Walkin' Lawton

Like Gov. Chiles, we should champion children's issues

2012-02-05T16:29:00.004-05:00

As the 17th Annual Children’s Week draws to a close, Florida’s failing grades on children’s quality of life should be a call-to-arms for the state’s political class—especially Gov. Rick Scott.

Among states, Florida ranks 49th in the number of children with health insurance. The state is tied for last in prekindergarten quality and 46th in prekindergarten investment.

The crisis in afterschool programs is staggering; Florida ranks 40th in percent of children unsupervised after school.

At 23.5 percent, Florida has one of the highest child poverty rates; only 15 states plus Washington, DC rank worse.

Judging states based on a variety of national indicators, the Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count program ranked Florida 36th overall in 2011.

Gov. Scott should consult Lawton Chiles’ gubernatorial legacy for ideas on how to address this crisis.

Chiles’ governorship, from 1990 to 1998, provides a blueprint for how the state can partner with families to care for Florida’s children.

By the time Chiles rose to the governorship, after three terms in the U.S. Senate, he had concluded that early childhood heath care was the key to successful social reform.

“He was determined that this was the way to get to these intractable social conditions,” explained his wife Rhea, who collaborated with Gov. Chiles on many children’s initiatives, “that there was no other way but this was the one string to pull out of the snarl—if you got to children soon enough, early enough…you could eventually improve the crop. If you prepare the seed crop, you could eventually grow a better product.”

A small front-end investment in children, according to the Chiles philosophy, would pay dividends down the line in lower crime, better education, high incomes, and a balanced budget.

Chiles was adamant that once children became teenagers and young adults, the opportunity for government to facilitate their development was gone.

The first five years of a child’s development were the most crucial in his estimation. “At birth,” the governor said, “the brain has about 100 billion neurons. By age 1, that figure explodes to 1,000 trillion. Talking to children, showing them games, even playing classical music to them during these first years can make a difference of 20 IQ points—an astounding implication for the state as it struggles to provide good childcare for mothers who are leaving welfare for work.”

Chiles’ signature children’s initiatives, especially Healthy Kids and Healthy Start, paid quick dividends. His policies reduced Florida infant mortality rate, expanded health insurance access, and raised the children’s immunization rate.

Today, Florida can benefit from this wisdom. It must repair society at the source.

To address its worst problems—high unemployment, high foreclosure rates, and poor health care access—the state must once again become a healthy place to raise a child.

As the Legislature debates the budget, Gov. Scott should fight for investments in Healthy Start, Healthy Kids, afterschool mentoring programs, and voluntary pre-kindergarten.

Such advocacy would be a reversal of his approach to his first budget.

But the governor’s new stance on K-12 education funding proves he has the ability to change course on major public policy. His call for freezing tuition at state colleges and universities adds credibility to his overhaul.

He justified his resistance to tuition hikes by citing his commitment to cutting cost in hard times.

Florida will save money in the long-term if it makes new investments now in children at their earliest stage of development.

“First base is our children,” said Lawton Chiles. “The answer to all of our pressing problems begins with the child.”

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For paying subscribers to The Tallahassee Democrat, this article is also available online at the newspaper: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120204/OPINION05/202040307/John-Coggin-Like-Gov-Chiles-we-should-champion-children-s-issues

Or you can click here.

The Chiles-Havel Connection: Online Now

2012-01-24T12:49:00.002-05:00

http://www.tampabay.com/features/lawton-chiles-prague-spring/1212046

My newest guest column at the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times) is now available online.

The column relates how the late Vaclav Havel--Czech president, playwright, and human rights champion--influenced the political development of Lawton Chiles. This successful intellectual partnership is a platform for a discussion of how ideas and innovation can play a role in securing Florida's future.

More bulletins will follow as book publicity is organized in the state of Florida and nationally.

Thank you for your interest.

The Chiles-Havel Connection

2012-01-23T16:12:00.002-05:00

My new opinion piece in Tampa Bay Times came out yesterday in the print edition.

The online edition is forthcoming. I will post it once available.

