Writing stuff

Hello again, I wanted to put something on the blog--since it's been awhile. I down loaded a new book reader from the Android Market Place (for my T-Mobile G1 phone) called Aldiko and it has been challenging with all the books I have to read now. I'm reading three at once and while I'm sure it may not be the most efficient way to go about it, I am enjoying the ride. I have been reading a bunch of instructional writing books and researching the "interweb"--in my quest for a better understanding of the in's and out's of Fiction writing. Some of these guides have been pointing the way to some classic authors like Dickens and Hemingway, Dumas and Carroll. I am currently reading Tales of Two Cities, Paradise Lost and Othello. It strikes me that had I went to college or was serious about my time in high school, these stories and authors would not be new to me. I am excited to see how the masters of fiction set the bar and laid the foundation for those writers that followed. My understanding has increased and I am begining to see that it's really a complex system of different elements that make up this craft. Let this be a lesson for any of you who are young and still in school. Pay attention and read everything you can get your hands and eyes on. Don't be the 40 something person years later playing extreme catchup.

I have been listening to a podcast called  Writing Excuses.
www.writingexcuses.com
This show is hosted by three Authors and Cartoonist currently publishing and making a living at it. They offer great information and insight presented in relaxed and humorous 15 min episodes. I downloaded these to my phone and listen quite often. If your interested in the craft of writing, check them out.
I've been telling my brother Carlos about them for a while and he has finally gave a listen and now he too is a fan of the show.