Jay Fingers

OLETSDOIT: The 3-Day Novel Challenge

September 2nd, 2010 § 1

In yesterday’s post on Steve Martin’s Shopgirl, I made mention that I was going to participate the 3-Day Novel Challenge. Well, yeah, I am. Here’s how it all came about.

Author Vivian Lee Mahoney posted about the challenge on Twitter, as seen in the pic above, and her tweet is what initially caught my attention. She’d also posted a series of articles on her blog chronicling her approach to the challenge and referenced Michael Moorcock‘s Guide to Writing a Book in Three Days.

This isn’t the first time the idea of writing a book in a weekend’s time has been presented to me. When I first met artist/writer/renaissance man Livingroom Jonhston, one of the things that intrigued me about him was that he’d written his stellar novel I Don’t Want To Think About It Right Now over the course of a three-day period. It’s an excellent book, by the way, full of memorable characters and subtle nuances that accurately depict life in Brooklyn, New York.

Now, I’m a realist. I know there’s no way I could pen a complete novel in just 72 hours. But … but! I could hammer out a decent first draft and then revise and refine later on. So when Vivian asked me if I was down, I said yes. But only if she was down as well, haha.

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Books: Shopgirl by Steve Martin

September 1st, 2010 § 1

I’m not really sure how I became aware of Steve Martin‘s Shopgirl, but I can tell you why I wanted to read it.

This upcoming weekend is Labor Day Weekend, and it’s also the time frame in which the literary marathon known as the 3-Day Novel Contest takes place. It’s more grueling, more demanding, and more insane than NaNoWriMo. I’ll talk about the contest in a later post, but I will say that once I made up my mind to participate, I knew I’d need to set some parameters in order to reach my goal. One of these parameters was to concentrate on writing a novella instead of a novel. And if I was going to do that, I needed to read a novella in order to, you know, get my mind right.

That’s where Shopgirl comes into play.

I knew the novella had been adapted into a movie starring its author, and so I expected it to maybe be a wild and crazy sex romp or something. Man, was I wrong. Shopgirl is the story of Mirabelle, a sales associate for a Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus. She works in the glove department (think expensive evening gloves, not Isotoners), often spending her days alone as virtually no one ever comes to buy what she’s ostensibly hawking. Mirabelle, a Vermont native and talented artist, is burdened by student loans, depression, and a dependence on sundry antidepressants. She’s not too social and the few friends she has rarely invite her to join in their reindeer games.

Suddenly, two men come into Mirabelle’s life: slacker and persona non grata Jeremy and wealthy, middle-aged Ray Porter. Jeremy initally comes and goes; when Ray fully steps into the picture, the story gets interesting.

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Quote: Screenplays Are Not Works Of Art

August 31st, 2010 § 1

Screenplays are not works of art. They are invitations to others to collaborate on a work of art.
—Paul Schrader

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Popularity: 24% [?]

Quote: No Tears In The Writer

August 27th, 2010 § 1

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.”
—George Moore

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Popularity: 29% [?]

Quote: Only 10% of Writers Keep At It

August 24th, 2010 § 0

“Only 10% (if that) of writers keep at it, and because they do keep at it, they are successful and known—even if not talented.”
—Michael Martone

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Popularity: 23% [?]

Lauren Weisberger’s Last Night at Chateau Marmont Reading and Signing

August 24th, 2010 § 0

Last Tuesday, I trekked up to the Upper East Side outpost of Barnes & Noble for the release, reading, and signing of Lauren Weisberger‘s new novel, Last Night at Chateau Marmont.

Best known for her bestselling roman à clef The Devil Wears Prada, Lauren is also the author of Everyone Worth Knowing and Chasing Harry Winston. While I absolutely loved Everyone Worth Knowing, I really couldn’t get into Chasing Harry Winston. Based on the synopsis of the Last Night, however, it seems as if Lauren has returned to form.

Last Night at Chateau Marmont tells the story of Brooke Alter, a nutritionist working two jobs to support herself and husband Julian, a talented musician with a low-level recording contract. When a performance on The Tonight Show (with Jay, not Conan) catapults Julian into the spotlight, Brooke must learn to deal with the trappings of celebrity life.

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Popularity: 26% [?]

Quote: Do Not Feel Guilty About Idleness

August 17th, 2010 § 1

“If you write, good ideas must come welling up into you so that you have something to write. If good ideas do not come at once, or for a long time, do not be troubled at all. Wait for them. Put down little ideas no matter how insignificant they are. But do not feel, any more, guilty about idleness and solitude.”
—Brenda Ueland

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Popularity: 24% [?]