This is my first update in a while; not so much a site update (since I have nothing new to post) as much as it is an Ian update. And I have to say I’m glad I called this place Tangents because today I’ll be running the gamut.
First of all, I hope everyone had a good time bringing in the new year. I was in Hamilton that night at a Tragically Hip concert, and I think it goes without saying that I had a great time. Sarah Harmer opened, which pleased me to no end. She didn’t play any Weeping Tile songs, but it was still great to see her live.
Coming later this year is Toronto Trek 17. I will be there, fending off geeks and nerds and pontificating about the publishing industry on a handful of panels. This isn’t happening until July, but apparently this is one of the better cons around, so I’ve started planning early. If you want to check out the freaks or argue about the scientific inaccuracies of Enterprise, it might be worth your while. There’s also a costume party on the Saturday night of the con. I went last year and had a great time. This year I’ll be back, dressed as one of the Men In Black (the only way to look stylish and still be in costume), so come out and say ‘ello.
Secondly, I’ve just about finished reading The Bridges of Madison County, and I am having a hard time accepting the cover blurb which states it as “The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of All Time.” Confirmation, anyone? Please? Because I ain’t impressed, and I will be quite saddened and disillusioned if I find this to be true.
And now the news.
Maybe it’s just me. I admit, I know cock-all about politics and couldn’t care less who got voted into what office or whether some bill was passed or not. I’ve just never been able to really get into that stuff. But then one day you’re walking out of Zehrs and you happen to catch a news headline that suggests the possibility of World War III.
I suddenly took interest. Not much, mind you, but enough to wonder what the hell the world was coming to. World War III? With nuclear weapons? Didn’t someone once say that no one wins a nuclear war? Doesn’t anyone realize that it only takes a couple of dirty nukes and a few strong wind currents to pollute the entire planet? Didn’t they know I had a writing career in the works here? Who the hell is supposed to read my novels when the smoke clears? The cockroaches? Maybe they should start running those old Cold War movies they made back in the ’80s — movies like The Day After, Threads, and Testament. I think the world needs to be reminded that no one should use these weapons — EVER.
I apologize for that little diatribe. I have always made an effort to prevent Lit Noir from becoming a blog (no offense to you bloggers out there; keep boring us with your bland and mundane existences). I think part of the reason I update so infrequently is because I never want this site to become So I woke up today and went for a run. The mail came: phone bill and another rejection letter. When will those publishing-house fat cats realize I’m the Next Big Thing and give me my million-dollar contract?! Here’s a poem I wrote about the injustice of it all.
You may laugh — and believe me, most writers who keep Internet diaries are worth a chuckle — but this isn’t very far from what you’ll find out there. Not too long ago I was talking to a few coworkers about writers who use their blogs to piss and moan about their lack of success (both financial and critical), and I was asked why my site didn’t qualify as a blog. I thought that was a good question, and one that should be addressed here. And so:
Why Lit Noir is not a blog …
I suppose I should begin by saying I have no particular bone to pick with blogs or bloggers. I simply believe that there are some writers out there who complain too much about never having any time to write. These harangues are usually done via
their blogs, which makes absolutely no sense to me for reasons that should be plainly obvious to any reader with even the bare minimum of brain cells.
There is nothing personal on this site that isn’t directly related to my writing. Yes, my personal life and my writing life occasionally crossover (usually with amusing results), but I’ve always been very careful, very aware, of the line between Relevant Facts and Who Cares? (Of course, some visitors may think this entire site falls under the latter heading and that is their right.)
I’ve never had very much foreknowledge about the direction of this site … but I sure knew what I didn’t want it to be. I never wanted to write about my daily routine or who I was currently dating or the moods of my cats. As such, I created a failsafe for this site, one that clarifies the difference between Lit Noir and a blog: I actually think about what I’m writing before I published it on the Internet. I really try and consider whether or not a reader is going to be interested in what I have to say. If it’s relevant to my writing, or writing in general, then I post it. If it doesn’t, well, that’s why there’s a delete key, right?
As such, I hope I haven’t bored anyone terribly with this site. I haven’t been able to write as many articles as I would have liked to. But I have them, in my head and on my hard drive, waiting to be finished. I can tell you that I’m currently working on three new essays: an examination of overused genres and archetypes, called Done to Death, a look at the “big bug” movies of the 1950s, called Death From A Bug, and an as-yet-untitled article on the basic tools of writing.
This year looks to be a busy one for me. There’s the promotion at work, the move to new office space at Yonge and St. Clair, and coming up later this week, an interview for a writing job at Rue Morgue magazine. Those boys finally got back to me after my query letter last October, so keep your fingers crossed for me on Thursday around 4:30pm.
Take care and be good to each other,
Ian
By the way, Salon.com has a great article on hardcover novels and why they’re so freakin’ expensive. It’s worth a look.