New Chiles Legacy Article

2012-01-18T17:36:00.008-05:00

Stay tuned for a link to a new opinion column of mine on the Chiles legacy--appearing this Sunday in the Tampa Bay Times.

The late Vaclav Havel--Czech president, playwright, and human rights champion--was an important inspiration for Chiles.

It's not a story many people know but it's fascinating. More details to come.

Max Perkins: Editor of Genius

2012-01-06T12:55:00.002-05:00

I just finished A. Scott Berg's biography of Maxwell Perkins, the beloved jack-of-all-trades editor at Scribner's and Sons in New York City.

What a treasure trove for a writer!

Perkins was influential in so many nervous scenarios where an author was stumped on a chapter title or a book title or a chapter ending or a plot twist.

Early January Work Kick-Off

2012-01-03T17:39:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy day with the red pen.

But it's been instructive.

I have a better sense of what sections to highlight during my next long session on the computer, working with the manuscript document. I will peruse the script, chapter by chapter, correcting the mistakes I've marked with a pen.

Also, I feel inclined to change at least one chapter title. It's nail-biting because it's so important and symbolic, but one of them just feels out of place--even this late in the game.

End of December Progress Report

2011-12-28T10:39:00.001-05:00

The editing should finish Friday, resulting in a new final draft for printing in hard copy. Then more changes with a red pen.

Also, a new op-ed is in development--hopefully to see publication in early January.

Stay tuned!

December Progress Report

2011-12-07T13:26:00.002-05:00

I am moving along, making final touches to the manuscript and compiling the strongest photo album possible.

There is much work to do to make sure the photos are high-resolution and high-quality. And permissions must be sought for certain copyrighted photos.

In a few days I will print out a spiral bound hard copy of the manuscript and conduct one last proofreading session before a "final" version goes to the publisher.

Sometime soon, I will begin work again on publicity. There are more op-eds to write!

Publication Timetable News

2011-11-15T17:49:00.003-05:00

The schedule is set now:

Walkin' Lawton will be released as a book in fall 2012. Barnes and Noble and Amazon will surely carry it.

Editing will occur in the spring.

Next year will busy with aggressive marketing on the internet and in print media. More op-eds, blog posts, and more.

Stay tuned!

Chiles Book Mention

2011-10-31T11:15:00.002-04:00

My upcoming book is mentioned in the latest bulletin from my graduate school, University of Maryland School of Public Policy:

http://www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/sppupdate/Lawton_Chiles

Update

2011-10-26T13:45:00.001-04:00

Another update will follow soon. Things are still unsettled in the publishing arena.

Florida Historical Society

2011-09-24T00:28:00.002-04:00

The Florida Historical Society will publish my Walkin' Lawton manuscript. I just got the great news this morning!

More news as crucial details emerge like the publication timetable.

New Editorial

2011-09-05T20:56:00.001-04:00

The Daytona Beach News-Journal has my new editorial on the Chiles legacy. The article focuses on what we can learn from the Chiles administration's response to Hurricane Andrew.

Florida Times-Union Editorial

2011-08-18T10:41:00.003-04:00

The new guest column is available.

Times-Union Update

2011-08-17T13:15:00.003-04:00

The Florida Times-Union editorial will appear later in the week. It was bumped. Stay tuned.

Chiles-Related Article in Journal of Foreign Relations

2011-08-16T10:54:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, I published an article that compares the political lives of current California Governor Jerry Brown and former Florida Governor Lawton Chiles.

The column appears in the online magazine Journal of Foreign Relations.

The link code is not working with this blog for some reason, but the title of the article is "California's Elder Statesman" and its easily found under my John Dos Passos Coggin column.

Thanks.

New Editorial: Florida Times-Union

2011-08-12T12:07:00.002-04:00

My next editorial on the Lawton Chiles legacy should appear Tuesday in the Florida Times-Union, the oldest newspaper in the Sunshine State. The Florida Times-Union serves the Jacksonville area.

Stay tuned!

The Palm Beach Post

2011-08-10T22:58:00.002-04:00

New editorial of mine on the Chiles legacy in The Palm Beach Post. Check it out!

