Hmmmm....

Don't think of literary form. Let it get out as it wants to. Overtell it in the matter of detail--cutting comes later. --John Steinbeck

This quotation jumped out at me from a book called A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves.

My writing sometimes seems very spare. Sure, there's description. It reflects my personality in some ways. I don't suffer fools gladly, but I am patient most of the time. I generate the important (to me) details. I consider the rest of what I could say "fluff." I urge my students to push the envelope with description, to surround readers with the moment. At the same time, I don't want to bulldoze through details that are not relevant.

John Steinbeck is saying that a writer should write it down first and cut later. Yes, but some writers edit before the words flow out of the pen. Look how clean Hemingway's writing is, for example. Nothing superfluous...I guess the middle of the road is the best.

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I volunteered to be on the "Literary Magazine" Committee at KU today. I'll let you know how it goes.

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I am reflecting on Father Larry Richards' Mission at our church this year. He's filled with enthusiasm and truth. He told all of us to read our Bibles every day. "Bible before breakfast; bible before bed." I've never read the bible cover to cover, have you? I read the Book of Judith the other night and was enthralled. I'd love to visit Father Larry's church in Erie sometime. Going to confession with someone like him on the other side must be awesome. He is also selling some great t-shirts that say "I love my German Shepherd" on the front, with a picture of Pope Benedict on the back.
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