Two Second Drill

This last Sunday, one statement on a segment of CBS Sunday Morning titled, The Name Game caught me up short. Mostly Charles Osgood looked “at famous book titles, including the stories behind “Catch-22” with legendary editor Robert Gottlieb and “Winnie The Pooh” with British columnist Gary Dexter.” He talked about the naming of famous books like Catch-22 (originally titled Catch-18), The Postman Always Rings Twice (originally titled Barbeque), and 1984 (originally titled The Last Man in Europe).

But what made me sit up was that they talked about the effect the title has on a potential reader. A book’s title tries to encapsulate what’s in the book. In the piece Charles Osgood says, “A title is no small matter, because readers really do judge a book by its cover. … shoppers give a book just two seconds to make an impression before moving on.”

Two seconds. Those first words and the book’s blurb had better be great.

It reminds of the the Hemingway challenge to write a story in six words. Hemingway wrote, “For sale: baby shoes, never used.” I also like, Horny professor. Failing coed. No tenure. –“A Short History of Academia,” by Sue Grafton

The Chance of a Lifetime

It was the chance of a lifetime: going into the backcountry to search for section corners and quarter-section corners set by surveyors one-hundred and one years before. The fly-in-the-ointment was that the surveyors probably had done their work while perched on a barstool in 1882. Someone knew how to nurse a beer.

In cadastral surveying the place to start is to assume that the survey was done and either the evidence has been lost, obliterated, or simply not found. You begin searching for clues in the field notes that the surveyor took. These notes state the where they ascended, descended, crossed creeks and such along the way to setting a corner. The early surveyors carried a metal tape called a “Gunter’s Chain” to measure distance. (There are 80 chains in a mile and 640 acres in a section.) For instance, the notes might say, “at 25 chains 24 links, crossed a small creek.” You can put the items on a piece of Mylar and overlay them on a topographic map to see if maybe the notes match up in any way to the actual terrain.

Mountain Home State Forest is located in Tulare County, twenty-two air miles northeast of Porterville, CA. It is situated in the middle north fork and north fork drainages of the Tule River. Elevations from 4800 to 7600 feet above sea level. And for over forty years of state ownership, about half of the boundaries were not known. These were primarily in the township of 19S 31E.


A survey crew in 1919

So, based on these field notes and any hare-brained cockamamie idea or hunch, we went out and searched for the rock mounds and sticks and bearing trees (a tree that bears witness to a monument by having a rectangular section of bark removed and the distance and bearing is scribed onto the exposed wood). We did find one: an interior corner that had been missing for one hundred years. When our licensed surveyor (under who’s license we did all our work) went to the spot, the post crumbled in his hand as he dug it out.

To be continued…

Sections, Townships, and Range

A long time ago (call it 1983) in a place far, far, away (call it Mountain Home State Forest), a small band of courageous neophyte surveyors began a project that many in the California Department of Forestry hierarchy felt to be impossible. We started work on finding, and then marking, the precise boundaries of Mountain Home State Forest.

Not impossible to survey, just hard work

History of Mt. Home
California bought Mountain Home from the Michigan Trust Company on January 6, 1946 for $550,000. The deed delineated all the boundaries based on the section corners and quarter-corners of such-and-such section of townships 19 or 20 south and ranges 30 or 31 east of the Mount Diablo Base Meridian (normally abbreviated MDBM). On paper the acreage of the holding totaled around 4615.77 acres and was, mostly fiction. Mostly fiction because the total area based its value on townships of 36 one-mile square sections. Many of which had never been surveyed.

The US Public Land Survey System
Pretty much all the arable land (remember that term “arable”) that isn’t contained within the original thirteen colonies is supposed to have been placed into a grid known as the Public Land Survey System. Its basic units of area are the township and section.

Within a 6-mile by 6-mile township, the upper right section is Section 1 the section west of number is Section 2. The numbering moves left to all the way Section 6, the section south of Section 6 is section 7 and the number and progresses in a serpentine manner all the way to Section 36. There should be no Section 37.

