he earned from the Toronto Star was nominal, compared to Hadley’s support. As for Harry Crosby, I don’t even know if his work is still available, aside from the rare extant volumes he self-published with Black Sun Press, and those would be worth thousands. It’s Geoffrey Wolf’s biography of Crosby that I’d recommend –- better, I think, than Malcolm Cowley’s book about American expats of the twenties (Exile’s Return) that, with its concluding chapter on Crosby, inspired it. The Cowley book feels dated now. The Wolf book does not.
On Toole: a familiarity with the politics of 1960s America is helpful, though oddly Confederacy continues to be popular with people as young as you, and far less informed, or so I gather from remarks I’ve read online. Again, I’d love to say more, but I don’t want to taint your reception of the book. I will say, however, that Flannery O’Connor is one of the funniest writers I ever read. If you’re looking to laugh, you couldn’t do better. On the other hand, I grew up in the South, and come from a farming background, as did O’Connor, so that surely informs my view.
There are an awful lot of dogs prancing around Paris. They’re even allowed in restaurants, so maybe Paris does smell like dog shit, though I wouldn’t have noticed, since I’ve lived for years in smelly cities, and I’ve frequently consorted with hipsters, who are notorious for poor hygiene. I’d recommend that you go alone. It’s a marvelous thing, to be alone in a strange city – a terrific way to learn about oneself. I never made it to Morrison’s grave, but I did, as I said, spend a lot of time in Paris chasing down the ghosts of cultural heroes. That interested me much more than going to some fucking club. I can do that anywhere.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-18 01:27:39
I have awful luck with computers. I’m now in a paranoid state of saving to disc and usb every new paragraph I write. I tend to copy my comments before I submit them, but I forget (its only ever when I forget to copy too)
At school I spent a whole weekend writing a lengthy essay only for the computer to die the aternoon before it was due, losing everything.
Hemingway called Huck Finn America’s ”best book” but claimed the ending was a betrayal to Twain’s message. My arguement was that as Twain only had an anti-slavery subtext by almost coincidence that he didn’t have a message to betray. He even states as such at the very start. But I also argued that even with the anti-slavery message the convuluted plot at the end where Jim has actually been free the whole time doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that Tom Sawyer knew. As far as Huck was concerned Jim needed to be rescued and he went through with it anyway, irregardless of the consquences or reprecussions.
Yes, nominal amount, but a still steady flow. Even without Hadley he would have had plenty of money to eat, which is not what he describes in A Moveable Feast, because its a romanticized view of that time.
I’d say I have a fairly decent grasp of 60s America. I studied Korea and Vietnam in one of the few exams I ever aced and I’ve read almost more Hunter S. Thompson than is good for me.
Also, I meant the biography, I was trying to save having to type. I’m very lazy.
On Paris, I hate clubs all together, I don’t really like noise or drunk strangers. Or dancing. I’m not like a Nazi, I wouldn’t have closed down the cabaret clubs, i just wouldn’t have gone myself. And I’d prefer to travel alone. I intended to go to Amsterdam on my own, but I asked my friend at the last minute if he wanted to come. A great time we had in an old local bar, the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank house. We were severely cash limited, but made a good trip of it.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-18 04:13:44
Well, Irwin, this is likely to be our last exchange on the opening page of TNB. I’m going to head off to bed in a moment, and I expect to wake to a new opening page. This place is hopping of late!
I wish I’d thought to back up everything on my last computer, which crashed over a week ago, though a friend assures me that it can probably be saved. Still, I don’t have the money to fix it at the moment, so I don’t have access to reams and reams of stuff that, again, I thoughtlessly didn’t save. Fatalism is rarely a desirable trait — especially where machinery and/or technology is concerned.
Yes, I figured you’d know a lot about the sixties. You seem to have a good command of history, period. Interestingly, you pointed out something recently that points to a mistake in Banned, in which a comment is made about Hitler being German. I was corrected in that matter by my Austrian friend Max, and you later appeared to confirm him, though I would never doubt anything Max says, even if it had nothing to with infamous Austrians.
Interestingly, the original line in Banned was phrased so that Hitler wasn’t identified as German at all. Rather, it was something to the effect of his being a native speaker of the German language, but I decided the phrasing was off and changed it, thus leading to an error that I’ll try to correct in a future edition.
I had also forgotten about Twain’s remarks at the opening of Finn: Any reader attempting to find a moral in this story will be shot, or something to that effect. I would love to see someone try something like that in these timid times. “How dare he!” etc. Of course I could be wrong. It’s hard to predict which matter will or will not produce stupid indignation, though I know it will appear at some point.
