Yes, it's a stupid pun, I know.
I'm taking a break from A Game of Thrones (Which is awesome by the way, can't believe I haven't read it yet) and am reading a few books that I hope will get me started in my own writing. It's something I've wanted to do for years and well, no time like the present to start.
The first book I read was How Not To Write A Novel by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman. A few hundred examples of how to easily make your novel unpublishable, unreadable drivel. Most of which are actually pretty entertaining to read in an "It's so bad it's good" way. I went and looked back at a few things I've written before and it's nice to be able to go back and see my mistakes and try and correct them.
The two I'm reading now are a book that actually tries to teach you how to put together a compelling story, and one that analyzes stories that have been told the world over and have withstood the test of time: The Anatomy of Story by John Truby and The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.
The Anatomy of Story is taking me step by step through the process of identifying the type of story I want to tell, and how to build a premise into a coherent and entertaining piece of literature. What I love most about it is Rule #1: "Write something that will change your life." I mean, how can you back down from that if you're serious about getting published? Once you decide to write something that you know will leave you changed when you've punctuated the last sentence, even if the book isn't published haven't you accomplished something? And doesn't the drive to complete it just become greater? Well, I hope so.
Campbell's book was first published back in 1949, and remains today inspiration for some of the world's finest filmmakers and novelists. Certain executives and actors from Disney and LucasArts even tag it as "The most influential book of the twentieth century." In an era that saw works ranging from The Grapes of Wrath, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and To Kill A Mockingbird amongst dozens of others that is some pretty heavy praise. Campbell's work breaks down the role of myths in the course of humanity, why they are similar the world over despite no cross contamination of ideas, and in the end plots the course of the heroes journey, and the paths of those he meets along the way. It is an incredibly informative read which I am very much enjoying, and though it sometimes reads like a textbook, it has been well worth it so far. I highly recommend a copy to anyone thinking about writing seriously and to any person who is even slightly academically inclined to pick up a copy.
Once these books are both done I should have something resembling a story outline, or maybe even a first draft if I'm lucky of something that I consider worthy of writing. Even if it doesn't eventually get published, it's a start.
Back to King Minos and his failure to complete the cycle of death and rebirth.
Seriously, go pick it up.
Really.
Really really.