Boston Globe Article

2011-08-08T00:21:00.001-04:00

A new piece in the Boston Globe mentions Chiles' 1970 Walk and my forthcoming biography.

Article Reposted

2011-07-26T13:06:00.003-04:00

My column on the Lawton Chiles legacy for the St. Petersburg Times has been reposted online by the Miami Herald. See here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/21/2325152/what-gov-scott-could-learn-from.html

The title has changed but the rest is the same.

Walk A Florida Mile His Way

2011-07-16T08:54:00.006-04:00

http://www.tampabay.com/news/perspective/walk-a-florida-mile-his-way/1180359

My Sunday guest column on the Lawton Chiles legacy, written for the St. Petersburg Times, is online now.

Please read. If you like what you see here, please comment on the article.

The bigger the readership and response for his piece, the better the chance that a book-length project on Chiles like mine can achieve publication.

Thank you.

Guest Column in St. Petersburg Times

2011-07-11T16:37:00.000-04:00

A guest column of mine, entitled "The Chiles Guidebook for Governors," will appear this Sunday, the 17th, in the Perspective section of the St. Petersburg Times, a major Florida newspaper. The article discusses the Lawton Chiles political legacy.

Please stay tuned for a link and more information! This column will, I hope, help interest a publisher in my Chiles manuscript.

Summer of Publication

2011-06-21T07:40:00.003-04:00

I'm very hopeful that this summer I can nail down a definite publication schedule for the book. The manuscript is now under consideration at a new press.

Meantime, I'm working to get a short article out in Florida media--a piece on the Gov. Chiles legacy.

A New Press

2011-05-10T21:06:00.003-04:00

Another publisher is considering the manuscript--I should hear a response in the next couple weeks. Meantime, here is a new article of mine critiquing the score to The Social Network.

Thanks for your patience.

Still Under Consideration

2011-04-12T16:30:00.003-04:00

The manuscript is still under consideration by a major academic press. I expect news within 2 weeks. Thank you for your patience.

Meantime, the California-based online literary magazine called Verdad will publish a piece I wrote on film score criticism at the end of this month. Stay tuned! The article criticizes the score to The Social Network.

En Route

2011-03-23T15:20:00.003-04:00

A partial version of the manuscript is en route to a prospective publisher for review...waiting.

March Update

2011-03-04T10:43:00.001-05:00

Still awaiting news on publishing...any day now I expect progress.

Late February

2011-01-26T22:34:00.001-05:00

Expect more publishing news in late February...until then I'm writing some small pieces.

A Good, Published New Year

2011-01-07T14:18:00.001-05:00

More details soon on publication...

Merry Christmas

2010-12-14T11:53:00.002-05:00

Little activity these days on the book--just a few revisions here and there on the Foreword. More updates as things progress with regards to a publisher.

I wish all readers/viewers past and present a wonderful holiday season.

And More Waiting

2010-12-02T15:47:00.002-05:00

Still await word on the final, revised product. About two hundred pages of press clips is collected for another round of editing--for addition and subtraction to the manuscript.

Second Draft Away

2010-11-27T21:48:00.003-05:00

The second draft of the manuscript is en route to interested, relevant parties. A break for me begins now. Editing will resume eventually--perhaps in the new year.

2010-11-17T18:31:00.002-05:00

Moving onto the edits for the 1994 re-election chapter. Homestretch now. A few chapters are a bit short for my taste but might be expanded later.

More Progress

2010-11-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

Editing is moving at a great clip. One more week.

More Revision

2010-11-06T10:57:00.000-04:00

More revision. On track to wrap up last edits before Thanksgiving.

Completed Cycle

2010-11-01T15:05:00.003-04:00

Florida CFO candidate Loranne Ausley has finished her "cycle to end the cycle." Four hundred miles and multiple headlines later.

Congratulations!!

Biking Across Florida

2010-10-26T15:06:00.003-04:00

Splendid revision day yesterday. Lovely fall breeze and intense orange colors in the Maryland leaves around here.

