Selling Familiar Names

Posted on January 5, 2024 by knlistman

I looked up at the librarian with a pleading glance, trying to get her attention. I had failed, again, in my attempt to check out books at a self-serve kiosk. My difficulty was holding my card at precisely the correct angle for the scanner to read it. I could type the number in, but the touch keyboard on the screen was not working either. Everything the library had done to automate the checkout experience was now putting me in the mood to commit a misdemeanor—walking out with two unchecked out books under my coat.

Instead of glancing my way, she turned to a co-worker and confided, “Patterson and Cussler are definitely the biggest repeat offenders.” Worse offenders than me? I wondered how many library books they had stolen. However, as the conversation continued I realized this duo was James Patterson and Clive Cussler, two popular authors in the thriller genre. Immediately, I stopped fiddling with my card. I wanted to hear more, but she offered nothing in the rest of her conversation to enlighten me. What was their offense that kept happening? Perhaps, I should have been blunt and asked. But, this event happened shortly after the peak of Covid-19. We were all wearing masks. So, I kept my 6-foot distance and my silence. At one point I gave up and laid my card down, but in doing so I evidently performed whatever magic feat was required to get the scanner to recognize it.

Later at home, rather than diving into one of my books, I googled the similarity between James Patterson, Clive Cussler, and the world of librarians. Evidently both of these authors openly admit that they hired others to write many of their books. James Patterson sketches out plots, which he hands over to ghost writers to be completed. Then, he reviews them and revises the text to maintain some modicum of a similar style.

After Clive Cussler rose to fame he started writing series with other authors. People wonder how much Cussler was actually writing. He even managed to complete five novels after he died. Now, that’s a real ghost writer. Although according to the grapevine his son Dirk is just continuing to write books under his father’s name as he did when Clive was alive.

Books by Patterson and Cussler may be subject to secretive editing by unknown library clients.

But, I found another curious connection. Books by these two may be subject to secretive editing by unknown library clients. A Reddit/Librarians article described techniques to catch the person who kept checking out Patterson books to correct awkward grammar and repeated words with white out. Perhaps it was a copycat offender that my local librarian had mentioned. Rarely, do I look at Reddit for information due to the numerous rants. However, the article both informed and amused me.

Is this kind of guerilla feedback a way for average people to get back at famous authors who seem to sell works under their own names no matter who writes them?

Illustration: Book Shell Architecture by Wallpaper Shelf.com

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More to a Name than I Imagined

Posted on December 21, 2023 by knlistman

The statue pictured is a highly stylized likeness of Jehanne Darc, which is displayed all over France even in areas far from her homeland of Domrémy. Those few words not in “normal” English may convince a reader that they really do not wish to read a book about the famous Jeanne d’Arc (also known as Joan of Arc) even although Jehanne is her name in the middle French that she spoke, and she may have never used the location name of Darc.

A few years ago, I concluded that fictional names had little bearing on how well a character is liked. After all, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Atticus Finch and Bilbo Baggins are not common or easy to say names. But, these are well-loved characters. So, the personality and actions of fictional characters will override any less than optimal name.

That period of writing may be coming to an end. Some people’s minds work just like a spell checker. Set to American English. They are drawn to only the most popular and common names in their cultures. Even though fantasy writers are known to use names as exotic as their settings, a reviewer of my initial draft for a fantasy work in progress complained about the total number of times that the character and place names weren’t recognized by Microsoft Word spell check. This spell checker does not realize that the historical Jehanne Darc existed either.

Some people are only drawn to the most popular and common names in their cultures.

Soon after that I answered a question on the effects of AI on diversity, and discussed a research document on machine learning (now called AI). In this research hundreds of resumes from real people highly qualified for specific positions were used to teach AI to find viable candidates from among a large number of applicants. However, AI unintentionally learned to look for candidates based on the ethnicity of their name using similarities in names as it did in other fields. Many of those resumes selected had names originating from a few languages.

As I attempted to choose the best character names for a fifth century story set in Wales and Cornwall, I decided I needed help from other people. I wrote a list of Welsh and Cornish names that I assumed were pronounceable and asked other writers which ones they preferred. The only comment in response was “choose names that sounded like they are spelled.” Roman letters are not pronounce the same in Celtic languages as they are in English speakers. Ellyn may look like Ellen, but the “ll” is an unvoiced fricative, or hissing sound.