And clubs? But it depends on what kind. I’ve practically lived at indie-music venues, and I feel more at home there than maybe anywhere else, including my apartment and regardless of the city. But there are fewer such places in southern Europe, or so I’ve found. Rock & roll has always worked best in English. Those who speak the romance languages seem to opt for something different.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-18 04:44:38
I particuarly don’t trust my laptop. Its the biggest laptop I’ve seen in recent times, it makes strange, loud noises and appears to have a lot of my hair wedged into the keyboard. Additionally the built in mouse broke. I fixed it with nail scissors— or at least corrected the cosmetic damage that voided the warranty. I prefer using an actual mouse (computer mouse, not an actual mouse)
My notes for Cactus City Blues are mostly handwritten. I prefer handwriting in those sorts of ideas. But then the development of them occured in Word documents, and I changed/made stuff up as I started writing. I may have mentioned before that I only set so much in stone so I had room to improvise during the writing— and a lot of the best stuff has been improvised. I named a doctor after you (a psychiatric doctor) and used N.L Belardes to create a man who was only supposed to show a company marketing a product. But he’s appeared in more improvised scenes. The best characters are all whimsical tangents.
Everthing is backed up, every shred of online idea is stored in varying forms. You can’t really be too careful. Didn’t Hemingway’s wife lose a whole load of manuscripts in Switzerland? That would destroy me. Steinbeck’s dog ate the original draft of Grapes of Wrath, but apparently Steinbeck was glad, because he didn’t like it. I think. The dog definitely ate the manuscript, I may be imagining Steinbeck’s reaction though.
History is really my strong point, or at least modern history. Really ancient stuff interests me but I’m not very knowledgable. Modern history fascinates me. The Nazis particuarly.
Hitler was definitely Austrian, although he and a couple million Germans appeared to have largely ignored that…
That note from Twain is paid tribute to/referenced/ripped off in my own novel. In an attempt to set the tone it is brief note reminding the reader that the following events are works of fiction, very silly and not to be taken seriously. It is not in any way allegorical nor does it possess wider meaning. The word blowjob is used a few times… Of course Twain is a much better writer and much funnier man.
Personally I prefer quiet pubs or peoples living rooms. I like my socializing to be quiet, and ideally conversation based, with music, of course. Then again I’ve not been to a club housing ‘my kind of people.’ But then do people like me go to clubs? I’m strangely averse to loud music. Even quality rock music. I’m getting old fast…
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-18 05:23:45
The earliest notes for Banned were all written by hand in a notebook that had a bad illustration of a jukebox on the cover — something I’d bought in Belgrade for the very purpose of making notes on a book concerning rock & roll.
Periodically, if I’m stuck while writing, I’ll leave the computer and again make notes by hand, usually of an outline sort. Other than that, I always stick with the computer.
That’s a great story about Steinbeck; I never heard it before. My God, the old dog-ate-my-homework excuse actually manifested itself in a real-life incident, with a slight variation. And, yes, it’s true that Hadley lost Hemingway’s suitcase full of documents, and by coincidence, I only just related that anecdote in a comment on Kip’s latest blog, as an example of a Freudian slip-up (not a slip) by way of hopefully making a point in another matter entirely — a rather obvious one that I’m sure Kip has already considered.
I, too, love ancient history, and have a special fondness for the Romans, whose literature strikes me as much closer to what we have now than the literature of the Middle Ages, for instance, though it was obviously written over a thousand years earlier. Another terrific book I’d recommend: Rubicon, by your countryman Tom Holland, which covers the fall of the Roman Republic (as opposed to the Roman Empire). It’s been attacked by some for various scholastic gaffes, but it reads like a dream; like a novel.
Thanks for making me a psychiatrist in Cactus City Blues; as you know, that’s in the ballpark of my request, as it’s also apparently my unheeded calling. And I’m with you in preferring to conduct my social life in quiet, intimate surroundings, but when I go out to see music, I go out to see music, and socializing is an afterthought, though it’s fun to have a few friends along.
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-18 05:52:55
Ok, I’m going to try and bring this to an end…
I’ve got a few notebooks, one is from Amsterdam, one is from New York and the other cost next to nothing from a £1 shop. They contain the ideas, musings and original plans and are usually added to after I’ve been to the toilet. I seem to have great ideas in there, so I usually race back across the hall (once I’m done, of course) to jot it down.
When I’m stuck, as I’ve mentioned, I come here. I’ve been stuck for a while, but I wrote over one thousand words this morning and I can knock out another 1000 tonight. 2000 is my daily minimum goal.
Rubicon is also a brand of fruit juice, Indian I believe. I used to be obsessed with with Roman and Greek mythology, but I tend to find the events surounding the Nazis rise to power more gripping and almost less believable.
I had to make you a pyschatrist really, it was an idea that came to me as I was writing, as the character (who is deliberately creepy) helps a man who may or may not be as insane as he makes himself out. The Belardes character, for example, is based on the opposite of the real Belardes, referencing smallplaces by way of raging against online media.
I’ve never seen much live music. I went to a festival last year which was extremely unpleasant. I couldn’t piss for 11 hours, it rained all, it was cramped and the food and drink were a rip off. I’d only gone to see Neil Young, sitting through a lot of utter rubbish, livened only by My Morning Jacket who were superb and a lively Supergrass.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-18 06:04:33
You know, Camille Paglia recently wrote a piece at Salon.com in which she called for a return to outdoor music, thinking that’s what wrong with the American scene. (She’s now madly in love with some Brazilian whose name escapes me.) But I hate seeing rock & roll shows outside, particularly during the day. I associate rock & roll with dank, dark, gritty venues. Had I been around during the Beatles’ Liverpool days, you would never have been able to pry me out of the Cavern Club. I mean, you’d have had to call for the jaws of life!
As to the Nazis, the word “overkill,” where I’m concerned, applies in more ways than one. I’ve heard too much about them by now, though one of the six designers who worked on the Banned cover raised an interesting point about the Nazis’ use of black and red, that their striking combination of those colors had a lot to do with the Nazi rise to power.
My God, you actually do a word count after every writing session? I’d never be able to write at all if I did such a thing! I do vaguely keep an eye on my page count, but I’d beat myself up routinely if I had a daily quota I failed to reach.
But surely you, Irwin, have more than exceeded your daily quota simply by engaging me here, yes?
Comment by Irwin
2009-06-18 06:56:32
I think a disadvantage I’ve had is a lack of good music venues and little desire to travel more than walking distance for entertainment.
I’ve seen the Cavern Club. albeit it rebuilt down the road from the original location. It looks like a cool place. Non-music but the sort of venue I would frequent was a cafe in Stockholm. It was fairly deep underground, the walls were bare stone with a lick of white paint to make it look cleaner. It was very cosy, snuggled into a candle lit alcove.
The Nazis do suffer from overexposure, although I’ve been fascinated since I was a kid. And the more I’ve learnt the more fascinated I become. You know that ‘Valkyrie’ film that came out? The assassination attempt by Von Stauffenberg (one of numerous attempts on Hitler’s life) which was changed to ‘be more cinematic.’ I watched a dramatic documentary/drama covering the same event. It doesn’t need improving on. It’s a brilliant story, and interesting in the way it convinced Hitler further that he was immortal. Robert Carlyle played Hitler in an excellent two part drama which showed Hitler’s rise from WWI messenger up until Von Hindenberg’s death which enabled Hitler to become the Fuhrer.
I agree with Bryan Ferry about the Nazis being pretty stylish. I believe a famous designer was respinsible to the Nazi uniforms, but I forget where I heard it and who it was.
I wouldn’t set myself a word count, but 2000 is pretty low. I should be able to write that much in a few hours, but I keep getting distracted by… other things. I check my progress more out of curiosity. And also because I’m still at a stage where the amount I’ve written impresses me and fills me with pride.
What I’ve written engaging with you today alone is about twice as long as my first ten chapters. I should probably get back to it actually…
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-18 07:13:15
Amen.
Comment by Rich Ferguson
2009-06-16 05:20:16
Hey D.R.:
I found your words to be quite inspirational. On the verge of completing my own first novel (which was a definitely lengthy but interesting process), I’m sure I’ll have still more new things to learn as I advance on to the next phase of things.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 05:25:09
Oh, God, Rich, don’t we all? I’d like to think I’ve learned from my experience with Banned, and I have, but I don’t know that it’ll entirely be applicable to the next book. It’s like romantic relationships: you want to think the lessons learned in the last failed one will bear fruit next time around, but it’s a different woman and so a different course is taken, though there may be some overlap.
I wish you all the best with your book, which, as you know, you were in the process of handing to a friend to read when I first met you.
Comment by Colleen McGrath
2009-06-16 05:26:40
I’m hoping they’re carrying it in the limited English section of my Berlin bookstore. Can’t wait and congratulations!
