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Books by D.J. Butler
Monthly Archives: July 2011
If Jesus Drove a Motorhome
It’s the 24th of July weekend. Growing up in Utah, that meant parades. I’m going to celebrate the weekend with a little alt-country. Here’s Jim White, “If Jesus Drove a Motorhome”. Jim’s a southern gothic hipster, sort of like if … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Song
Tagged Alt-Country, If Jesus Drove a Motorhome, Jim White, No Such Place, Pioneer Day, The 24th of July
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Pacing
Pacing is the alternation of action/tension bits (scenes) and non-action/tension bits (sequels). Different stories and different audiences may require different kinds of pacing. Some rules of thumb: 1. Alternate scene and sequel. 2. Successive scenes should have bigger action or … Continue reading
The Lure of the Secret World
I think one of the things I find most attractive in any novel is the feeling that it is telling me secrets about the world I live in. You see this simply and pretty clearly in a lot of middle … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write
Tagged Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Chabon, Rick Riordan, Thomas Pynchon, Umberto Eco
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Give Me Three Years
I’ll have fans like this.
Jots and Tittles: A Funny Little Example
You have to be aware of the market you’re writing for, and think about it objectively. Here’s a funny little example, from last week, in my own writing. I am working on a middle reader novel and the Story Monkeys … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write
Tagged Commas, Harry Potter, Market, Percy Jackson, Science of Writing, Story Monkeys, Voice
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One Hundred Thirty-Three Characters
Twitter is great because it forces you to write efficiently. Epigrams and haikus only. Twitter stinks because it is full of spammers.
Anarchy in the U.K.
I can laugh at this. My son is a subject of Her Majesty.
The Hobbit
I just finished (re-)reading The Hobbit, out loud to my kids (this is their second reading of it, and they know the Rankin/Bass film well). We’ve been reading out of the big hardback illustrated by Alan Lee, which is just … Continue reading
Women, Women
And a little Yossi Banay, everyone’s favorite Israeli chanteur. Man, does this look dated or what? I want those glasses. So do you, admit it.
Posted in Music, Song
Tagged Awesome Glasses, Dated Music, Israeli Writers, Women, Yossi Banay
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Moon
In honor of Lavie Tidhar, whose The Bookman I have started reading this weekend, I’ll post a couple of Israeli songwriters. Here’s Shlomo Artzi, with “Yareach”. Monty, Avi — I expect you guys to pass this on and get me … Continue reading
