Angelhead and Tell it Slant

Hi! Sorry if I am behind on this; we are looking at purchasing a home. I finished Greg Bottoms’ Angelhead. It was fantastic! I’m very attracted to his style of fusing short incidences into a longer, complete narrative. This is something that I want to do with my book. I am thinking of studying his transitions for one of my critical papers (if that’s okay, Jess). I am also reading Tell it Slant. I am taking a slow approach with this book (I am only on the second chapter) because I really want to absorb all of the great instructions and concepts it provides. The first chapter talks about using the five senses like Sue Silverman has mentioned often. I am connecting Tell it Slant with Angelhead and focusing on Bottoms’ approach to allow a single idea to represent many of the senses as well as a larger metaphor. For instance, Bottoms uses electricity as a modern convenience, the sight of the living room anchored by the TV, its messages sounding throughout the house, his brother Michael smelling like electricity, which connects Bottoms’ idea of the modern world as a possible source of his brother’s illness. All of the smaller details fit together into a larger metaphor of modern consumer-based culture and the effects it has on society, as radically interpreted by his brother’s breakdown. These everyday descriptions lead the reader toward an empathetic view of his brother’s mental decline and his family’s struggle to handle it while attempting to maintain an “average-family” façade.
After reading these two books, I have substantially revised my piece “Screaming in Silence,” which, sadly, I am still working on a different title. To those who have read it, what do you think of “Voice Over” (which goes with the idea of a controller’s voice, a writer finding her voice, and an individual fighting to move from victim to survivor, regaining her voice)? Please tell me if this is horrible!
Back to the two books: I am trying to weave metaphors that fit together into a larger theme, like Bottoms’ book does, as well as focus on the small details that create those metaphors, like Tell it Slant instructs. My writing before had incongruent metaphors, but I was just playing with ideas, so these two books have really helped me hone on specifics (I hope!). Sometimes I think I could write this story for two years and never be finished; I guess that means it’s love!
Much love and creativity to all!
~C

Okay, ha ha...I misspelled healing as healings

I just finished Silverman’s Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction. I wanted to jump into revisions as soon as I got home, but after starting to read Sue’s book on the plane I decided that I needed to finish it before approaching my own writing. Although her memoir is based on some different themes than what I am writing, there are similarities in her plot points, such as cannibalism, placing one’s self in danger for survival, and learning to use words as tools of healings. The way that Silverman weaves through various time frames is something that I need to work on. After reading her book, I recognize that my transitions are a bit jarring. Also, Silverman explains through the voice of experience, whereas I just cut from one thing to another without much reflection. I liked how she only used her first name once in the book. I have trouble using my first name, but reading her book has shown me that I really don’t have to unless it is germane to the story, such as hers is when she uses it to document her signature on a form. Additionally, I liked how Sue used her “unit” as a place of grounding for the plot and the setting. Reading Silverman’s book truly helped me to understand what the workshop was saying about leaving tears off the page and infusing more reflection. Now let’s see if I can put this all to use.
~C

Reading

First post: I am reading Sue Silverman's Love Sick. It is fantastic. Reading it really helps me to understand how to write cold to leave the tears off the paper. It wasn't on the reading list, but I wanted to read it on the plane and I cannot put it down!
Hope all is well
~C