What causes this familiarity bias in fictional names? I think readers are overwhelmed with available media and learn to scan material to choose what is most common. They are attracted to average names that they hear every day. When celebrities’ fame results in many people naming children of the same generation after them that only reinforces their this sense of average. Unfamiliar names have a strangeness and they don’t fit the requirements. This reflects the same way that machine learning chose job candidates by names.

If J.R.R. had written The Hobbit or the Lord of the Ring series in MS Word, his tomes would have broken the spell checker. However, decades later, many of his names have been added to this software, which is an unexpected example of a writer changing some aspect of the future. However, readers who now look for common nomenclature, just like AI, don’t realize how this may affect the future of creative writing.

Photo Jeanne d”Arc in Occitania region of France by K.N. Listman

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Who Knows Correct English?

Posted on December 15, 2023 by knlistman

How we speak has been determined by history, especially the history of empires. When the Anglo-Saxons came to the British Isles their germanic brand of “English” overwhelmed the Celtic language of the Britons, and the older tongue was considered the language of the less educated. When the Norman Conquest occurred, old French became the correct way to speak and write, while the Anglo-Saxon version of English, which had changed quite a bit since they arrived, became a  lower class language. However, when the Norman nobility fell out of favor people stopped speaking old French even though a lot of this vocabulary remained in the English language, and we even use it today.

One of the artifacts of these changes is the number of irregular conjugations in English. For example, the past tense of verbs are formed in numerous different ways without much logic. “I see” becomes “I saw” and “I sing” becomes “I sang.” Some people have failed to learn standard verb tenses because they heard English spoken incorrectly and therefore, they say, “I seen” and “I been.” You notice those last two verbs should rhyme but don’t. French people who learn English struggle with our inconsistent pronunciations that much more consistent pronunciations based on how words are spelled. But, the French did not get a huge influx of English vocabulary into their language, at least until recently.

How we learn to speak cannot be separated from the way that we write. Authors often compose their sentences similar to the manner that people speak in their day. But, language is always changing. People now may think that proper language from as little as fifty years ago is pretentious. The difference is even greater for language used more than a century ago. Each author needs to develop their own style, while still using enough current language for their writing to be intelligible to readers. 

When I write dialog, my characters do not speak the same. Some don’t use proper English and say “I seen.” Another character used a lot of filler language such as “actually” or “on the other hand” frequently to create emphasis. One of my beta readers marked it out as unnecessary phrases. If all people in fiction spoke the same way, dialog would be boring.

Someone from one hundred years ago might consider what I think is correct English as poor writing.

I find some current writers using phrases that are not sentences, or including slang understood only by a small percentage of the population. Someone from one hundred years ago would consider that poor writing. So, we should not judge the writing style of past authors so harshly. Like the switch in Britain from Celtic to Anglo-Saxon to Old French which was reversed later. There were so many variations in the English language a “received pronunciation” originating from royalty was required to establish standards for speaking English. The preferred style of writing may always swing back to what it used to be.

Photo by K.N. Listman

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How Can Writing Not Be “Telling?”

Posted on December 6, 2023 by knlistman

I find the “show don’t tell” adage for writers a curious contradiction. Unless you are writing a movie script that will be produced, everything that you record is actually told to the reader. Writing is very abstract, so providing this kind of instruction requires bringing the abstract to a more concrete level. When authors give examples of showing versus telling they often demonstrate a fifty/fifty approach and intersperse detailed descriptions and dialog with exposition that simply tells the reader what has occurred.

If you have ever read Marcel Proust’s À la Recherche du Temps Perdu (English title: Remembrance of Things Past or In Search of Lost Time) you find sounds, smells, and textures, along with the characters’ movements and dialog overflowing the narrative. There is a lengthy paragraph on the taste of a Madeleine cookie dipped in tea that starts the ball rolling for the author’s memories. His work is a prime example of showing. The first volume contains the popular self-contained story entitled Un Amour de Swann (Swann in Love), which I read in French class. Enthralled with Proust’s writing, I continued to consume the rest of Swann’s story, only in English translation. This classic finally became a movie in 1984.

