Monday Mumblings

And I realize I've been being more political than writerly lately. I think it has to do with the fact of feeling like being under continual assault. And that's the difference, I think, between liberals and conservatives. Liberals mostly just want to live life. Conservatives are continually trying to convert the masses (a by product of rampant evangelism). So to give an inch is to lose a mile. Part of it concerns the times I try to watch Fox News and I get thrown off quicker than the kid that comes late to the tilt-a-whirl ride. And especially when it comes to this. Of course there are whackaloons aplenty all over. However, why does it seem there are more on the conservative side of the aisle losing their shit in public and acting out inappropriately? Could it be their leadership ferments such actions with their talk about evoking a Second Amendment action or talk of "the struggle to take back our country"? Nah, that couldn't be it.

However it bothers me that I'm talking too much politics. I need to readjust. Maybe hit a reset button somewhere.

And here, let me point out that I'm happy that many Tea Party groups and getting out the ten-foot pole to measure their distance from Mark Williams. It gives me hope for the movement. Yes, Cassie, I said "Hope." As you may have noticed, my personal view is we have a more vibrant democracy when people let their voices be heard, even when I disagree with what they are proposing and think it's misguided.

Some interesting commentary on the dearth of advice for mid-career writers. That's a blog post that links to others. And yes, I agree with most of their thoughts. At this point I'm very comfortable in my voice and style. I do need outside help to point out where I go astray in the story, or when I leave out whole sections or parts of the story people would want more of. On a related note, Jay Lake holds forth on Talent, Ability and Voice.

The best refudiation of Sarah Palin I've read so far. Yes, as someone who is mildly grammatically challenged and prone to both creating his own words (Margle, for instance) and to incorrectly use existing ones, I'm am far from able to cast my own stones yet for the beam in mine own eye. And yet, I can giggle as others do so. Plus, this blog post does a nice job of tearing down the whole fuddle (wait, that's a real word?) of "America is a Christian Nation" bullpuckey. Yes, the Founding Fathers didn't want religion within a square mile of governance. They understood the thousands of years of history that showed how detrimental that path was. Our nascent country had enough troubles to start her way without being co-opted and corrupted by religious ideology.