A Million Little What?

All of a sudden indignation hit about Oprah's reaction to James Frey's A Million Little Pieces. Because of her outrage, James Frey has received so much flack and possibly a ruined writing career. So I sent Oprah an email:

Dear Oprah,
I heard about (and saw parts of) the hullabaloo you made over A Million Little Pieces by James Frey because the claim of it being a nonfiction novel. I have to say that I'm more than a little annoyed that you chewed him out about it. For nonfiction writers there are varying degrees of "truth" in the writing. Some nonfiction writers believe only what really happened can be recorded, and some believe it is o.k. to fudge the truth a bit. But often the label of fiction or nonfiction is determined by the publisher, depending on how well which category will help the book to sell. Furthermore, the very act of WRITING down reality alters reality. And a good work of nonfiction will not only record facts and actions, but also interpret or spin them--also blurring the "original reality." I think it is shameless that you ostricized this man simply because you believed him to lie, instead of bringing up a discussion of genre / the effects of marketing by publishing houses.

My main point is that by writing down something, constructing a story via words, which is then read by an audience (and, therefore, further removes the reader from the "original" reality) alters the truth, so that nonfiction can never be pure. There are too many layers--like the story within a story within a story in Moulin Rouge--between the original action that occurred (the original story, if you will), including the interpretation and understanding of the mediator (the writer). Nonfiction, including memoirs and histories, can never truly be considered "the truth." Readers must take the story with a grain of salt, and acknowlege the peice of writing for what it ultimately is--a story.

Make Your Millions with MegaMillions!

If you live in one of the states that participates in the MegaMillions lottery, be sure to buy a ticket for Friday's drawing! I am a MegaMillions amatuer guru, and have been tracking the MegaMillions for some time now. The latest word is no one won the 175 MILLION jackpot for Tuesday's drawing (although, 3 lucky winners received $250,000). This means that Friday's jackpot will be up to 203 MILLION! So, be sure to buy a ticket or two, and if ya win, remember the little people. (and by little people, I mean me! ;)

For a Bored Mind-- AND Make Your Millions!

OK, so I haven't tired playing with this that much, but you may be interested in trying your hand at coming up with blockbuster titles! The idea is you input a few words and answer a few questions, and the titlescorer will tell you the likelihood that your novel will be a bestseller. My old title for my novel has a 44.2% chance of being a bestseller--but I kind of fibbed my answers because it has no option for a gerund! Oh well, my committee suggested I come up with a new title, so hopefully my new title will be more in the 85% range. :)

Moments of Sadness

It is with great sadness that I share the news of the death of Herbert Scott, a great poet and founder of New Issues Poetry & Prose Press at WMU. Myself a fiction writer, I never had the opportunity to take a class with Herb, but I was able to get to know him in limited meetings. I was also privileged to see him give a reading at the Prague Summer Program this past summer from his newest book, Sleeping Woman. I can't express enough how much respect and admiration I had for this man, and how much he will be missed by those who knew him.

Erratic? More like Sporadic!

Hello to all, long time no see. Since I began working at my great new job, it's taken awhile to settle in and get things back to "normal." Suffice it to say, I've been thinking about posting for awhile, and hope to get back in the habit. Take care!