Have come up with an exercise in learning style that I will be shortly producing here as the results of my practice as I go along. I know it’s rather silly to post an entry about what I’m gonna do, but this is one of the best purposes of my log–once it’s down here, it’s law. It’s a commitment that I must address and fulfill and will hang a heavy cloud of guilt over my head until I do. Yeah, I’m one of those people who need to be driven and guilt is one of the best methods with me. Guilt is a good thing. Lots of good stuff has been achieved because of guilt. Guilt is especially right and proper when you’ve done something wrong and need a push to make it right.
Anyway, getting back to the exercise, I’m going to select a short simple paragraph from some piece of fiction and then rewrite it with an eye towards following the style of one of the masters. How would McCarthy or Borowski have written Photopia? Think it may help in getting down the idea of exactly what makes a recognizable difference in how a story is told.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology