You Don't Have to Be Crazy To Work Here | According To Hoyt

So, how does one become a writer?? The long-delayed post today ? because I had a routine doctor?s checkup ? gave me time to come back and look at your comments, and we can all agree that a degree in creative writing is about as useful as a meringue hammer.? At least I hope we all agree, because I?m sure of this.

In fact, what little I took in terms of creative writing in school probably hindered my writing commercial fiction.? It?s sort of looking at things the wrong way.? Your Creative Writing professor might have been ecstatic at the bit of symbolism in which you dress a character all in white to symbolize purity, but the reader is probably not even going to register it consciously, and if your character all-in-white proceeds to do nothing much that?s interesting, then well? The reader won?t be happy.

Mostly what the reader wants is to experience emotions.? If along with it you can backload some stuff to make the reader think, and if your reader is a thinking sort of person, bonus.? But mostly the reader wants to experience something and ?emotions? is the common denominator, atop of which you add the peculiar ?cookies? of each genre.? So, say, for romance, you have to have ? romantic stuff and tension between the couple; for SF (depending on subgenre) cool stuff like robots and space exploration; for fantasy everything from LOTR plus some; for urban fantasy shifters and vamps and hot chics (or cute guys) fighting them.? However if all those things don?t contribute to the emotional experience, you got nothing.

While from the critics end? well? they?re looking for symbolism and meaning and wondrous stuff like allusions to other books? yeah.? And most college courses teach you to be critics not writers.

So ? you can?t learn it in college.? What makes a writer a writer?

Well, you don?t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps.

Most of us started out telling ourselves stories.? Or we told younger siblings stories.? (I only had cats younger than I, and they were notoriously averse to standing still while I told them stories.)? Or, when we were older, we told our peers stories (guilty!)

I wrote my first ?novel? at six.? It was ten handwritten pages and Enid Blyton Famous Five Fanfic.? (Hey, one does what one can.)

By highschool I was writing 20k word ?novels? of very, very bad Clifford Simak pastiche.

And that?s part of what makes you a writer.? Like the artists of old who copied the works of the masters, almost all of us started out by writing things in imitation of those authors whose work had moved us the most.

At some point we realize it?s not quite ours, and we start experimenting.? For me that was my twenties, which generated a never end of REALLY BAD experiments, including some that can never be buried DEEP enough.? In fact, my kids are under notice if they find and publish any of them, I?ll come back and haunt them into the next century.

But in the middle of the experiments, my taste, formed by an awful lot of reading, picked this and that that worked, and that other thing that sparkled, and?? And I started to get a clue.

In my early thirties I had the revelation that I was writing for a reader.? Yeah, I know.? I?m slow that way.? Now, I had no idea who ?my reader? was or how he functioned, but I had an idea that I would write for the reader I?d like to attract.

And then it became sort of like playing chess on both sides, and things started to work.? That mind set is absolutely necessary to know when you?re too slow, when you?re too fast, when you?ve skipped something essential?

So ? it?s hard to acquire, though at this point it?s second nature.? (Posting at austen.com and getting comments as I wrote really helped that sense of what the readers were getting or not.)

And there it is.? You become a writer by:

1-????? Copying the masters.

2-????? Learning to go beyond copy

3-????? Reading an awful lot

4-????? Learning to write for readers.

Sounds easy, right?? Right.? And you?re wondering where the part comes where you suffer for your art, aren?t you?

Trust me, there?s suffering enough in there.? Like most simple plans, the difficulty is in the execution.

Now ? go work.

Source: http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/10/29/you-dont-have-to-be-crazy-to-work-here/

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93% The Sessions

All Critics (88) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (6)

Most often with The Sessions the blunt comedy outweighs the drift toward sanctimony.

It sends viewers out of the theater with a heightened sense of the physical and a real feeling for all the things that sex means in human life.

The achievement of this simply told, exceptionally fine film is the clarity with which it portrays the drama of a good soul in an inert body.

