I was passed the link for this blog from a friend and I've fallen totally head over heels for it. It's brilliant. Whoever this Greg Ross gentleman is, he certainly knows how to make a blog I will stay up at night reading.
The blog is called Futility Closet and full of interesting little puzzles and information. My favourite post thus far has been a post about Dashiell Hammett, the famous detective writer of The Maltese Falcon fame. I've cut and pasted a little excerpt from Futility Closet to tempt you:
In 1930 Dashiell Hammett reviewed mystery fiction for the New York Evening Post. Dismayed at the blunders he encountered, he published 24 “suggestions that might be of value to somebody.” Excerpts:
2. The Colt’s .45 automatic pistol has no chambers. The cartridges are put in a magazine.
4. When a bullet from a Colt’s .45, or any firearm of approximately the same size and power, hits you, even if not in a fatal spot, it usually knocks you over. It is quite upsetting at any reasonable range.
You can read the rest of the entry here: http://www.futilitycloset.com/2011/05/14/gumshoe-polish/
What makes Hammett's "advice" so interesting is not only does it give you a deeper glimpse into Hammett's writings than perhaps he intended, but it's valuable advice for any writer about being accurate in your writing when accuracy is possible. As a sidenote, when I started reading Hammett's suggestions via FC's blog, I actually thought Hammett was encouraging bad readers to blow their brains out. The first two items from the excerpts do sort of seem like advice on how to load and fire a Colt 45.
The blog is called Futility Closet and full of interesting little puzzles and information. My favourite post thus far has been a post about Dashiell Hammett, the famous detective writer of The Maltese Falcon fame. I've cut and pasted a little excerpt from Futility Closet to tempt you:
In 1930 Dashiell Hammett reviewed mystery fiction for the New York Evening Post. Dismayed at the blunders he encountered, he published 24 “suggestions that might be of value to somebody.” Excerpts:
2. The Colt’s .45 automatic pistol has no chambers. The cartridges are put in a magazine.
4. When a bullet from a Colt’s .45, or any firearm of approximately the same size and power, hits you, even if not in a fatal spot, it usually knocks you over. It is quite upsetting at any reasonable range.
You can read the rest of the entry here: http://www.futilitycloset.com/2011/05/14/gumshoe-polish/
What makes Hammett's "advice" so interesting is not only does it give you a deeper glimpse into Hammett's writings than perhaps he intended, but it's valuable advice for any writer about being accurate in your writing when accuracy is possible. As a sidenote, when I started reading Hammett's suggestions via FC's blog, I actually thought Hammett was encouraging bad readers to blow their brains out. The first two items from the excerpts do sort of seem like advice on how to load and fire a Colt 45.
(Not to be confused with the malt beverage that once had Billy Dee Williams as their spokesman).
Recently, the agent and writer Betsy Lerner said on her blog that the Internet has "separated the yolks from the whites" as some writers spend more time on Facebook or YouTube and less time submitting bad manuscripts, but I think the Internet has helped me as a writer. Not only can I blog my frustrations, trials, and triumphs, but it also helps me practice. I also have endless resources to research, look at things that might inspire me, and of course to check out the competition.
Not to mention when it gets really, really bad I can compulsively shop online to feel better or torture myself even more by reading writers who are far more talented than me.
Be sure to check out The Futility Closet, it's great reading.
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