Lawton Chiles is in the Florida news today here and also here, as Democratic CFO candidate, Loranne Ausley, the daughter of Gov. Chiles' long-time buddy Dubose Ausley, is promoting a publicity stunt and athletic challenge inspired by the Walk. She will bicycle more than 400 miles across the state, stumping in city after city on her plan to clean up the state's finances.

Loranne Ausley was a state representative; she now advises the Lawton Chiles Foundation.

Happy trails to her!!

Revision Progress

2010-10-25T16:11:00.003-04:00

Good writing today and Friday; not finished yet today but moving toward some fine changes. Wonderful autumn weather here in Maryland.

Revision and Revision

2010-10-22T10:56:00.002-04:00

The leaves of falling, the wind is cold, and pumpkins are everywhere. The season is right for revision.

Onward!

A New Blog? Stay Tuned

2010-10-17T13:44:00.002-04:00

I may be creating another blog via blogger that focuses more on general literary and film criticism. I have dabbled outside the realm of things Chiles here and I'd rather focus this He-Coon blog--while the agenda remains unfinished--on the upcoming Chiles book.

Another blog can tackle Danny Elfman, floating opposites, and everything in between.

Stay tuned.

A Stylist or a Generalist?

2010-10-12T12:57:00.002-04:00

What's in a literary style? I've always thought the great American 20th century stylists were Hemingway, Faulkner, and Fitzgerald.

One facet of the debate, I suppose, is the instantly recognizable prose rhythm of these writers. One paragraph is all that's necessary to make an ID in some cases.

Most critics, I think, would call this facet an achievement--a mark of genius, even. Let's change venues artistically, to the arena of the film music.

Danny Elfman, the composer behind Batman, Sleepy Hollow, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Edward Scissorhands, has built a career focused on the macabre, the lonely, the wretched. His portraits are handled delicately; it's clear how much empathy the composer feels for his subjects. The dark side, we find in his worlds, is romantic, lush, and misunderstood.

Then, why is Elfman still regarded as an outsider in the elite circles of Hollywood film music? Perhaps there is a downside to being a stylist in literature or film music, after all. If an artists hones a narrow style and inhabits its regularly, is that artist then "limited"? No one would doubt that top-tier Hollywood film composers like James Horner and John Williams can writer for any mood, any occasion. But could Elfman the same? One can only wonder how Elfman would handle a score like Indiana Jones, or Jurassic Park.

I think there is food for thought in the debate over stylists versus the "general geniuses" of literature and scoring.

The Editing Begins (Again)

2010-10-08T11:18:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was my first full day back in the editing mode--first full day in a month or two. The break was deserved and productive.

Some creative problems are best left to the almighty subconscious. The conscious mind is often prone to stress and irritability. The subconscious, in my opinion, is unpredictable, but when it works, it works a problem and finds a solution. It's what we mean when we say, in reference to a particular vexing issue, "I'll sleep on it."

I've put aside Richard Henry Dana Jr.'s Two Years Before The Mast; I'm now reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig. I don't know how the latter might help my analysis of the remaining editing issues for my book. But these things are unpredictable--and that's what creativity is all about.

The Cell Phone in Lit and Film

2010-10-03T16:14:00.001-04:00

A while back I mentioned the film The Departed as a fine example of effective use of cell phones in modern film and literature; add the just-released Social Network to that list.

What's Next?

2010-09-29T12:46:00.003-04:00

Political writing becomes pop culture as of this Friday, when Social Network elevates Aaron Sorkin back to the limelight.

My next major revision of the manuscript begins in earnest next week; October is my time.

I'll take a long walk in the deep woods somewhere, clear my head,
and then try to do my absolute best composition.

The Close-Up in Film and Literature

2010-09-17T22:21:00.002-04:00

Everyone conversant in modern film knows the "close-up." The camera zooms in, usually on one character, for at least 4 seconds--and as many as 30 or 40. It is usually some sort of reaction shot, and the actor's handbooks say that "good acting is reacting," so close-ups are vital components to any film. They're crucial tests of acting talent.

Perhaps they're most important when no dialogue accompanies the close-up. Then the actor's face, wrinkles, cheeks, chin, and maybe the rest of their body, is the language spoken to the camera.

