Why we make ourselves crazy during December is anyone’s guess. January is the traditional time to take a deep breath and figure out what to do for the next 11 months.
Here at the Law Emporium of Mark Bruce, we are hoping to catch up on some cases, confound our enemies and delight our friends. In other words, life goes on.
It’s still the first week of January but already I’ve been at two court hearings and have another to attend tomorrow. Then I have to write a brief on a case coming up next week. The writing of briefs is the only writing I seem to have time for these days–other than this blog and my daily journal.
I am also working–slowly–on another Minerva short story for Dandelion Revolution Press. The wonderful women at DRP have already published two Minerva stories and I’m hoping to come up with a spectacular follow up for #3. In all, eight Minerva stories have found a home in different publications. A pretty good track record, you’d think.
But the novel, now entitled “The Gods of War,” hasn’t been the buzz of the literati. I’m told it’s because I don’t start the book with an exciting moment–like a killing or a congressional hearing. The Writing guidebooks are full of advice–don’t start with weather, don’t start by describing the scene, don’t start with dialogue, don’t have your characters drive down the street or wake up or dream to start your book.
I’m reading a bestseller I bought while in Michigan. It starts with a couple of old folks looking through some autopsy photos of a “cold case.” Then there’s a long, loving description of the home they live in. This book was a bestselling debut!
But, as always, the rule is: Everyone else but me can break “the rules.”
I guess it’s just another of those daily annoyances I put up with, like clients who don’t do what I ask them to, or judges who don’t see that the guy on the other side is a psychopath.
Oh well. It looks like I will embark on revision number 10 on the book. And another year slipping under my feet.
Happy New Year, my friends.
Mark Bruce, Writer 