In the 1880s, surveyors contracted with the General Land Office of the federal government on a per-mile of surveyed line basis to survey the land now known as Mountain Home. In the San Joaquin Valley, surveying went quickly. The land was flat and had few obstacles to get in the way. But the forested mountains were another challenge altogether. Hmm, a federal contract, thousands of miles away from Washington DC, based on the number of miles surveyed in mountainous terrain with trees. What could possibly go wrong?

More tomorrow.

My Old Day Job

At Mountain Home State Forest - circa 1973

I worked as the assistant forest manager at Mountain Home State Forest from 1979-1986. The old joke asks, “Where do forest rangers go to ‘get away from it all?'” As if working in the forest was not, well, work. I remember days when I’d been stung by wasps, hiked cross-country through thorny buckbrush in the beating sun, emptied overflowing trash cans, cleaned filthy outhouse toilets, listened to campers complaining about the yahoos nearby playing their music too loud, etc. Then, someone with a cold beer in his hand would come up to me as I tried to keep the 1 mil plastic garbage bag–filled with fermenting fish guts that leaked through onto my pants–from breaking and say “damn, I wish I had your job.”

Tomorrow, I’ll write about the meaning of Section 37 and the coolest job I ever had.

Frank Morgan

In November, I asked Michael Connelly, on his Ask Michael Connelly portion of his message board, about a piece of music at the beginning of the video Blue Neon Night (Frank Morgan can be heard playing “Lullaby” at the end of the linked YouTube snippet). He answered in early February that if it had piano it would be George Cables, if it had saxophone it would be the late Frank Morgan. I hadn’t known that the jazz great had died.

Alto saxophonist Frank Morgan passed away in December. I wrote about him recently in the The Best Music You’ve Never Heard.

“Silence is our best friend. It gives what you play after it more meaning.”- Frank Morgan.

Guardian Obituary
Jazz Police’s Obituary

Writing's Aphorisms

Over the past couple weeks I have passed along a list that my instructors mentioned in class. It is a list of some mistakes that beginning storytellers (like me) make.

Top Ten Mistakes Newbie Writers Make
10. Flat writing with weak verbs
9. Setting and description delivered in large chunks
8. Telling instead of showing
7. Talking heads instead of narration
6. A book that begins with a flashback or dream
5. Too far removed from the inciting incident
4. The characters lack yearning the “hole in the soul”
3. Limited conflict or attention
2. Head hopping
1. No scene structure and action is episodic

Other Rules and Strictures

There are other “rules,” such as James N Frey’s ten rules and Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules of Writing, which includes: “never open a book with weather,” “never use an adverb to modify the verb ‘said’,” and “keep your exclamation points under control.” I can’t show you all of them because, Elmore Leonard now has written a book around his aphorisms. It’s $15 and I probably will pick up a copy.

I admit that I like rules and, by nature, I’m not a rule breaker. I have some friends, who I have met through youwriteon.com, and they love to point out writers when they don’t follow the rules. “Look,” they say, “so and so started with the story with…” One such example of rule ignoring is JK Rowling and her Harry Potter books, he asseverated knowledgeably! One of them steered me toward an entry on Emma Darwin‘s This Itch of Writing blog – “Demandingly ‘wrong’-headed,” that started with the “rules” and ended with being taught how to write.

Hubris

One dismisses standards at one’s peril. Check out this one example on JA Konrath’s blog, “A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing” titled “Bad Stories.”

Writing’s Aphorisms

Over the past couple weeks I have passed along a list that my instructors mentioned in class. It is a list of some mistakes that beginning storytellers (like me) make.

Top Ten Mistakes Newbie Writers Make
10. Flat writing with weak verbs
9. Setting and description delivered in large chunks
8. Telling instead of showing
7. Talking heads instead of narration
6. A book that begins with a flashback or dream
5. Too far removed from the inciting incident
4. The characters lack yearning the “hole in the soul”
3. Limited conflict or attention
2. Head hopping
1. No scene structure and action is episodic

Other Rules and Strictures

There are other “rules,” such as James N Frey’s ten rules and Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules of Writing, which includes: “never open a book with weather,” “never use an adverb to modify the verb ‘said’,” and “keep your exclamation points under control.” I can’t show you all of them because, Elmore Leonard now has written a book around his aphorisms. It’s $15 and I probably will pick up a copy.

