Ask the Dust is John Fante's 1939 novel. The story follows Arturo Bandini, a young struggling Italian-American writer in Los Angeles, who tries to gain the life experiences he thinks he needs to write the great American novel. He falls in love with a Mexican-American waitress who is in love with a bartender who despises … Continue reading thoughts on fante’s ask the dust
Tag: writing
vanilla cream cherry
His vanilla cream coating hid a core of sticky, sweet cherry filling, the round succulent globes pressed in on each other like earthy hearts of blood red juices to soak her shivering tongue in ecstasy.
i’m a stranger to my inner writing sadist
What do you do when you want to write a short story but coddle your characters so much that even the antagonist/villain becomes a milquetoast and nothing ever happens in the story world? I think I understand a story's building blocks. I've read dozens of books on the subject. But applying that knowledge has been … Continue reading i’m a stranger to my inner writing sadist
banana bread, anyone?
Virgil and Sharon Smith measure their day by television programming. As they tell guests during commercial breaks, "...two o'clock is Bonzai Gunslingers. Then at three we watch Entitled Rich 1950's Girl Pseudodrama. After that is Guess the Price of This Crap..." From morning to night their day is jam-packed. Right now, it's 8:23 on Wednesday … Continue reading banana bread, anyone?
when you like what comes out of what you hate
I've been sewing clothes and costumes for decades. But the truth is, I hate doing it. It's an act of will forcing myself to get through a project. I'll sit at the sewing machine just staring at it with all sorts of hate juice pouring into it. I feel compelled to sew anyway. I do … Continue reading when you like what comes out of what you hate
why i write
I write because I have to. When I miss a day of writing, I feel the grumblings deep within, banging and clanking like the bowels of an old ship retracting its anchor. I become unmoored and drift aimlessly with only the barest of conscious awareness of the world around me. The world and I become … Continue reading why i write
life in jello 