Hawkes' performance is the must-see hook of The Sessions, but Hunt gives this funny, touching movie its soul.

Character actor John Hawkes is often cast as a frightening rustic (Winter's Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene), but he gives a tender and witty performance here as Mark O'Brien.

The joy of The Sessions goes beyond sexual healing. It makes physical intimacy far more a matter of the heart, and you won't be alone wiping an occasional tear.

"The Sessions" introduces us to some harsh truths we may not want to consider, but the outcome is one we cannot fail to understand.

"The Sessions" is a film that reminds us of the fragility of life, and how human beings are capable of a deep emotional bond when it is least expected.

... a story of triumph over disability that takes the form of an uplifting sex comedy rather than a depressing saga of a dying man.

That exceedingly rare combination of sexy, clever and sweet, a winning tale of one charming disabled man's quest to get some stank on his hangdown.

The film greatly benefits from Hawkes' tremendous performance. (Full Content Review for Parents also available)

For the entire endeavor to emotionally register, you must buy into the romance that purportedly blossoms between Hawkes and Hunt. I didn't, not for a second.

Hawkes' work here is that good that it carries one away on a wave of emotion that dismisses critical thought. The film around him could have been better but you're unlikely to realize that while you're watching it.

...a perfectly watchable showcase for two undeniably above-average performances.

Uneven and perhaps a little too tidy as it aims to promote one man's extraordinary spirit. It is John Hawkes and Helen Hunt, however, who are most worth seeing.

Practically ignores everything about O'Brien's life except as it relates to his sexual odyssey, turning the life of the man into little more than a curio.

A powerful expression of our common needs, fears, and consolations.

For better and for worse, The Sessions has 'crowd-pleaser' written all over it.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_sessions/

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Stock markets to close on Monday, possibly Tuesday

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Tracking Hurricane Sandy: Handy Maps And Apps

Hurricane Sandy is bearing down on the East Coast of the U.S., bringing sustained wind, heavy rain, and flooding that's forcing roads, bridges and mass transit systems to close from New York City to Washington. We're following the storm's progress and its impacts here on The Two-Way .

The National Weather Service is providing updated forecasts and maps regularly on its website. And there's a close-up, color-coded status of the weather conditions along the East Coast.

We've dug up a few more resources: a selection of storm-tracking maps, graphics and animations from across the web. You can leave links for other web resources in the comments section below.

Storm Tracking Maps

Google.org's Crisis Response Map

The Weather Channel's Hurricane Tracker

Flooding Maps

WNYC's Storm Surge Map

National Weather Service's Flood Gauges

Photos And Animations

NASA's Earth Observatory is posting some pretty stunning satellite photographs of the storm.

The satellite loop below shows a series of full-resolution images taken one minute apart as Sandy approaches the East coast. Click here for the full-screen version.

On Twitter

NPR News is compiling a Twitter list of public media folks covering the storm.

There's also a list of utility companies' twitter feeds here.

And in case your power goes out and you lose internet access, The Washington Post has a handy how-to guide for forwarding tweets via text message.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/29/163868633/tracking-hurricane-sandy-handy-maps-and-apps?ft=1&f=1007

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Artist will stare 'fitness for work' fears in the face with 'bed life ...

An award-winning disabled artist is to spend three days in bed in front of an audience, in an attempt to portray the contradictions of her impairment, and the government?s ?miserable, terrifying, punishing? fitness for work assessment regime.

The writer-director-activist Liz Crow is forced to spend much of her life in bed because of her impairment, but has always managed to keep that part of herself hidden from view.

?I have developed this incredibly stark way of living,? she says, ?and what other people see of me in public spaces is not how I am for most of my life. Even the people close to me don?t really know me at the most extreme.?

In?Bedding In?, she will make her ?twilight existence visible?, exposing the part of her life she spends in bed to public scrutiny, and for the first time ?parading? this private self in public.

The piece, part of this year?s SPILL Festival of Performance, in Ipswich, is Crow?s response to the government?s harsh benefits reassessment programme.

