Friday, January 27, 2012

SHORT STORY REVIEW A VILLAGE AFTER DARK BY KAZUO ISHIGURO

A VILLAGE AFTER DARK BY KAZUO ISHIGURO – Ishiguro has developed a reputation as one of Britain's most ambitious and sophisticated writers.  A Village After Dark was never intended by the author to be an autonomous story.  It was written as an experiment geared towards working out certain narrative techniques he was exploring while writing The Unconsoled.  The protagonist arrives in a village to accomplish an unspecific but urgent and important task; his past life in the village can only be inferred vaguely. The following list represents his novels to date.
  1. A Pale View of Hills
  2. An Artist of the Floating World
  3. The Remains of the Day
  4. The Unconsoled
  5. When We Were Orphans
  6. Never Let Me Go


Wednesday, January 18, 2012

PLAYLAND AT THE BEACH


PLAYLAND AT THE BEACH – An exhibit, titled Playland, can be seen until April 2012 at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. The exhibit is a miniature railroad that passes through iconic imagery of San Francisco’s yesteryear. Playland used to exist beneath the Cliff House, along the Great Highway, beginning in 1921. The real amusement park is long gone, but it’s been re-created, to enjoy once again or to see it for the first time. The Playland landmarks include a Ferris wheel, Dutch windmill, Fun House, bison paddock, Big Dipper Rollercoaster, Diving Bell, Cliff House, Sutro Baths and Golden Gate Bridge. SIDE NOTE - You can still visit the Sutro Baths ruins and the Camera Obscura near the Cliff House. I suggest that you park at a metered space on Great Highway and take a walk on Ocean Beach. Then, have brunch at the Cliff House and make sure to ask for an ocean view table.  Also, you can visit many of the vintage amusements, which used to be featured at Playland.  Go to the Musee Mecanique, located at Fisherman’s Wharf Pier 45.









PLAYLAND AT THE BEACH

Saturday, January 14, 2012

SELF-EDITING FREE PDF DOWNLOAD

Checklist Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

SELF-EDITING FREE PDF DOWNLOAD

Self-Editing FREE PDF DOWNLOAD – This post contains a writing reference, free PDF checklist. I created the checklist based on Self-Editing for Fiction Writers- Browne and King.  The book is used as a guide; the main premise is fiction mechanics.  I wanted to create a grab-and-go document. One that a writer can easily carry around, to self-edit works of fiction.  I intentionally used abbreviations and shorthand, to reduce length.  I found the tips contained in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers invaluable, every aspiring writer should have a copy on the bookshelf. Highly recommended!

Self Editing for Fiction Writers outline

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into PrintSelf-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS - In the writing reference book, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King, the editing-authors teach the would-be writer to apply editing techniques they developed. There are important distinctions in writing reference, for example: 1. Writing craft and 2. Fiction mechanics. My favorite book on the topic of craft is Book in a Month; my favorite book on the topic of mechanics is Self-Editing. Self-Editing has a focus on fiction mechanics: how to handle dialogue, point of view, exposition, character introduction, etc. The authors take examples of bad dialogue or second-hand reporting right out of the classics and show how to rectify them. There are plenty of examples, checklists and exercises at the end of each chapter and a comprehensive test covering all the self-editing principles. With the rise of self-publishing and the decline of brick and mortar book sellers- editors, agents and publishers expect that submissions are pre-edited. Your challenge as a writer is to take Self-Editing as far as you can yourself, in the process strengthening your skills as a writer.
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NOTE - In my next blog post (http://chadschimke.blogspot.com/), I will share a free PDF download, for a condensed checklist I created, based on the principles outlined in Self-Editing.


View all my reviews

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

GALLERY 1044


GALLERY 1044 – I really enjoyed the group show, Mechanical Voyages, which opened last Friday 1-6-12. The art mediums are very interesting; digital prints, shadow boxes, assemblages from found objects, resin coated paintings and art paper sculptures. As always, snapshots don’t do a gallery justice. So, head over and check out the show!









#ChadSchimke  #SanFrancisco  #ArtGallery #SFMoma  #VisualAid  #Picasso  #Haring  #Koons  #Warhol  #Calder  #Lichtenstein  #ReclaimedRoom  #Gallery1044  #LowerPolkArtWalk  #BayBridge #CityArtGallery #Bansky #SirronNorris #Solis

Friday, January 6, 2012

SHORT STORY REVIEW PAPER LANTERN BY STUART DYBEK

PAPER LANTERN BY STUART DYBEK – Scientists work together in their laboratory on a time machine. They decide to break for dinner and go to a Chinese restaurant. The only decoration was a red-ribbed paper lantern that spread its opaque glow across the steamy restaurant window. After the meal, they opened their fortune cookies. Returning to the laboratory, they saw the flames shooting up from the building and watched the fire. Dybek’s collected poems are Brass Knuckles and Streets in Their Own Ink.  His fiction includes Childhood and Other Neighborhoods, The Coast of Chicago, and I Sailed With Magellan.