I became so enthralled with Proust’s writing that I continued to consume the rest of Swann’s story. “Swann in Love” finally became a movie in 1984.

However, this style may not have been popular when Prost wrote in the early 1900’s. An editor for Nouvelle Revue Française (NRF) rejected his first volume. Reluctantly, Proust paid to have it published by another less well known company. Soon, the tables turned and Proust’s second volume won the Prix Goncourt, a French equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. The editor at NRF could have kicked himself for rejecting his work and even sent Proust a letter of apology. But, the author decided to stay with his original publisher as he completed this eventual seven book series. 

Unlike Proust, many writers who show more than tell struggle to convey subtlety in their work. A reader may not comprehend what is occurring when a character shuffles his feet or makes snorting noise. So, authors may feel the pressure be dramatic enough for all readers to pick up the meaning. For actions to be easily interpreted they must be exaggerated to ensure that the reader detects happiness, anger, or fear on the face of the character. Proust was able to display subtle emotions—boredom and restlessness—but this required interweaving the telling with the showing. 

Most readers want an author to tell them what is happening but include enough description of a scene so that they feel they are present. Exclusive showing when writing is best reserved for key scenes. However, when a scene seems to drag on and become boring, this may be a sign to truncate this descriptive style and simply tell the reader what is occurring. Telling takes far fewer words than showing. The trick is to balance between explaining what is happening and displaying events through description of sensory details. When unsure, I write the scene in both manners—one that shows the action, and one that tells what is happening—and choose the one that works best.

Illustration by J. S. Duverger – Wikimedia commons

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Writing by the Book

Posted on November 30, 2023 by knlistman

There are sets of questions that writers can answer to create different kinds of stories which are used for psychological thrillers or horror. There are also guidelines to writing romance by the beat. Search “formulas for writing a book” on the internet and a quantity of these will appear. How well do they work? This depends on the author’s goals, and how much effort the author is willing to put into the actual writing out of each story.

Alistair MacLean fought in World War II as seaman in the Royal Navy. His short stories based on maritime experiences caught the eye of a publishing company that would later become Harper-Collins. MacLean is still known for The Guns of Navarone and Ice Station Zebra, and a number of other wartime and thriller novels that were made into popular movies.

Authors write books based on a formula so that they can produce enough to keep up with the demands of an audience who want a steady diet of a similar genre. MacLean’s goal was to produce one a year. There were a few years that he didn’t reach that goal, but other years when he managed to crank out two. He wrote using a formula. He claimed to enjoy creating the plots but not the actual writing. He wished to complete a book as soon as possible. 1

 In Alistair MacLean’s own words:

I drew a cross square, lines down representing the characters, lines across representing chapters 1–15. Most of the characters died, in fact only one survived the book, but when I came to the end the graph looked somewhat lopsided, there were too many people dying in the first, fifth and tenth chapters so I had to rewrite it, giving an even dying space throughout. I suppose it sounds cold blooded and calculated, but that’s the way I did it.2

Such an author is not looking for one idea that works all the time, but ideas that can be used interchangeably. The story is built by choosing the ideas that fit into it and the best way may not always be chosen. MacLean’s works based on his war experiences are his most popular. However, he regarded his work as story telling rather than novel writing. At one point, he even wrote a few books under a pen name in an attempt to show that his works were not simply selling based on his name. But, he also wished to leave behind the formula that had made him famous. Still, he returned to his earlier style in later books and movies; yet these were not as well received.

People think the writer should try to entertain the reader, or inform the reader, or make a reader wiser. All of those things depend on what the reader wants to get out of the work. All the author can actually guarantee is that they provide some insight into themselves as they attempt to write something worth reading repeatedly. Of course, readers who prefer easily consumable books have always been around. It is the books that they consume that tend to be forgotten.

Illustration: Book Shell Architecture by Wallpaper Shelf.com

1 “Best-Selling Author Alistair MacLean Dies” The Washington Post 3 February 1987

2 Johnstone, Jain. “War Is Hell, but It Pays Off for MacLean”. Los Angeles Times. 17 December 1972.

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From Music to Words

Posted on November 23, 2023 by knlistman

My first experience with music as an inspiration for writing occurred in the summer between high school and college. I lay in bed at night listening to the radio and trying to go to sleep when a pop song with a tune borrowed from classic music stuck in my mind. I turned off the radio and tried to imagine the characters evoked by that song. 