These moments happen often in written dramatic fiction, and it's important--and probably helpful--to compare them film. It helps me to imagine, in a particular written descriptive vignette of character A done with omniscient third-person narration, that character A has a camera moving in on his or her activity. And the longer the action is suspended and the description takes the foreground, the more pressure is on this close-up. The adjectives, nouns, and verbs really have to sing, here. When I know that the camera is sitting there, just waiting for some acting, I feel the pressure--I visualize the scene as if it were on a movie set. And that helps me write well.

For example, let's go back to the original comparison I set up, and apply film to written fiction. Take the 1989 film Glory, starring Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, and Denzel Washington. In its final scenes, the film camera rests on Broderick for what seems like a full minute, as he considers the likelihood of his imminent death on the battlefield at Fort Wagner. There is absolutely no dialogue, and no other action but Broderick's face. This is somewhat compensated by having James Horner's gorgeous score amped up to full volume. But at least half of this scene is a screen test for Broderick. Each nervous gulp of saliva, each twitch of his mustache, each gaze out into the ocean, has to point toward his emotional state. Or else it's a waste.

Now consider the difficulty for a screenwriter to capture this close-up in words, or the prospect of a novelist writing it into a couple paragraphs of omniscient narration, without a film score booming in the background, or a good-looking actor. Sound difficult? It should. That should be the pressure cooker and one that produces great descriptive writing.

When the actual camera zooms in on the big screen, or when the metaphorical camera zooms in on the written page for a descriptive moment with the subject at hand, the author or director is announcing, "This is important. Look. Look closely with me." The set-up needs to deliver, or else two things are true: either there is no need for a close-up, or the acting/writing is bad.

"Cinematic writing" in biography and other genres has been a theme for me--especially in the past year as this blog has related to the creative writing process more than Florida.

More Notes on Film and Literature

2010-09-17T21:57:00.002-04:00

A note on satire in film and literature, inspired by a viewing of the new film Easy A. This film, a skewering of the shallowness of high school gossip and peer perception, has garnered good reviews--especially for the first half of the film. The first half, like most satires, is the harshest, prickliest, the sharpest. That's how most satires function, since Moliere, since Mark Twain.

Even a weak satire, like the 90s Eddie Murphy film, The Distinguished Gentleman, inspired reviews that complimented the first half.

We might call the first half of a satire the "saber-rattling," and the conclusion the "truce." For whatever reason, be it only the end of the story, the skewering, pricking, and cutting stops. Sometimes, in a silly movie satire like The Distinguished Gentleman, the message-making happens and it comes across as disingenuous and cheap to the audience.

In good satire, like Easy A, the rush of good feeling at the end--in this case a girl gets guy scene--is delightful, if a bit cheap. In grand satire like Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, or A Modest Proposal, the saber-rattling is so rich that any respite, any break, any truce is sweetly earned. We still remember and celebrate Moliere, Swift and Twain. And their satirical works transcend the genre. But why is that so?

My follow-up question is simpler:

Is the first half of a satire always better than the last? Is that just a natural facet of satire? Should good satire even attempt a denouement if critics and cynics are just going to throw their hands up and complain about "tying everything in a bow"? Or, is good satire evenly talented throughout? If a metaphor is a tenor and a vehicle, what is the break-down of a satire?

In Stays

2010-09-16T16:11:00.002-04:00

When you're immobile on your sailboat, waiting for a good gust of wind, or any wind, it's called "in stays" or "in irons."

Right now, I'm still waiting for the next step toward publication. I just finished re-reading Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos. My family is launching an official website for John Dos Passos--my maternal grandfather--in the next few months. Right now I'm pulling together sources and writing content.

Next on my night table for reading is Richard Henry Dana Jr.'s Two Years Before the Mast. A family friend advising my reading it years ago and now I'm delighted to finally to begin.

Technology and Written American Fiction

2010-09-07T16:20:00.003-04:00

What is the place for high technology in U.S. literature? It seems the conventional wisdom dictates a dearth of cell phones, Tweets, Facebook, and computers--unless the genre is science fiction.