I admit that I like rules and, by nature, I’m not a rule breaker. I have some friends, who I have met through youwriteon.com, and they love to point out writers when they don’t follow the rules. “Look,” they say, “so and so started with the story with…” One such example of rule ignoring is JK Rowling and her Harry Potter books, he asseverated knowledgeably! One of them steered me toward an entry on Emma Darwin‘s This Itch of Writing blog – “Demandingly ‘wrong’-headed,” that started with the “rules” and ended with being taught how to write.

Hubris

One dismisses standards at one’s peril. Check out this one example on JA Konrath’s blog, “A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing” titled “Bad Stories.”

John Stewart – Never Goin' Back

America has lost its voice and a piece of its soul.

With apologies to Don Maclean, the music died at 7:30 AM on January 19, 2008.

John Stewart (September 5, 1939 – January 19, 2008) was an American songwriter and singer, best known for being a member of the Kingston Trio (1961–1967). He was much more than that.

He wrote about America from the viewpoint of the “wingless angels,” those who drove the trucks and did the jobs that kept the country alive.

I will say that I did not know John Stewart except through his songs and brief encounters. In 1971 (my oh my how the time does fly), I (and others) talked with him when he came to Santa Monica College to talk about the songwriting experience. Still, I went to some of his concerts and shook his hand every chance I got. I’m not a fully-fledged “Bloodliner” (named after his California Bloodlines album), but I have about half of his albums and named my golden retriever “Stewart” as a tribute.

According to Tom DeLisle on Chillywinds.com, “He recorded over 45 solo albums following his seven years in the Kingston Trio, 1961-67” and in a career that spanned over fifty years he “wrote more than 600 songs.”

John told the story of how The Monkees wanted to record a song he wrote in 1968 before leaving the Kingston Trio. The Monkees wanted to record Daydream Believer. But, the song had a problem—a word. See if you can find it.

You once thought of me
As a white knight on his steed
But now you know how funky I can be
And our good times start and end
Without dollar one to spend
But how much, baby, do we really need

The Monkees wanted to substitute “happy” for “funky.” John didn’t know if he wanted to do that; he’d written “funky” in the lyrics after all. As we know, he finally allowed “happy” to be used instead. Daydream Believer is still being played today and in his words after getting his first royalty check, “happy’s working real good.”

For more about John Stewart:
Appleseed Recordings
John Stewart’s Lyrics Database at CaliforniaBloodlines.com
Chilly Winds
Clack’s Cellar

Associated Press Obituary
Chicago Tribune Obituary
CNN’s Obituary

Or better still, play one of his songs. That’s what I’m doing. Every single one I have. Here’s John’s hit, Gold.

Footnote (08/10/08):

After posting this in January I went looking for more music for my library. Years ago I had listened to a live recording of the Kingston Trio featuring John. The double album was called Once Upon a Time. I finally found it at the Kingston Trio Store. You can order it and other Trio songs here.

John Stewart – Never Goin’ Back

America has lost its voice and a piece of its soul.

With apologies to Don Maclean, the music died at 7:30 AM on January 19, 2008.

John Stewart (September 5, 1939 – January 19, 2008) was an American songwriter and singer, best known for being a member of the Kingston Trio (1961–1967). He was much more than that.

He wrote about America from the viewpoint of the “wingless angels,” those who drove the trucks and did the jobs that kept the country alive.

I will say that I did not know John Stewart except through his songs and brief encounters. In 1971 (my oh my how the time does fly), I (and others) talked with him when he came to Santa Monica College to talk about the songwriting experience. Still, I went to some of his concerts and shook his hand every chance I got. I’m not a fully-fledged “Bloodliner” (named after his California Bloodlines album), but I have about half of his albums and named my golden retriever “Stewart” as a tribute.