By that age I had written an essay that won a local award, an article published in a state magazine for students, and a poem that would later be published in a national college level anthology. Still, I struggled with writing that required me to develop my own plots. Despite many false starts, I had only crafted one decent short story. My attempts to write a novel had stalled at the second or third chapter. I could start with an interesting premise such as a horse who had run away from a cruel owner or pilot shot down behind enemy lines in a war. But, I didn’t have the knowledge, or perhaps the experience, to heap problems onto a protagonist, while sneaking in options that would allow a final victory that would result in a satisfying conclusion.

I spent many hours scribbling down ideas based on this song but only ended up with a setting, a rural area south of Lake Erie in the early 1900’s, and a vague idea about the two major characters, but no plot. A few months later, I would start a work study job at a college music library. When not busy I would listen to the recordings that the music appreciation students constantly checked out. Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and For Love of Three Oranges were my favorites. 

It finally dawned on me. I was viewing this idea of gaining inspiration to write through music backwards.

However, these plays came first, and he wrote the music later. It finally dawned on me. I was viewing this idea of gaining inspiration to write through music backwards. Symphonies had programs for each movement that replicated scenes in a story or play. The composer’s inspiration was written works. The characters, dialog, actions and emotions were replicated in sound. What was I to do with a setting and characters that had no story? At that point, I abandoned the music inspired writing project.

However, listening to music can provide a context—setting, time frame, character traits or circumstances—that can be woven into an existing plot. The word context and textile have a similar root, texere, meaning to weave. Therefore, context actually means to weave together. Once I have the idea for a plot, I may be able to embellish it by experiencing music as I write. If I still don’t discover ideas to use for my story, at least I’ve enjoyed listening to my favorite songs.

Photo by J.W. Listman

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Grasping at Ideas

Posted on November 9, 2023 by knlistman

Books exist that relate the basics of writing stories: how to create plots that follow specific beats and pacing, how to develop characters and throw continual problems at them, how to use settings to enhance your story. But, all this does not tell you how to do the complex part—create a concrete story from abstract creative ideas. When the creative thoughts first come to me, the words to express these thoughts are a little hard to grasp. They slip through my mind like trying to grab a fish swimming in the creek. 

I close my eyes and imagine a visual in my mind, something I can describe. This same technique often shows up at writing workshops to help participants grasp their creativity. Show the eager writers a few intriguing images. For some that is enough to launch them into penning (or typing)  a few interesting paragraphs that will lead to more words and hopefully a creative breakthrough.

However, after the first few hundred words or so, I reach a block and it’s hard to push on. I’ve learned to use prompts to produce more by considering my personal experiences with the pictured item, an incident that will fit into a current works in progress, and the opposite of what the reader might expect. For example, the prompt is a knife with a drop of blood on the tip. 

I’ve learned to use prompts to produce more by considering my personal experience, my current work in progress and opposite of the expected.

“Her father handed her the stranger’s cloak. She pulled it around her and the fabric clung with warmth. But, something hard and unyielding hid inside the cloak. She reached through the outside pockets—nothing there. She felt the inside lining until her hand breached a slit in a seam. Under the lining she found an inside pocket, which she searched until her fingers touched leather—a long slender case. She gazed around to assure herself that no one was watching and pulled out the leather case. The stamped design of a floral vine coiled around it. She slid out a slender blade that gleamed with a reflection of the dying fire. She slid her finger along the blade, until it reached the edge and a drop of blood oozed out. A finer weapon she had never seen. Her father didn’t need to know about it. She hid the knife and case beneath her blanket and called to him. “The air is cold. The man will need this cloak to stay warm. I have my blanket, so give it back to him.”

I do not consider what danger the knife can bring, but what is the unexpected opposite. The knife becomes an item of prestige, secretly discovered in the confiscated possessions of a strange man who had stumbled into their tiny village. Appreciation of this weapon leads the young woman to kindness—the opposite of what I would have written if I had not refused to follow the typical impact of a knife dripping blood. 

