Writer, Meet Block. Block, Writer.

Just when I thought I’d gotten over a block for a novella idea that I’d had since May of ‘06, I hit the damn wall again. I think it is partly because I am over-analyzing things. Another is probably because I rarely write with an outline. I just write, and things (often) work out. Today, I started to do an outline for the novella, with the hope of removing the block, but to no avail. I ended up over-analyzing the outline itself. Perhaps this is how real writers do it, I don’t know. It was just frustrating. So, I started working on a new, shorter piece. However, thoughts about my stalled novella kept popping in-and-out of my cognizance, distracting me from my other project. So, I stopped that other project, too. That was when I just started reading blogs here in order to completely separate my consciousness from the novella. To my chagrin, I ran across the blog of a writer who’d written a book whose main idea revolves around the same idea that I had for my novella, and my heart sank. The thought of another writer–whose book is on Amazon.com, by the way–was enough to remove the wind from my sails. I’m seriously contemplating walking away from my idea, but that would be too defeatist, wouldn’t it? I mean, I could always put a different spin on my own idea to make it unique and original while maintaining my initial premise. Sigh…I guess I’ll have to sleep on this. Perhaps a renewed clarity will overcome me after a good night’s sleep.

“The Book Thief,” A Review

To say that Markus Zusak’s “The Book Thief” is an instant classic may be overstating things a bit but it wouldn’t necessarily be too far from the truth. With Nazi Germany as a backdrop, Zusak tells the story of Liesl Meminger as narrated by the sardonic voice of Death himself. The titular character does a lot of growing up during World War II and the reader is fortunate enough to be witness to her evolution. Through Liesl’s eyes, we are able to see both the beauty and the darkness that define humanity. Zusak’s allegorical writing style is both refreshing and intriguing, successfully tapping into how a pre-adolescent German girl must view and experience her world during those times. His prismatic language comes from a seemingly immeasurable palette that the reader is easily transported to a Nazi Germany both real and individually imagined. Some readers may be unnerved by Death’s penchant for divulging certain truths at the beginning of chapters, but Zusak’s writing is so engaging that such revelations are only a prelude to the narrative voyage to follow.