Tuesday, June 19, 2007

2

When they reached the big fish stall at the end of the market, a crowd had gathered to watch the fish sellers throw fish to the wrappers.

Walter raised his video camera to eye level, ready to shoot.

A large man with a bushy mustache held up a long silver-colored fish. "Somebody has to buy this fish so's I can toss it," he bellowed.

Myra tugged on her father's sleeve. "Buy a fish, Daddy."

"We can't cook it at the hotel," he said in a low voice.

"We ship anywhere," exclaimed the fish seller. He wore orange rubber pants and a matching raincoat, smeared with fishy residue.

"Where are you from, little lady?" said the fish seller to Myra.

"Hammond, Louisiana," said Myra.

The seller held up the fish. "I'll be nobody in Hammond, Louisiana, has ever seen a salmon like this!"

Myra looked at her parents. "I'll bet they haven't."

Sunday, June 17, 2007

1

Myra Finch was impressed by the banjo player in Pike Place Market. His long gray beard shook as he strummed hard on the strings. The instrument was worn, like his body.

She had never heard a real banjo. It made a funny twang that was nothing like a guitar, and when he played fast, his fingers were such a blur she couldn't see them, and the notes sounded like rain falling in a tin can.

Myra watched people throw coins and dollar bills into the man's banjo case, which was lined with blue felt.

"Dad, can I give the man a dollar?" Myra asked her father, who stood behind her.

"A whole dollar?" said Walter Finch.

Myra's mother, Martha Finch, nudged him. "Give her the dollar, dear. We're on vacation. How often do you see a banjo player on the streets of Hammond, Louisiana?"

Walter parted with the dollar, which Myra dropped into the man's case. He smiled and thanked her by strumming the banjo really fast. His eyes twinkled, she noticed.

"Let's go see the fish," said Mr. Finch.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Sea Changes Honorable Mention

Sea Changes has earned an Honorable Mention in the ForeWord Magazine 2006 Book of the Year Awards. Visit One Sock Press for more information, and take advantage of the publisher's special discount in honor of this recognition.

As many of you know, the story of Sea Changes began right here on this blog two years ago: May 18, 2005, to be exact. That was when I began Peggy Finds A Friend. Little did I know I would be writing about the destruction of New Orleans and the death of my mother, all in one story. It's too unreal.

Thank you for your support.

Bill

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To Be Continued

Dear Readers,

I have decided to put this story aside for a while. It has developed in a way that I did not intend, and so, rather than fight it, I'm going to take a break from the tale and return to it later.

I will speak now from a writing point of view, since what I have to say is mainly of interest to writers of fiction. It has been two years since I began writing serialized fiction on this blog. With President For A Day I am amazed yet again at the power of serialization as a story developing technique; by that I mean I use serialization to develop characters and plots from scratch. This is different than first writing a long story, like a novel, and then publishing it in chunks. While that is a perfectly valid form of serialization, it's not what I have been doing on this blog. I have mostly composed these stories one episode at a time as I post them. Both Peggy Finds A Friend and Night Watch were done entirely that way. This technique has helped me create characters that assert their own identities and move the story along without my having to do very much but sit down and type.

The character of Doris Austin in President For A Day was supposed to be a minor player in my original conception of the story. I needed someone in the White House to be the champion of the essay contest, or else it never would have gotten off the ground. However, once I started serializing the story, Doris became the main character. More importantly, she became a controlling character in the sense that she was determining the direction of the story. The story was becoming her story.

Most writers would be thrilled to have a character take over the story; it means you are actually writing. Unfortunately for Doris, she is just a little too much like Peggy from my first blog, Peggy Finds A Friend. I honestly don't know why I have this thing for sixtyish widows, but they keep popping up and seizing control of my serialized fiction. Although I really like Doris, I simply cannot write another novel about a midlife widow. At least not right now. So, Doris will have to wait. Meanwhile, I still like the concept of President For A Day so I may write it as a play. I love the idea of the president being powerless against an eighth grader.

What I want to do instead on this blog is start an experimental serialized fiction piece, to be announced soon. It will be interactive, which means you (readers and writers) can contribute to the piece as it develops. Stay tuned.

BB