The writing forum I'm leading with several of the youth at church continues to go well. I look forward to the group every week, but was a little concerned that some of last week's exercises were a bit tough. From the looks on a few of their faces, I wondered if we'd bitten off more than we could chew, but I think (and hope) they were challenged enough to see what they're capable of writing. They're really doing a great job.
As with everything I've ever taught, I often learn as much (usually more) from the participants than they learn from me. It's good to constantly evaluate the tools, methods and approaches you use and how effective they are. And the exercises often challenge me, showing me weaknesses in my own writing that I tend to ignore.
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I don't know how the new movie version of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend will turn out, but you can always read the book. Originally marketed as a sf novel (written in 1954 but set in 1976), I Am Legend has truly earned its classic horror status. Matheson is one of those rare writers who is not only smart, not only knows how to keep the pages turning, not only writes well (imagine that), but who stands the test of time. It's stunning that this novel was written half a century ago. Check it out before you see the movie. Highly recommended.
And while we're talking about horror, welcome to the most horrific William Faulkner work I've read, Sanctuary. This amazingly brutal novel first appeared in 1931 when apparently Faulkner "needed the money" and wrote his own version of Mississippi pulp-noir.
Filled with bootleg liquor, rape, murder, sex, prostitution and violence of all kinds, Sanctuary was Faulkner's biggest-selling novel during his lifetime. Faulkner himself even said that he "invented the most horrific tale I could imagine." I can attest to the fact that his imagination was quite active. Recommended.
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