That is not me. It is one of my heroes in life. It is, as you can see from the small caption below the picture, Algis Budrys.
I have exactly four and a half heroes. Algis Budrys is one of them. One of the whole heroes, not the half-a-hero.
If you have been following my blog for any amount of time, you realize by now I enjoy writing. It makes me happy. Here is a picture of my smile so you can see it does.
Several years ago, I finally decided I wanted to write more frequently. Up until that moment, I had only dabbled at writing and had produced a few very short stories of questionable quality. When I made the decision, I realized I needed to learn the art of writing stories that would grab a reader's interest and transport them to another world--a fictional world which felt real where the reader could identify with and enjoy the experiences of the characters, possibly learn from them, and most important, be entertained by them and their lives.
To wit, I began to look for mentors who could help me learn the art of creating stories. Since I did not have the means to attend conferences where current authors would stand up and share what helped them achieve what they had achieved, I began to devour every book I could find on the subject. I read several ship loads worth of books on writing.
In fact, before we go any further, below you will enjoy a picture of me as a kraken eating a ship (which represents all books on writing). Get it? The kraken me devouring shiploads of books on writing.
!
I read hundreds of books on writing. I quickly realized that apart from a few standout books such as "On Writing" by Stephen King and "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamont, the vast majority of writing books were all a load of rubbish. Don't get me wrong, the books were fine. They taught me the importance of editing, plotting, making interesting characters, creating compelling scenes, highlighting emotions, building believable dialogue and so forth and so on. Where they failed was when it came to making an overall story which would entertain, delight, and be a true work of art. Instead they focused on the minutiae of writing and not on creating a vibrant whole. It was like asking a brand new carpenter to build a house and giving him a bunch of books on how to read a tape measure, how to safely use a nail gun, and how to tie off electrical connections. Each of the individual skills are important, but they, in the end, don't tell the poor carpenter squat about how to build a beautiful house. Likewise, many books on writing, fail to tell the poor novice how to write stories.
Then one day, in my mad search to become a writer of stories that I would enjoy reading, I came across a book that made all the difference. It was as if the windows of heaven had opened and manna had come spraying forth in mad torrents of honey wafer filled gluttony. This book threw open the windows to authordom and invited me to come in, apply for citizenship, and begin to enjoy the delightful land of make-believe.
What is this delightful book?
Writing to the Point by Algis Budrys
If you click the nice picture below, it will take you to the Amazon and you can buy a copy of it for yourself.
Seriously--try it. If you click the picture it will magically transport you to the wonderful world of Amazon where you can purchase nearly anything the world has to offer.
I said "nearly" --don't get all snippy with me because you can't buy your great-great-aunt's petit point pattern from the 1800's. Actually, perhaps you can. If you find it there, let me know. I may need a copy.
In all seriousness, the small price of $14.95 is a ridiculously cheap cost for the invaluable lessons contained in this book.
I paid $100 for my copy.
WHAT??
I kid you not, when I began to catch a glimpse of what might be contained within this book, the book was out of print. I began to search feverishly for a copy and finally found one on the secondary market for $100. I gladly parted with my hard earned cash and waited anxiously for the book.
When it finally showed up, I was a bit worried. Had I just thrown away a tiny fortune in exchange for another crap book on writing? Was I basically like Jack who sold his cows for a load of useless beans?
Quickly I dove in and began to devour the short chapters. I immediately sensed something different about this book. It was actually designed to help an anxious aspirant learn how to create stories.
I read it.
I re-read it.
I re-re-read it.
You get the picture.
I quickly realized the $100 I spent on the book was a very small price to pay. The other day, out of curiosity, I searched for the book on the internet to see if any copies were available. I had in mind to purchase a copy for a friend of mine. To my everlasting delight, someone has come along and printed a new edition. The windows of heaven are open and the manna of writerly wisdom is waiting to spray down on you in a celestial torrent of raging waters if you will just read this book.
Too much?
Perhaps, but in all seriousness, if you want to write stories do yourself a favor and read this book.
The book teaches a few simple lessons that have made all the difference in the world to me in my writing career. For this, I am grateful to Algis Budrys who decided to take the time and compile his hard earned pearls of wisdom into written form for the benefit of future writers.
If you want to write stories, read this book.
It will teach you to create stories rather than teaching you the nuts and bolts of writing.
Now get out of here, I have a bit of writing to do.
You can get my novella -- An Assassin's Tool-- for free download right here . You can also purchase it on Amazon for just $0.99 if you prefer. What do I think? I think you should purchase it so I can go out and buy a fizzy soda or something.
© 2015, Stone Golem Publishing, All rights reserved--no part of this may be used without express written consent.
**All pictures used are labeled for reuse. They come from Pixabay
