Opening Salvo
"Shoot straight you bastards, and don't make a mess of it!"
-Breaker Morant, facing execution in 1902.
"I despise allegory, in all its forms."
-J.R.R. Tolkien
"Avoid bullshit."
-Stephen King
I love stories. I started with the Hardy Boys in elementary school and I've never stopped reading. Fast forward to present, now in my mid-twenties, and I'm still devouring books and magazines. On this page I will review short stories and perhaps the occasional book. I like stories that are written primarily to entertain. Sure, there's room for themes, symbolism, and morals in fiction, but I believe they should be secondary to the narrative.
As an aspiring writer, I'm currently delving into the academic world of literary magazines. I'm traveling the autodidact's route, learning all I can without the benefit of a structured education. As a high school dropout, I never had the privilege of absorbing formal training about the fancier elements of English composition. Therefore I come to a story looking to have fun, not to deconstruct, reconstruct, or otherwise apply my energy to subtexts and riddles.
Many of the stories published in the highbrow literary magazines fail to entertain because they're parables and allegories, the stories mere disguises for a hidden message, puzzles to be deciphered as opposed to enjoyed. I prefer straightforward entertainment. No highbrow here. In fact, if I manage to publish a few more stories of my own, you'll discover that I'm one mean lowbrow son of a bitch.
On this page I'll review short fiction published in literary and genre magazines. My stated goal is this:
I will review each story with one criterion: Did I enjoy reading this?
posted by Bottle Rocket Fire Alarm @ 2:10 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I really look forward to seeing the kinds of works you are reading and reviewing. Last night (9/20) I went to see Bret Easton Ellis speak as part of a series called "Inside the Writer's Studio" put on my public radio (NPR, etc). It was a facinating two hours and I learned a lot from him (and even got some insight into American Psycho, among other things). Anyway, I feel you on the process of writing and what it should be about. As aspiring writers we have to take every opportunity to educate ourselves, and more often than not, it is up to us instead of a formal education to do so.
Looking forward to it,
Blake
Like you, I have litle experience beyond highschool with literature except as a consumer. I have been seriously taking my ability to tell a good story to the printed realm. I've been a bit turned off by writers that try so hard to be 'obove me' and lose my interest along the way.
If you get some free time, read some of my stuff and offer any advice you have. I'll be reading more of yours. It's right up my alley I think.
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