But rather than lying low for fear of being penalised by the Department for Work and Pensions, she has decided to ?stare that fear in the face?.

She is one of the hundreds of thousands of long-time incapacity benefit claimants who have been tested through the government?s reassessment programme, and subjected to the infamous work capability assessment, carried out by the government?s contractor Atos Healthcare.

Even though Crow has used a wheelchair for 26 years, Atos decided that she had no difficulty walking. She was placed in the work-related activity group (WRAG), for those thought able to move towards paid work.

But she knows she cannot make herself available for work, and so ? unless she wins her appeal ? she has resigned herself to having her benefits taken away because of the inevitable failure to co-operate with the regime.

?The consequences are that I may have no income coming in and don?t know how as a single parent I will care for my child, let alone my home, etc.?

Less than two weeks after her performance ends, she will need to parade her private self again, when she appeals to a tribunal against the decision to place her in the WRAG.

Crow is clear that she wants Bedding In to be about the complexity of her impairment, and not its ?tragedy?.

?I live a pretty good life with the complicated set of circumstances that I have got,? she says, ?but if I step out of my bed then it is not seen as complexity or contradiction, and in the current benefits system it means you fall through the gaps.?

Each day during the performance at Ipswich Art School Gallery, members of the public will gather around her bed to discuss the work, and its politics. The hope is that Crow will take the ?data? from these conversations and use them to further develop the piece.

?It is a political statement,? she says of the performance, ?but it is also trying to make visible this kind of internal wrestling that goes on for a lot of us with the benefits stuff.

?Since I got personal assistants 15 years ago I have managed to find a kind of fragile security in my life. I have rarely earned but I have, I hope, contributed.

?Now the benefits thing has kicked in it has all gone. Suddenly I don?t feel I have any security left whatsoever.?

Even if she wins her appeal, she faces the likely prospect of being reassessed again in another year or so, and then again, and again.

?The idea that this is life now: that is just dire. There are hundreds of thousands of us going through this assessment. There is some small comfort that there are a lot of us in it together but it is not much comfort because of the toll it takes.

?I have this tiny amount of time when I am well enough to do stuff and I am looking at that time being taken away.

?It has been really hard to create the life I have got, a reasonable life, and this big system comes along with these politicians who are so extraordinarily removed from a life like mine and they demolish what I have built up.?

The whole process feels, she says, like ?punishment?, not assessment, ?an endless round of justifying myself and fighting for a grain of security?.

?There are layers and layers of why it is so hard. One of the things is that if you fall through the gaps, for the press it is evidence that you are a scrounger and a fraudster.?

She is among the many disabled activists who believe that this cruel assessment process ? and the callous and incompetent way it is carried out by Atos ? are responsible for the premature deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of disabled people.

Even if these deaths are not caused by the process, she says, ?actually they died among all this shit, their last few months were so miserable and so frightening, and I think that?s unforgivable. To condemn people to a really miserable last few months is diabolical.?

Crow feels there is an affinity between her performance and the direct action protest carried out by members of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) at Marble Arch in central London last weekend.

One of the reasons she is so impressed with DPAC?s campaigning work, she says, is that ?they have created an incredible visible presence but have found ways for all sorts of people to contribute?, particularly through social media.

She also sees links with her most recent piece of work, Resistance, an award-winning video installation about the Aktion-T4 programme, which led to the targeted killing of as many as 200,000 disabled people, and possibly many more, in Nazi Germany.

She began working on Resistance in 2008, and started thinking about its themes several years earlier, and felt even then that there were contemporary ?connections?.

?Those contemporary connections have just got stronger and stronger,? she says. ?I am appalled to feel that we are under greater threat now than we have been in all the years I have been involved in activism.?

She points to newspaper reports of alleged disability benefit fraud and the use of language like ?shirkers?, ?scroungers? and ?fakers? to describe disabled people. This kind of propaganda, she says, is ?eerily familiar? from descriptions of pre-Holocaust Germany.