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 05:40:45
Colleen, I’ve been meaning to read your latest post for an hour or so, but I’ve been too absorbed with other online matters to do so. My apologies.
It’s funny that you live in Berlin, because a good friend of mine lives there, and he read the galleys of Banned and promptly sent it to his friend, Alec Empire, and tried to get it to a punk-rock press, also located in Berlin, thinking it would be a perfect fit.
I don’t know what became of any of this. Alec (whom I greatly admire) either never read the book or never responded, and I never heard if the book had been sent to the punk-rock press or if it hadn’t. I don’t know the name of the press, but you’d probably recognize it.
In any case, I would gladly send you the book in PDF form, if you’d be prepared to receive it. I mean, not to put you on the spot or anything!
My friend is named Maximilian (Max) Hohlweg. He’s twenty-four and off-the-map intelligent, and he frequently works with our mutual friend Philipp Virus, who directed a number of Alec Empire’s videos. I mention all this by way of hoping that your paths may have crossed. If not, I hope they do. Max is really something: a great person, no matter his considerable, formidable mind. And Philipp is hardly a souch!
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:07:31
Ha! I just spoke to someone who spoke to Philipp in Berlin, and he’s planning to open a store, where he’s going to carry my book. So, if you ever want to pick up a copy, it should be there. The store is set to open in a few weeks/months.
Another note of synchronicity in a day that’s been filled with it.
Comment by Colleen McGrath
2009-06-17 04:15:53
Great! Where is his store? For sure I’ll go get a copy, not that my one purchase in Berlin is going to skyrocket your sales numbers but then I can rate it on Goodreads and they’ll tell two friends and so on and so on and so on! (Do you know that Breck commercial or have I just seriously aged myself besides sounding ridiculous?)
I don’t know the people you mention but they sound great. Except for Alec who dropped the ball. (Sorry Alec, I’m sure you’re great.) I hope to meet them all at some point.
If you make it to Berlin on a visit or book tour, drop a line my way and we’ll have a drink to celebrate 9 years of perfection in the making!
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-17 04:37:43
Will do.
Glad you read this, by the way. I’ll check with my friend and find out the name of the store. It was mentioned to me, but I promptly forgot it.
Alec is amazing. His nineties band, Atari Teenage Riot, was a huge personal favorite. When I was working on Banned for Life in Belgrade, I would write downstairs in my tiny two-story flat with the TV going upstairs, and every time this video came on, I’d stop writing and rush up the spiraling metal staircase to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Z8pO8ipN0
It’s not for everybody, however!
Comment by Colleen McGrath
2009-06-17 23:37:27
Atari Teenage Riot - I have whip lash from banging my head. I can’t believe you didn’t jump through the floor in Belgrade. Cool for Alec! Isn’t that everybody’s fantasy at one time or another? To be in a great band and make a music video?
Great on the store. You can send me the info at cmcgrathnyc@gmail.com and I’ll do what I can to promote from afar.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-18 00:27:48
Thanks. That’s very sweet of you.
I called my friend to ask about Philipp’s store, etc., but, story of my life, haven’t heard back. But when I learn more, I will for a fact drop you a line. Philipp’s store may prove worth a visit for reasons have absolutely nothing to do with my book. He’s, y’know, all cutting-edge and stuff.
Oh, and I did jump around quite a bit when I’d watch that video, or as much as I could in my tiny Belgrade space. The first time I saw it, I said to a friend: “Now, THAT’s my idea of a good party!” I didn’t realize that the characters, so to speak, in the video are on a covert mission to wipe out government or corporate data systems. Which, come to think of it, would STILL be my idea of a good party. Only I’d of course never really do such a thing, he added, insanely fearful of Big Brother, heh-heh, heh-heh.
Comment by N.L. Belardes
2009-06-16 07:33:42
Thanks for the mention earlier in the comments, D.R.
I should really rewrite the Citrus Girl. Like Rich says, your words are an inspiration for people to get their damn books done!
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:11:45
It’s good of you to say so.
I have a remark that I’ve been slowly sculpting to add to your Dead Generation/Citrus Girl piece — specifically the “conversation” we were recently having in the comments section. It’s taking me a while to say well what I’d like to say. Cultural punditry isn’t my strong suit where it’s divorced from dramatic narrative.
Comment by Irene Zion (Lenore’s Mom)
2009-06-16 08:29:44
Duke, forgive the typos please. I am writing on an iPhone while waiting for my appointme t in a doctor’s office.