I've thought for awhile along this line and I can think of no better recent depiction of the cell phone's impact on modern communication than the film The Departed. Martin Scorcese's crime tale integrates text messages, phone rings, and property ownership so well into the script that I'm left to wonder how they relate to the greater themes of loyalty, secrecy, and deceit.

Do cell phones give away secrets or help conceal them? Do cell phones--especially text messages--blur communication or clarify it?

In my book, I tried to integrate some small questions about modern communication into the chapter on Hurricane Andrew. Circa 1992, the cell phone was still a novelty in high-level state government communication.

Maybe I err in my analysis of high-tech in fiction. After all, considering older fiction, didn't Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn include the steamboat in the story? Or was that Tom Sawyer? In either case, wasn't the steamboat a brand-new technology or adolescent technology in that era?

Even if there is a consistent trend in American fiction, I think The Departed merits special recognition for its high-tech art.

Bud Drops Out of FL Governor's Race

2010-09-02T15:08:00.002-04:00

Lawton "Bud" Chiles III has dropped out of the race for Florida governor, and endorsed Alex Sink, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

Best wishes for Sink for Governor!

Bud Chiles calls for campaign finance reform

2010-08-26T16:37:00.002-04:00

In Tampa, Bud Chiles blasts Political Action Committees and other abuses of our campaign finance system.

School's Out

2010-08-26T11:34:00.002-04:00

I finished All Too Human last night. For a 400 page plus book, a lightning-quick read. There's a lesson in craftsmanship here.

I guess all staff who work for important political bosses feel a desire to be needed, a yearning to be needed, to be of use. Or do they? This book is proof that the quest for those limits can make great literature.

"All Too Human"

2010-08-19T11:03:00.002-04:00

I'm re-reading George Stephanopoulos' memoir, All Too Human: A Political Education. I guess it's the third time for me. I find myself noticing new aspects, heretofore unnoticed signs of descriptive power.

And I find myself enjoying once again his ability to step outside his personal experience and yet live it again for us page by page. It's such a vibrant tale of the life of an idealistic mind. His is also a mind tuned to every temptation of power and privilege. Perhaps not in 1991 or 1992, but certainly by 1998, the still young Stephanopoulos sensed how he had lost sight of the goalposts. He had fallen in love with the political game, the rush of adrenaline from a deal and all the rest.

I just adore his style. The recreated dialogue, with facial gestures to boot. The cursing. It's that sense of being "in the room" that he hits on the nail. He taped lots of his reminiscences of life in the White House soon after the fact. He played back the greatest hits, took notes on it, and created this memoir.

"Becoming a True Believer." That chapter heading says it all.

Bud Chiles in the News

2010-08-18T15:45:00.002-04:00

Solid piece of reporting from the St. Petersburg Times.

It demonstrates Chiles' success in pulling support from independents, Republicans, and Democrats. Will his numbers hold? Will they build?

More Waiting

2010-08-16T18:30:00.002-04:00

More waiting before the manuscript moves forward in the publishing process...August is traditionally a slow month in politics, until the industry picks up again in September. The sheer ugliness of the heat in August makes it idea for vacations to cooler locales like Maine or Connecticut.

Lots of Floridians go to the highlands of North Carolina to get away.

More updates as I receive new info.

"A Piece Down The Road"

2010-08-11T11:43:00.003-04:00

This is a quiet week, as my manuscript is under consideration and I take a break from editing.

Submission

2010-07-31T12:12:00.002-04:00

It's a done deal. It's away!! It's en route!!

What now? More editing. Then more editing.

One Week

2010-07-25T21:13:00.001-04:00

One more week of revisions before submission. Ole!

Things are really coalescing...

Approach to Policy

2010-07-16T13:47:00.002-04:00

In the governmental policy world--in the State House of Maryland or Virginia or Alabama, or the White House--are speed and quality in conflict? To what extent?

And how is that different from the campaign trail? In political campaigning, are speed and quality in conflict?

I believe it was James Carville who said that "speed kills," and made the T-shirt. It seems to me that the 1992 Clinton for President campaign coined the strategy, "rapid response."