The ?specifics? of what is happening now are not the same as in Nazi Germany, she adds, but ?the values beneath it are, this idea that we are somehow dispensable, more dispensable than others?.

She also points to the Paralympics, which she says ?makes the scrounger-fraudster rhetoric stronger, and leads to a backlash?.

There are even similarities between the Paralympic classification system, and the benefits assessment system. Both suit those who have a ?bio-mechanical, quantifiable impairment?, rather than less clear and easily-determined impairments.

Would-be Paralympians with ?nebulous impairments? fall through the gaps, she says, just as she and many tens of thousands of other disabled people have fallen through the yawning gaps in the benefits system.

Bedding In is part of?Disability Arts Online?s??Diverse Perspectives project, which is funded by Arts Council England, and is commissioning eight disabled artists to make new artwork that ?sparks conversations and debate about the creative case for diversity?.

Bedding In?takes place at the Ipswich Art School Gallery from 1-3 November, from 11am to 6pm, as part of the SPILL Festival of Performance in Ipswich.

Disability News Service

?

Source: http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/10/28/artist-will-stare-fitness-for-work-fears-in-the-face-with-bed-life-performance/

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Top 5 Tips To Keep Pets Safe During Hurricane Sandy | Care2 ...

As Hurricane Sandy threatens land along the East Coast, it is important to plan for your pets when preparing for the storm. Our friends at the?ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States have provided us with top?pet preparation tips to ensure pet safety if Hurricane Sandy and other looming storms reach your region.

1) Prepare To Take Your Pets ? Don?t leave your pets at home. If you?re planning to head to a Red Cross Shelter or hotel, remember that not all will take animals. Here?s a list of directories for finding a pet-friendly hotel from the ASPCA. Other options include a veterinary clinic, animal control shelter, or pet shelter.

2) Photos & IDs Please! ? Keep a current photograph of your pet in case something happens to them during the storm. Identification in the form of a collar is also essential and will make it easier to locate them if they get lost.

3) Leash And Pet Carriers ? Think about how exactly you will keep track of your pet during the storm, and how you will transport them should you decide to evacuate. A leash and/or pet carrier will ensure your animal doesn?t go astray.

4) Bring Your Pet Inside ? The last thing you want is to have to hunt for your pet on the brink of a hurricane. The National Hurricane Center suggests that owners calm and comfort pets inside well in advance of the actual storm.

5) What To Pack ? The ASPCA recommends you pack five to seven days of pet food and water along with litter trays, litter and trash bags. Pet first aid kits might be a good idea, and remember their medications. If you are taking them to an animal shelter, you?ll need to bring all of the above and ensure your pet has its rabies tags, up to date immunization records and labelled supplies.

For more information, the American Red Cross has more about disaster preparedness and safety for pets.

?

More from Care2:
Disaster Preparation for Pets
How to Prepare for a Hurricane
Amazing Dog Rescue During Hurricane Isaac (Video)

?

More from Animal Planet:
Hurricane Ready: 6 Tips to Keep Pets Storm Safe
Pets During Hurricanes ? What To Do
Avoid Cat-astrophy With The Cat Evacuation Jacket ? [PHOTOS]

Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-5-tips-to-keep-pets-safe-during-hurricane-sandy.html

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Report: Pop star arrested in UK abuse case

LONDON?? British police arrested convicted sex offender and former pop star Gary Glitter on Sunday as part of an investigation into allegations of child sex abuse by the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, media said.

Glitter was released on bail some 10 hours later. But the arrest - the first to be reported in the case - widened a scandal that has already damaged the reputation of the publicly-funded BBC and the legacy of Savile, a former DJ who was one of the broadcaster's top show hosts and a prolific charity fundraiser.

The head of the BBC's governing body said on Sunday the broadcaster's reputation was on the line, and promised to get to the bottom of the scandal.