Photo by J.W. Listman

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Writing with a Divided Mind

Posted on November 2, 2023 by knlistman

In the 1930’s, an Oberlin College English major named Roger W. Sperry worked at a campus cafe and provided transportation for a physically disabled psychology professor. Sitting in on luncheons and meetings among eminent psychologists introduced him to a new world of how our brain affects the way we learn. Years, later he reached his goal of becoming a psychology professor and researcher.

Those cat lovers who are squeamish may not want to know that Sperry’s early research included dividing cats’ brains by splitting their corpus callosum. This white matter region of the brain contains nerves connecting gray matter on either side. This operation did not kill a cat but affected how visual information was transmitted to its brain. Recognition of items learned by viewing only with the left eye were forgotten when the patch was switched so the cat could only view with the right eye. Still, trying to track differences in the sides of a human brain is difficult. At least when studying normal people. 

Sperry invited a handful of epileptic patients who previously had surgery to split the corpus callosum as his next set of “guinea pigs.” Of course, Sperry was not a brain surgeon, but he knew about this experimental surgery which seemed successful in lessening seizures affecting the patient’s ability to function. However, with the corpus callosum cut the cognitive abilities of these people changed slightly. These patients that had their left and right brain hemispheres disconnected were unable to name objects when viewed with only the right eye.

Most areas controlling speech may be on the left side for a right-handed person while they are split more evenly between the hemispheres of a left-handed individual.

Sperry received the 1981 Nobel Prize for split brain research, known as lateralization. An obvious but incorrect conclusion would be that language was processed on the left side of the brain. However, some further research shows that some functions such as understanding intonation and producing poetry, depend on areas in the right side of the brain. Evidently gray matter controlling speech exists in a scattered pattern all over our brains. The pattern is not uniform. Most areas controlling speech may be on the left side for a right-handed person while they are split more evenly between the hemispheres of a left-handed individual. [1]

Research on creativity has refuted the theory that our brains have a creative and logical side even though this idea has circulated since scientists discovered specific brain areas that controlled functions. As most the most critical areas for language production are on the left side, people assumed that half to be the seat of logic. However, the use of language can be creative as well. Innovative ideas exist in whatever part of the brain is used for a particular skill, be it language, math, or visuals. The main difference between the sides is the left hemisphere prefers processing visual “parts,” while the right hemisphere has an edge on analyzing visual “wholes.” [2]

How does this affect the craft of writing? Authors also alternate between concise text and that with a descriptive and poetic bent to it. Even the dialog shifts based on emotional tenor. Authors must alternate between the specifics of a scene and the entire plot. The brain hemispheres are not divided predominantly between emotion and logic. Engaging both halves is still required for quality writing.

Photo of Texas A&M Academic Building by K.N.Listman

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry (accessed Feb 17, 2014)
[2] Zimmer, Carl (2009) The Big Similarities & Quirky Differences Between Our Left and Right Brains. Discover Magazine (accessed Feb 17

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Writing What You Don’t Know

Posted on October 26, 2023 by knlistman

Writing what I know makes the presupposition that I possess an intimate knowledge of events surrounding my own life. However, this knowledge is so specific to me that it may not reflect what others knew or thought at that same time. If read by a public who grew up and lived in the same manner as me and time as me, they may not see themselves reflected in my work. As a teenager common fashions in the stores were brightly flowered A-lined shifts, embroidered caftans, and bell bottom jeans. Many people my age hummed the same tunes and knew the all words to the latest song by Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and the Doors. Actually I didn’t follow this path because I wasn’t comfortable with that kind of conformity. I came dressed in one of my few fashionable 1960’s outfits and a friend pointed out to me that it was the same outfit that a popular girl was wearing. I never wore it again.

In 1967 my parents decided it was time to take a grand tour of the country. For three weeks we traveled west of the Mississippi, camping most of the way, hopping from national park to national park (Thank you Teddy Roosevelt, the parks were and still are an excellent idea.).  Halfway through the trip we ended up in San Francisco. Dad wanted to see Golden Gate Bridge, Mom wanted to see Fisherman’s Wharf, and I wanted to ride the cable cars up and down the thrillingly steep streets. My older brother wanted to visit Haight-Ashbury.

I wanted to ride the cable cars up and down the thrillingly steep streets. My older brother wanted to visit Haight-Ashbury.