The invention of the mobile, practical cell phone and the Blackberry have quickened the pace of campaigns and policy offices since 1992, in my conjecture.

The Chiles Campaign Talks Renewable Energy

2010-07-08T15:08:00.002-04:00

Bud Chiles, independent candidate for Florida governor 2010, has unveiled his plan for renewable energy in Florida. Chiles proposes that the Sunshine State utilize renewable sources for 20 percent of its energy, by the year 2020. The famous "20 by 20" rule. He also advocates energy conservation over the next decade.

Despite pressure to quit, Chiles insists he will push on and give these and other issues a voice.

Diction

2010-07-01T22:05:00.002-04:00

"Diction," or word choice, is one of the basic tenets of writing. On that note, the word "elemental" is a fine synonym for "basic" and "fundamental." That fact that "elemental" reminds me of the script to Batman Begins is immaterial; what matters is that the other words are overused.

Draft 3

2010-07-01T10:49:00.002-04:00

Making progress, about a third of the way through polishing up the third draft, adding more of my voice to the script.

A question, should a novel have a thesis? What about a biography?

Active and Passive Fronts

2010-06-27T23:48:00.002-04:00

Of course, the conventional wisdom, per Strunk and White and Elements of Style, is that passive voice is bad writing...the extent of hyperbole on the subject tells you that it may very well be the root of evil. It "is" true that "to be" is a rather fluffy verb construction in the English language. The state of being is the stuff of fluff in all languages, I'd say. Mostly, it sets up adjectives in English. Of course, a poet or other creative writer might spice it with a noun or so, a la "Demography is destiny" or some such nonsense. But usually, we're talking about present tense and we're talking common, thin descriptors like "nice," "done," or "open."

But I think going far to the extreme of active voice can be just as dull. Instead of light and fluffy text you end up with dense, hard matter that readers can't get a look at for long. It becomes hard to concentrate. All nouns and verbs and no states of being can cause problems just as big as the converse.

No doubt, a surplus of active voice is a good problem to have. Once you've got a compact script rife with meaning, you can easily lighten it up.

It's like mixing a fruit juice and finding it too sweet. Just add water and you've got something delicious.

Yet another example, in a long line, of spots where moderation is a value of good writing.

The Thin Line Between Understatement and a Haymaker

2010-06-23T21:40:00.002-04:00

Which is worse for a writer? Heavy-handed, punch-to-the-face argument? Or restraint to the extent that readers confuse it for disinterest and emotional vacuum? I'm not sure.

I think most writers are drilled so hard to avoid the didactic, we sometimes forget to speak. Most writing these days, whether on the back of a cereal box or on the internet, is indeed like a haymaker to the face.

There is a happy medium, moderation. And that's the aim for my final draft.

Understatement, reticence can be a marvel of coiled emotional power. Or it can bounce off the reader's psyche like a stone skipping along the water's surface. Understatement is a challenge for even masterful writers.

How to Write a Review

2010-06-21T10:44:00.002-04:00

The pending publication of a book can conjure up nightmare scenarios for even the most sagacious and swaggering writer. What if my favorite reviewer/critic slices and dices my favorite excerpt? What will the The New York Times think? What if my reviewers write poorly but everyone accepts their scrawl as axiom?

Personally, I love film review as a genre. And I love film, of course. I love music and music criticism. Soundtracks have always enthralled me; Filmtracks is my favorite website for the skinny on what's good, new and old. The reviewers, in my estimation, use a sledgehammer to bash bad scores when necessary, but they can scribe lush eulogies, too.

Negative reviews can be downright hilarious, when they are intelligent--like this one of the Iron Man score.

Biographers and other writers can only hope to inspire such critical knifework when the great American biography turns out to be the literary equivalent of Hans Zimmer derivative fluff.

Video Announcement for Governor

2010-06-15T12:29:00.003-04:00

I should post a link to the formal Lawton "Bud" Chiles III announcement for governor of Florida as an independent. The following article has a video link at the bottom.