You should be incredibly proud of yourself for having slogged through all you had to In order to produce your work of art. And you were PUBLISHED! Can you imagine how many books have been written and never seen the light of day?
You need to take a short, refueling break and then start writing your second book!
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:14:45
There’s never any need to apologize, Irene. I hope the appointment went well.
In fact, I have begun a new book, but it’s been put on hiatus as I attend to other, more pressing matters.
I think the scary thing is that a book can be published and still, in a sense, never see the light of day, since it’s largely ignored. I’m doing what I can, to the best of limited ability, to see that that doesn’t happen with Banned.
Comment by Lenore
2009-06-16 08:36:21
don’t you love that you have your book to represent all of these events in your life? that it’s so much more than a book, but the sum of all the things that have gone down in the last nine years?
during the time you were writing your book, i’ve been gathering useless degrees and offending people. i dare say you win in the time-better-spent contest.
my copy of Banned For Life is supposed to arrive in three days. just in time for me to read it over the weekend and ignore my phone.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:23:46
Oh, I’m a master at offending people. I could teach a course. In fact, I’m always wondering if I’ve inadvertently offended someone here at TNB. I know I’ve done it in one case, though that was a friend who’d read my blog, not a TNBer. My God, the e-mails that flew back and forth! It was gruesome.
Of course, I’m honored that you’ve ordered Banned, and I hope you really do read it in a weekend. I mean, I worked hard to try and make it read fast, though not at the expense of the style. Nine years were spent trying to make the book something that could potentially be read in nine hours. Has it worked that way? Occasionally. But I certainly hope it does in your case.
Comment by Becca Adler
2009-06-16 08:54:56
Isn’t it amazing how many things can happen to us in a year? Much less, 9 years. I’m always fascinated when I look back on a year and realize how many changes have taken place in my life during that time. Your life certainly sounds eventful.
And, I know I’ve said this already, but I really am loving the book. I’m about halfway through now and am constantly annoyed by work getting in the way of my reading time. I hope the book keeps doing well. Best of luck to you!
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:27:03
My life’s been eventful in some ways, not so much in others. I mean, writing never feels eventful, to me at least, until it’s gone public. Otherwise it’s just me in a room by myself, lost in my own thoughts.
You can never tell me enough that you’re loving the book, by the way. I’m a reassurance junkie. Damned job, getting in the way of your reading time. WhyIoughta…
Comment by Brian Mc
2009-06-16 10:02:58
I wanna hear the Bob Stinson story. That dude’s m’boy.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:18:00
As with TJ, I’m afraid the truth may disappoint you. But, yeah, Brian, I know you’re a Minnesota post-punk guy, taste-wise. And very loyal, as I’m not. I’ll often develop a kind of crush on a band, listen to them every day for a period, and one day feel I’ve outgrown them. But that hasn’t happened recently. I still love Sonic Youth, Unwound, and Girls Against Boys, for instance, every bit as much now as when I first discovered them.
Comment by Brian Mc
2009-06-17 08:37:29
Large review of the new Sonic album (w full page photo) in The New Yorker. Shelley lives in Hoboken. See him all the time. Low cut Cons and Levis his signature gear. I believe he has a stake in Maxwell’s. The guy from Pavement is now a member of Youth.
Trying to score tix for Dino Jr at Music Hall of Williamsburg in their only area show. Saw them a couple yrs ago and got a kick out of Mascis chatting with fans before the show instead of hiding backstage.
Pg. 283 of “Banned” getting there brother.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-17 08:46:34
Yeah, I heard the new Sonic Youth. Philipp Virus, whom I mentioned a few comments above, is friends with them, and he had a copy of it a few months ago, when he was visiting L.A., and I had a listen. It’s excellent. But, hey, I like everything they do.
Shelley seems like a nice guy. I saw Thurston do a solo show a year and a half ago, and Shelley was the drummer, and he was hanging out with the fans. As was Thurston, actually.
If you have trouble with those Dinosaur Jr. tickets, please let me know, yes? I might be able to intervene. Philipp’s sister is married to J. I’ve heard stories galore!
Glad Banned advances.
Comment by Zara
2009-06-16 10:39:31
I have a copy winging its way to me from Amazon as we speak. Nine years seems about right to me. It takes nine months to grow a baby…so nine years to ‘grow’ a book? Perfect.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:33:34
You too ordered a copy? Oh, man, I am poor in wallet but rich in friends. Thanks. Meantime, I’m glad the book sprouted from my head and not from my stomach, where the scars would still be visible. Psychic damage is more easily disguised — or it is at a distance.
