James, you're one of my favorite writing craft teachers. I use your "How to Write Best-Selling Fiction" like a Bible. I recently got on Substack and subscribed to this newsletter. I was intrigued by the title 'Fertilizer Discipline.' Great story! Now I've gotta find and watch 'Stars in My Crown.'
Thanks for that! One of the things I notice in your novel writing is the clever work-arounds you have for curses. I love it! Would that more authors follow that practice. Leave the reader to mentalize the ugly words for themselves, if they must. I also admire the words you invent as descriptors. Creative!
Saying something like, “She spewed a string of expletives that could offend a <someone who is liberal with strings of expletives>” can be more powerful than, well, an actual string of expletives. I like those work-arounds, too.
Interesting points and stories. So nice to hear about a movie star who was a good guy too!
I was badly traumatized watching Michael L. get his mouth washed out with soap. Reconnecting over fifty years later via FB, he has no recollection. Go figure. I recall the angry nun as she did used a very unhygienic bar of soap that had been sitting on a chalkboard ledge all year and had a yellow tinge to it. UGH!
I come from a family who communicated with yelling and swearwords. Nobody was more creative than my dad, who mixed Italian, street lingo and his own imagination. Verbs became nouns, became adjectives, became strings of insults, which often broke the tension when it was time for a "beating" so we could laugh at his original verbiage. Thanks to both parents, I need a proverbial bar of soap to watch my mouth in front of my baby grandson.
"she hauled me into the bathroom and grabbed the soap out of the dish and shoved it in my mouth."
I don't remember getting my mouth washed out with soap; I was certainly guilty of the dirty word sin, I just knew not to utter those words in my parent's presence. I do remember watching my younger sister getting her mouth washed out with soap though. She thought she would be more clever and keep her mouth tightly shut so the soap wouldn't enter her mouth and she would avoid the whole nasty taste --- but Mom had other plans, she grated the soap across my sister's teeth as you would cheese across a grater. lol. I think it would have been better to let the bar enter her mouth and avoid the finely grated shavings of soap land and more easliy dissolve on her tongue for a more robust flavor. what do you think?
Love your stories, his ranch is still up in the Santa Rosa Valley
Thanks!
James, you're one of my favorite writing craft teachers. I use your "How to Write Best-Selling Fiction" like a Bible. I recently got on Substack and subscribed to this newsletter. I was intrigued by the title 'Fertilizer Discipline.' Great story! Now I've gotta find and watch 'Stars in My Crown.'
Thanks for the good word.
The title above was a great hook.
Thanks for that! One of the things I notice in your novel writing is the clever work-arounds you have for curses. I love it! Would that more authors follow that practice. Leave the reader to mentalize the ugly words for themselves, if they must. I also admire the words you invent as descriptors. Creative!
Thanks, Andy!
Saying something like, “She spewed a string of expletives that could offend a <someone who is liberal with strings of expletives>” can be more powerful than, well, an actual string of expletives. I like those work-arounds, too.
Totally agree.
Will def find that movie Stars in My Crown and watch it -- love learning of Margaret Fitts -- she was amazing!!! Thank you so much!
👍
Interesting points and stories. So nice to hear about a movie star who was a good guy too!
I was badly traumatized watching Michael L. get his mouth washed out with soap. Reconnecting over fifty years later via FB, he has no recollection. Go figure. I recall the angry nun as she did used a very unhygienic bar of soap that had been sitting on a chalkboard ledge all year and had a yellow tinge to it. UGH!
I come from a family who communicated with yelling and swearwords. Nobody was more creative than my dad, who mixed Italian, street lingo and his own imagination. Verbs became nouns, became adjectives, became strings of insults, which often broke the tension when it was time for a "beating" so we could laugh at his original verbiage. Thanks to both parents, I need a proverbial bar of soap to watch my mouth in front of my baby grandson.
Interesting! Thanks for the story.
"she hauled me into the bathroom and grabbed the soap out of the dish and shoved it in my mouth."
I don't remember getting my mouth washed out with soap; I was certainly guilty of the dirty word sin, I just knew not to utter those words in my parent's presence. I do remember watching my younger sister getting her mouth washed out with soap though. She thought she would be more clever and keep her mouth tightly shut so the soap wouldn't enter her mouth and she would avoid the whole nasty taste --- but Mom had other plans, she grated the soap across my sister's teeth as you would cheese across a grater. lol. I think it would have been better to let the bar enter her mouth and avoid the finely grated shavings of soap land and more easliy dissolve on her tongue for a more robust flavor. what do you think?
Resourceful mother!
My wife and I enjoy reading your biographies. The older films and stars were gems.
Yes.