Roger DeBlanck's Blog - Posts Tagged "literature"
The Reading/Writing Balance
Before I ever believed I could be a writer, the work of my masters made me dream of what I might create—something worthy of shadowing in the footsteps of their monumental achievements. In reading the works of those I revere, I was driven to follow their greatness, to emulate what they do. Early in my teens, this often led me to consume all the work of certain authors: Shakespeare, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Dostoevsky, Camus, Hesse, Borges, Steinbeck, Wright, Hemingway, and others. As I read, often I’d come across something about the way they wrote and I’d become nervous, alarmed, even discouraged that my writing habits didn’t mirror those of my masters and the way they did their art. I’d feel defeated that if I couldn’t mimic their “ways”, I couldn’t be a writer. For example, Dostoevsky wrote several versions of his novels to find what worked best. Unreal? Could I ever match such a standard? This often caused real doubt in my early days of writing. If I wanted to write like the best, I needed to adopt their “way.” Right? Then after I finished college, it dawned on me how every writer did their art differently. By this time I was enamored with many of my contemporary masters: Morrison, McCarthy, Ondaatje, Doctorow, O’Brien and the list goes on. As I consumed their work, I realized there is no one right “way” to write. In fact, Morrison didn’t start writing her novels until she was forty. But she’d been a writer her entire life. As a lifelong reader and a professional book editor, she lived and breathed reading, writing, language, and literature.
For me, I must work in streaks and forays, yet every day I live and breathe reading, writing, language, and literature. I may never be able to put down a specific number of words each day or assign a disciplined block of time each day, but I live and breathe reading, writing, language, and literature every day. As a self-proclaimed reader first, I’m unable to go a single day without finding at least a few hours to read. Reading sparks my thinking, envisioning, obsessing, planning, preparing, researching, editing, and revising—all of which are necessities for me to write, all of which I carry out a little each day. I may do 10,000 words in a few days or less than a 1,000 in a given week. It all depends where I’m at in the process. But one aspect remains constant every day: I live and breathe reading, writing, language, and literature. If I’m writing a lot, naturally time is taken away from reading. The reciprocation is true: if I’m reading a lot, it is essentially to gear me up for an intense period of writing. This is my cycle, and worries do not bother me anymore if I’m not “writing” every single day because I am actually in the process of writing with everything else I do. My habit of a reading/writing balance is the only way my art works for me.
Roger 8-)
For me, I must work in streaks and forays, yet every day I live and breathe reading, writing, language, and literature. I may never be able to put down a specific number of words each day or assign a disciplined block of time each day, but I live and breathe reading, writing, language, and literature every day. As a self-proclaimed reader first, I’m unable to go a single day without finding at least a few hours to read. Reading sparks my thinking, envisioning, obsessing, planning, preparing, researching, editing, and revising—all of which are necessities for me to write, all of which I carry out a little each day. I may do 10,000 words in a few days or less than a 1,000 in a given week. It all depends where I’m at in the process. But one aspect remains constant every day: I live and breathe reading, writing, language, and literature. If I’m writing a lot, naturally time is taken away from reading. The reciprocation is true: if I’m reading a lot, it is essentially to gear me up for an intense period of writing. This is my cycle, and worries do not bother me anymore if I’m not “writing” every single day because I am actually in the process of writing with everything else I do. My habit of a reading/writing balance is the only way my art works for me.
Roger 8-)
The Destruction of Silence -- My new novel is now available.
The Destruction of Silence is my new novel, and it is now available in trade paperback or on Kindle from Amazon. It is also available in paperback anywhere books are sold. The links to Amazon and B & N are below. I've also included a link to the book's trailer.
https://www.amazon.com/Roger-DeBlanck...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-d...
https://www.goodreads.com/videos/1094...
Here's the novel's "book jacket" description:
In his most accomplished novel to date, Roger DeBlanck delivers an unforgettable contemporary story of a young Native American man on the road to recovery. Abuse and addiction have ruined Thomas Newsome’s youth, but he refuses to follow the wasted path of his father, Gilbert. After Thomas narrowly avoids tragedy, he vows to get clean and stay that way. Before he can bury his past and move on, he wants answers from his father for why he never changed. But then Gilbert falls ill and takes off on a personal journey. With only a handful of clues from his Apache past, Thomas sets out on a quest to track down his father. Along the way, he meets an elderly Native American sage by the name of Sons-in-jah. While traveling with the old man deep into the heart of Apache country through Arizona, New Mexico, and across the border, Thomas’s search for his father becomes an odyssey of self-discovery and an excavation into the roots of his Mescalero ancestors and the truth of his family history. The native individuals he meets and the enchanting places he visits will forever alter his perspective on life. In going from destruction to redemption, Thomas learns how the Apache spirit within him can lead towards a meaningful purpose in life. The Destruction of Silence is a heartfelt novel of remarkable beauty and compassion. It will sweep you up, carry you along, and leave you bereft and ultimately uplifted.
Roger 8-)
https://www.amazon.com/Roger-DeBlanck...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-d...
https://www.goodreads.com/videos/1094...
Here's the novel's "book jacket" description:
In his most accomplished novel to date, Roger DeBlanck delivers an unforgettable contemporary story of a young Native American man on the road to recovery. Abuse and addiction have ruined Thomas Newsome’s youth, but he refuses to follow the wasted path of his father, Gilbert. After Thomas narrowly avoids tragedy, he vows to get clean and stay that way. Before he can bury his past and move on, he wants answers from his father for why he never changed. But then Gilbert falls ill and takes off on a personal journey. With only a handful of clues from his Apache past, Thomas sets out on a quest to track down his father. Along the way, he meets an elderly Native American sage by the name of Sons-in-jah. While traveling with the old man deep into the heart of Apache country through Arizona, New Mexico, and across the border, Thomas’s search for his father becomes an odyssey of self-discovery and an excavation into the roots of his Mescalero ancestors and the truth of his family history. The native individuals he meets and the enchanting places he visits will forever alter his perspective on life. In going from destruction to redemption, Thomas learns how the Apache spirit within him can lead towards a meaningful purpose in life. The Destruction of Silence is a heartfelt novel of remarkable beauty and compassion. It will sweep you up, carry you along, and leave you bereft and ultimately uplifted.
Roger 8-)