'A steep fall' for BBC as child sex abuse scandal rocks UK

A police statement said a man in his 60s had been picked up just after 7 am (0700 GMT) on suspicion of sexual offenses in the investigation termed "Savile and others." The statement did not name the man and a spokesman declined further comment.

The BBC and Sky News identified the man picked up from his London home as Glitter, a 68-year-old who was popular as a glam-rock singer in the 1970s.

Footage on both broadcasters showed Glitter, who was wearing a hat and sunglasses and was not handcuffed, leaving an apartment in central London and being driven away. Hours later, television showed investigators carrying large black bags as they left the house.

Glitter was held by police for about 10 hours. He was seen leaving a police station in central London and, minutes later, return to his apartment, where he dodged questions by scores of waiting reporters and cameramen.

Police later said the man was "bailed to return to the police station in mid-December 2012, pending further inquiries."

Jimmy Savile abuse scandal stuns Britain: a who's who primer

Glitter, born Paul Gadd, shot to fame in the early 1970s with the hit "Rock and Roll," trademark figure-hugging shiny silver all-in-one suits, platform shoes and large black hair.

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Glitter served two months was jail in Britain in 1999 for possession of child pornography. He then moved to Cambodia, but was deported in 2002 due to suspected sex offences.

In 2006, a Vietnamese court convicted him of committing obscene acts with two girls aged 10 and 11 and sentenced him to four years in jail. On his release he returned to Britain.

Allegations that Savile sexually abused young girls for decades first emerged in an expose on the British TV channel ITV. Since then, police say some 300 victims had come forward.

Victims' allegations broadcast by ITV include claims from one woman that she had seen Glitter having sex with an underage girl in Savile's BBC dressing room while Savile abused another girl. Glitter has denied the claim, according to the BBC.

With the scandal widening, public outrage has increased. A cottage in the Scottish Highlands that belonged to Savile was vandalized overnight, with abusive slogans painted on its walls, local police said.

Blind eye?
The scandal has raised troubling questions about the BBC's management and its past workplace culture. Revelations that an investigation by Newsnight, the BBC's flagship TV news show, was shelved last December led to claims bosses at the broadcaster knew about the allegations but kept quiet.

"Can it really be the case that no one knew what he was doing? Did some turn a blind eye to criminality?" asked Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust which oversees the broadcaster, writing in the Mail on Sunday.

Video: Savile BBC scandal shocks UK (on this page)

The Sunday Times said the office of former BBC director Mark Thompson was alerted about the allegations twice, in May and September. Thompson is poised to take over as chief executive of the New York Times, and the Sunday Times quoted his spokesman as saying Thompson had not been told about the allegations on either occasion.

Thompson has told Reuters that he did not know about the nature of the investigation by the Newsnight program into Savile, and had no involvement in the decision to axe the report.

The BBC said on its website on Sunday that "Thompson has said the first time he had been made aware of claims that Savile had committed serious crimes and that some had taken place while the entertainer was working at the BBC was after he stepped down as director general."

The broadcaster has announced two investigations as a result of the scandal, and Patten promised full cooperation.

"The BBC's reputation is on the line," he wrote. "The BBC must tell the truth and face up to the truth about itself, however terrible."

When Savile died in October last year aged 84, his gold coffin went on public display and he was lauded as a "national treasure" who had raised millions of pounds for good causes.

A year later, police describe him as "undoubtedly" one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, and the Vatican said a papal knighthood given to Savile decades ago for his charity work "should not have been bestowed".

Savile's family said it was in despair over the allegations and offered its "deepest sympathy" to abuse victims. It also said it had decided to remove the headstone on Savile's grave and destroy it to avoid it becoming a target for vandals.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling on Sunday rejected a call by the deputy leader of the opposition Labour party for an independent, over-arching inquiry, arguing that such a process risked taking much longer to get to the truth.

Grayling told the BBC that efforts should focus on finding anyone involved in abuse alongside Savile and bringing them to justice.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49585855/ns/world_news-europe/

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