by Joe Bunting |
It seems that Noir fiction has penetrated literature, even though nobody is really sure what it represents. It’s become a buzzword, used for a stylish touch. Coined in France, the term Roman Noir (Black Novel), signified the Gothic literature of the 18th century originating mainly from England – ‘Frankestein’ by Mary Shelley and ‘Les Miserables’ by Victor Hugo, for example. The meaning and use of the word in fiction has, obviously, shifted over the years.
Whereas Noir can denote various fictive genres – starting from crime, detective and thriller genres to hard-boiled fiction, Gothic and terror novels – and takes many forms, one feature of Noir stands out: the one of the immobilized man.
by Joe Bunting |
As a writers, you are sensitive to words. After all, they’re your currency. Even when you’re taking a break to watch TV, you may unconsciously be evaluating—with disdain or grudging admiration—the words you encounter. Developing sensitivity for lazy language can help you assuage any lingering guilt for taking breaks, especially with TV shows.
Admittedly a rationale for marathon TV watching, I discovered that television shows can teach valuable lessons in our writing, especially to spot those standard scripted sentences like, “I want my lawyer,” “Crash cart, STAT, and “We need to talk.” Once we recognize the penchant for too-easy language, we can learn from and avoid it in our writing.
Here I describe two types of lazy language and suggest lessons we can learn from them and remedies to apply in your own work.
by Joe Bunting |
On Thursday, April 18, my son Marston Atticus made his dramatic entrance into the world. In last week, I have changed forty-seven diapers, swaddled sixty-four times, and bounced him to sleep for innumerable hours. What I haven’t done much of is write. Yes, I’ve jotted down the occasional note to jog my memory later, but this post is the first serious writing I’ve managed to do. Babies take a lot of time!
However, having a baby has also taught me something surprising about writing and drama.
by Joe Bunting |
There’s still something inside of me that is excited when people ask what I do for a living and I get to tell them I’m a writer. After that declaration, the conversation goes one of two ways…