According to Tom DeLisle on Chillywinds.com, “He recorded over 45 solo albums following his seven years in the Kingston Trio, 1961-67” and in a career that spanned over fifty years he “wrote more than 600 songs.”

John told the story of how The Monkees wanted to record a song he wrote in 1968 before leaving the Kingston Trio. The Monkees wanted to record Daydream Believer. But, the song had a problem—a word. See if you can find it.

You once thought of me
As a white knight on his steed
But now you know how funky I can be
And our good times start and end
Without dollar one to spend
But how much, baby, do we really need

The Monkees wanted to substitute “happy” for “funky.” John didn’t know if he wanted to do that; he’d written “funky” in the lyrics after all. As we know, he finally allowed “happy” to be used instead. Daydream Believer is still being played today and in his words after getting his first royalty check, “happy’s working real good.”

For more about John Stewart:
Appleseed Recordings
John Stewart’s Lyrics Database at CaliforniaBloodlines.com
Chilly Winds
Clack’s Cellar

Associated Press Obituary
Chicago Tribune Obituary
CNN’s Obituary

Or better still, play one of his songs. That’s what I’m doing. Every single one I have. Here’s John’s hit, Gold.

Footnote (08/10/08):

After posting this in January I went looking for more music for my library. Years ago I had listened to a live recording of the Kingston Trio featuring John. The double album was called Once Upon a Time. I finally found it at the Kingston Trio Store. You can order it and other Trio songs here.

The #1 Mistake – No Scene Structure/Episodic Action

No scene structure and action is episodic

Why would scene structure matter?

Have you ever noticed how things work better when the work is organized? Whether it’s a space launch or a pancake breakfast, organizing makes the whole thing work more efficiently. Certain people have certain tasks.

Organization applies to stories too. Communication is underpinned by organization.

Over the millennia, human thoughts have coalesced into words. Certain words had specific tasks they performed. These words were organized into sentences. By agreeing on what the words mean and the pattern and order in which these words are presented we communicate everything from “what’s for lunch” to abstract ideals. Sometimes we communicate through organized symbols—writing.

_________Initiator__________________________Receptor______________
Concept, encode, transmit ????receive, decode, reconceptualize

Whether spoken or written, the key to communication relies on people knowing the system. When the process is short-circuited, dismissed, or not used, then the message becomes garbled. I don’t understand Portuguese. Someone may speak perfect Portuguese, but I will not be able to decode and reconceptualize the words to know what the person meant.

Stories communicate and therefore have structure. For instance, most genre stories and probably 99% of movies use some form of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth (Hero’s Journey).

  • The hero leaves the world of the everyday and enters into a mythological woods where he or she is tested
  • The hero has a death and rebirth experience
  • The hero has a confrontation with “the evil one,” and so on.

In his book, THE KEY: Using the Power of Myth to Write Damn Good Fiction, James N Frey demonstrates how these fictional motifs are used in modern novels and films. Each of these pieces is made of one or more scenes.

Scenes advance the story by showing conflict, introducing characters, etc. Scenes have a structure so that we know when they’re complete. It is when the structure is incomplete that the message becomes garbled.

What structure should scenes have?
I have heard of others but the most often used is Jack Bickham’s method. In his book Scene and Structure, Bickham outlines a scene as:

  • Statement of goal (which should relate to the story question)
  • Conflict developed in attempt to reach goal
  • Failure to reach goal
  • Repetition of attempt to reach goal
  • Goal reached/not reached
  • Twist or tactical disaster

Episodic Action
Once the scene is complete a transition is needed. It is the lack of transition that makes a story episodic. Transitions (according to Bickham) are labeled as segues or sequels.

A segue is generally brief narration that moves the story forward in time, space, and place and provides new information.

A sequel is generally longer and is the character’s analysis of the situation. First come the character’s emotion, then thought (including review, analysis, and planning), a decision, and finally action based on the decision (and we are back into a scene).

For more on scenes and transitions:

For other story structures see:

There you have it. A list of the top ten mistakes new writers make as provided by two professional editors. They only provided the list. I have teased out what I think each point meant. Any misinterpretations of their list are mine and mine alone.