Gate Keeping in the Academic World Part 2

When last we left this topic, I had laid down some idealistic clap trap about the standards for education and young people, calling out the wizened people of my generation and older as unnecessarily hard on today's kids and their academic achievements. However, that post didn't address the question of grammar and conventions in the case of Jacqueline Howett's book. The book was full of convoluted sentences and questionable grammar, the blame for which was firmly laid at the lack of standards in today's classroom.

To discuss this topic thoroughly, I have to wear three hats: that of ESL class coordinator, that of technical writer, and that of classic English teacher.

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Mirrored from Writer Tamago.

VP Profile #12: Brent Bowen

Writer Brent Bowen is another podcaster in the VP XIII group, working with the fine folks at Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing. We finally caught up with Brent to ask him a few questions between gigs in his very busy schedule.

Tamago: How did you get started writing?

Brent: Growing up, I read a lot of comic books and adventure novels. And I’ve been writing pretty seriously since middle school, but almost exclusively some form of journalism. It wasn’t until shortly after college that I gave serious thought to writing fiction. And then, it took me reading "The Golden Compass" to commit. I just thought: “There needs to be more fiction like this in the world.”

Tamago: Do you have a genre? What kinds of stories do you prefer to write?

Brent: I’ll write anything genre, but don’t gravitate to hard SF naturally, which is a bit strange because I’m a bit of a gadget-hound and had an aptitude for science in school.

Tamago: What projects are you working on now?

Brent: Currently, I’m finishing up another round of edits on a short story – I’ve got to get it down from novella territory -- where I mash up quasi-obscure religious werewolf lore, seventeenth century European slave trade and the origins to some Dutch holiday traditions.

I’m also working on my first magical realism piece. It’s set in a wine shop where the protagonist’s mother has just passed away and left her the shop in the will. She has no idea what she is doing, but gets some unexpected help in building loyal clientele.

Finally, I just finished a rough draft that's a big risk for me. The story kicks off with an absurd The Android's Dream-type beginning that I try to make plausible. I'll need a few crits under my belt before I could even begin to share particulars.

Tamago: I know you have a busy life: father, full-time worker, coach, and writer. What advice can you give to writers trying to find time to write while wearing many hats?

Brent: First, if you want to write, find solitude. I read a great blog post about the needs of creative types and it identified solitude as the no. 1 need.
Second, if you have commitments to other people in your life, such as your children or a significant other, find common ground. What I mean by that is that when my wife and I talk about my needs as a writer, I make compromises and I try to relate to things in a way that align with her values. There is no right or wrong, just your own hue.

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Mirrored from Writer Tamago.