So one evening our family, parents with four children nicely dressed for our visit to the big city, walked through this quiet bohemian neighborhood with rows of old apartments crammed against the sidewalk. We stopped in a small store filled with a strange assortment of items; the walls were papered in posters with brilliantly colored surreal patterns. It was the type of establishment that would later be called a head shop. There my older brother got his prized underground newspaper. I found the posters an interesting style, and learned what “psychedelic” meant, but I am sure we weren’t the typical clientele in this birthplace of the hippie movement.

We had taken the grand tour of the country early in the “summer of love.” We arrived at San Francisco when over 100,000 teenagers and college students were about to descend on this same neighborhood to celebrate a counterculture of yet to be illegal drugs and free love. If it hadn’t been a chilly night, when most of the early arrivals were indoors, I am sure my parents would have vetoed my brother’s request. But instead, I had the privilege of sight-seeing in Haight-Ashbury at the cusp of it becoming overwhelmingly famous as a hippie haven, not realizing that my brother knew things ahead of his peers.

As I look back on my life, I realize writing about what I didn’t know can be crucial to my work. Even describing my ignorance, such as being at the heart of the “Summer of Love” and not recognizing it, can be more interesting than writing about my world as I knew it.

Photo of university student in Mexico City, Wikimedia commons

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Which Side of the Brain Do Writer’s Favor?

Posted on October 12, 2023 by knlistman

The idea that individuals favor using either the right brain to produce creative results or left brain for logical thinking is a recent one. It originated with the work of physicians in the mid-1800s, so at least it’s recent compared to the span of human’s study of the brain. In earlier centuries, this dichotomy in thinking styles was attributed to functions of the stomach and heart, or a result of excessive black bile or blood. Ancient Egyptians understood something about the brain. They performed surgery on it as early as 3000 B.C. and some of the patients survived. One of the Egyptian’s theories was that the main purpose of the brain was to cause pain.

But, back to how modern humans decided that our brains have a creative and logical side. In 1865 a French physician, Pierre Paul Broca, pinpointed Broca’s area in the front left of the brain  after studying patients suffering from aphasia (the inability to speak) due to physical  brain injuries. This area provided a critical component in speech production. In 1874, Carl Wernicke uncovered another area on the back left side also responsible for language processing. Damage to Wernicke’s area resulted in people speaking phrases without meaning. They weren’t just parroting the latest catch phrases at random moments. Instead people with Wernicke’s type of aphasia used obviously incorrect words or spoke in an incoherent and jumbled manner. 

The challenge was on. Surgeons were eager to map brain functions and get a section of the brain named after themselves. Language was considered a component of logic. Many areas of the brain that dealt with this ability were on the left side, and those supporting visualization were on the right side. But this wasn’t a rule in all cases. The resulting brain maps were too complex for the ordinary person to comprehend. So, early pop psychology entered the scene and produced simplified diagrams of both hemispheres of the brain with a border in the middle between imagination and logic.[1]

People were tagged as ‘right brains’ if they could draw and ‘left brains’ if they were analytical.

Carl Zimmer

According to current science writer Carl Zimmer, ”People were tagged as ‘right brains’ if they could draw and ‘left brains’ if they were analytical.”[2]  However, more recent research questions that conclusion. A joint study performed  by psychologists from the U.S. Army and the University of Melbourne found that gifted students did better than average students on tests that required the two hemispheres of the brain to cooperate. It didn’t matter if their ability was in math, art or music.  The ability to use both sides of the brain, with their intricate interdependence, together for a single task is a hallmark of “giftedness.”[3]

If someone asks you to concentrate on “right brain” thinking when writing, remember that a whole brain is better than a half a brain, especially when it comes to creativity.

Photo of Koln Cathedral. Germany by K.N.Listman

[1] Wanjek, Christopher. Left Brain vs. Right: It’s a Myth, Research Finds (accessed Feb 17, 2014)

[2] Zimmer, Carl (2009) The Big Similarities & Quirky Differences Between Our Left and Right Brains. Discover Magazine (accessed Feb 17, 2014)

[3] Singh, Harnam, and  O’Boyle, Michael W., Interhemispheric interaction during global-local processing in mathematically gifted adolescents, average-ability youth, and college students” Neuropsychology, Vol. 18, No. 2.

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