Comment by Simon Smithson
2009-06-16 15:20:30
What I’m chosing to take away from this post is ‘Suck it, Joyce!’
I really have to scare up a copy of that book.
Comment by Simon Smithson
2009-06-16 16:59:08
Chosing? God damn it. I either need a lot more, or a lot less, caffeine. This is going to take some fine-tuning.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:38:14
Ha. The Joyce inference was exactly the impression I was trying NOT to make. But maybe my inner Hemingway betrayed me. Hemingway was always very competitive with other writers. He would literally say things like: “With this book, I’m taking on Stendahl, just as I took down Tolstoy with my last one.” Yeah, right.
I hope that, one day, your scare tactics coax a copy of Banned from its place of ambush. It considers itself quite the Apache that way.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:40:40
Oh, and Simon, as Lenore said or herself the other day, I am GOD where fixing things is concerned. Would you like me to demonstrate my great powers? You have only but to make a request.
And per caffeine: I really OD’d on that shit a little while ago. I’m having palpitations. I just never learn.
Comment by Greg Olear
2009-06-16 17:55:03
I, too, have the book coming to me via Amazon, and look forward to reading.
Testicular pain is very common, except that nobody talks about it. It’s like lower back pain, my doctor told me.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 19:44:27
I am humbled. And I’ll have to pre-order a copy of Totally Killer when I come by the money to do it.
By the way: your town is mentioned in Banned. I have a friend who used to live there, because he’s big on rock-climbing, and apparently that area is ideal for such a person. He used to guide climbs, and I think worked briefly at a sporting-goods store. I’ll have to get the details from him.
Oh, and thanks for what you say about testicular pain. My own doctor never told me that, and every so often the pain returns. I figured it was probably psychosomatic or something.
Comment by Marni Grossman
2009-06-16 20:49:53
I’m so happy for you! And for us. Not only do we get “Banned for Life,” we also get (hopefully) all the stories you alluded to above. Riches!
And the fact that you completed a fucking book… You now get to give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back.
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-16 22:35:07
A pat on the back for me would feel like a punch. I lack a delicate touch.
A curious side-effect of my nine-year list: I now see, thanks to your comment, material for future pieces. It never occurred to me while writing it.
Be afraid, TNB. Be very afraid.
Comment by Gina Frangello
2009-06-17 09:08:37
Three things:
1) Congrats!
2) You really do look like Hemon.
3) Your panties can still get wet even though you’re not a girl. You basically just told your buddy he made you come in your y-fronts. He must be beyond touched!
Oh, and:
4) I love all TNB lovefests. Yes, this is the greatest group of people ever!
Comment by D.R. Haney
2009-06-17 09:16:11
1) Thanks! You’re a seasoned writer, and I’m a neophyte, so your congrats has special significance.
2) That’s good, right? I mean, he doesn’t look so bad.
3) Hey, I said MY BOOK’s panties! But, hell, any guy who takes of a picture of himself essentially having sex with a friend’s book is asking for it. TJ’s a big one for sex humor.
4) Amen.
Oh, and:
5) I hope you return to read this!
Comment by wade
2009-06-19 15:06:09
Considering my copy disappeared with the wife of punk rock legends for a weekend, then i spent days hustling across this country, only to return to an asshole german shepherd who needs all my time and energy, my reading time has been cut down to 105% percent of what it once was. that said, page 75, and growing rapidly one bathroom visit at a time (like I promised). Needless to say, enjoying “Banned” very much.
I, too, have several questions, especially since I’m an idiot, and my memory has shrank from the size of a globe to a marble. This novel thing is new to me, of course, and I’m struggling with the distinction between reality and fiction. I wouldn’t care, besides that fact that I know you well, and I guess you could say I’ve been scratching my head as to who I know more; Iron or Mr. Narrator…
Nine years, and I think we’ve been friends for many of them. I’ve been there as you’ve turned down many “amazing” social events in silver lake because of “work” (or is it drinking whiskey and playing guitar???). Ha, either way, it’s been a hell of a journey and from one friend to another, I’m quite proud of your accomplishment.
There was a little more to your message, Wade, that was cut off when I pasted this long thread. It reads:
“Regardless of the sense of accomplishment you may have received to this point, or lack-there-of rather, enjoy the finished art with your name on it, and its many many adoring readers. I’m thankful to know you…”
I hadn’t seen this comment until tonight, and I thank you for posting it, all those months ago. Assuming you ever notice this message.