Walkin' with Bud

2010-06-14T16:47:00.003-04:00

The Miami Herald sounds off on the 21st century Walk across Florida. As noted here, there is a conflict in the campaign between techniques new and old. What role can internet social networking play in this campaign? What role should it play?

Return to Munn Park

2010-06-11T10:55:00.002-04:00

Munn Park, the title of the first chapter in my book, will be featured tomorrow by the Bud Chiles for Governor campaign as the site of its kick-off. What a gorgeous and historic setting.

Unlike most campaign events, this will be a walk and rally! This is the park where Lawton Chiles, in his boyhood, used to listen to the luminary orators like Gov. Spessard Holland. Then, it was a spectator sport as much as football is today.

Here is the PDF flyer.

If you haven't already, do check out the home page for the "Walk with Bud" campaign website.

Se ve toda la historia de la campana aca!

Black Gold Blues

2010-06-08T16:59:00.002-04:00

New, independent gubernatorial candidate Lawton "Bud" Chiles III spoke in Pensacola today about the BP oil debacle.

More news on the book front soon. Last week was a wonderful break with good food, good people, and great special events.

Now, time to push on to the finish line.

Bud Chiles in the News

2010-05-26T12:33:00.001-04:00

The Palm Beach Post is buzzing...

Draft 2 Done

2010-05-24T21:15:00.002-04:00

Time to now consider avenues for publication...and concurrently, avenues for editing. This is a different sort of editing, a world apart from editing that I did months ago.

When you still work with an unfinished manuscript, where whole chapters struggle for structure and theme, the author focuses on the struggle for structure and theme. With a finished manuscript whose chapter titles are well-chosen, the editing process narrows to the struggle for perfect details.
What detail, for example, will best show how pivotal a final debate was to a campaign?

What detail can give the background paragraph at a chapter's start the perfect punch? Should it be an anecdote quoting a key staffer, or my own words?

Perhaps that is the single most important decision--one that permeates every chapter in a quote-heavy work like this. Where does the authorial narration end and the character narration begin? What sounds best artistically and what is most accurate?

Lawton "Bud" Chiles III Runs for Governor

2010-05-18T15:41:00.002-04:00

Colossal political news for Florida and the Chiles legacy. Bud Chiles is running for governor!!!

Chiles has crisscrossed the state for months raising the profile of children's health and education.

News clips here and here. More as it develops.

Draft 2 is still scheduled for delivery May 28; perhaps sooner.

Addition by Addition

2010-05-11T13:24:00.002-04:00

I've been adding bits and pieces to various chapters yesterday and today, mostly drawing from Buddy MacKay's fine, recently-published memoirs. How Florida Happened has some hilarious anecdotes.

I might add here and there to the second draft from some other sources, like The Death of Common Sense by Philip K. Howard, before the day is done.

Then, a flash of editing and Thursday is done day for the second draft.

Magic 400

2010-05-06T16:10:00.002-04:00

One more day and I will have cut the manuscript down the requisite amount. Next week I'll focus on additions from several key, untapped sources. Then delivery of Draft 2 and on to Draft 3.

Both Sides of Editing

2010-04-28T12:56:00.001-04:00

Looks like I will happily have enough time on the schedule to both cut all the necessary fat from the draft and add some choice quotes and stories before turning in Draft 2. Good, good.

A Hundred Pages of Solitude

2010-04-25T17:06:00.002-04:00

A solid hundred left to be cut...then actually I'll add a few more awesome sources I've collected in the past month or so, then I'll declare Draft 2 ready.

Draft 2

2010-04-18T16:44:00.004-04:00

Draft 2 is on schedule for completion on May 14; circa 400 pages. Then quick additions, perhaps one more interview, some study of the sources accuracy, and then the future is unwritten!

Let the Mincing Begin

2010-04-08T19:26:00.001-04:00

The cutting of the first draft is on schedule. Below 800 pages now. With finer tuning like this, it's easier to be accurate about timing.

40th Anniversary of "The Walk"

2010-04-04T18:27:00.003-04:00

The Gainesville Sun recognizes the lessons the Walk has for today's politics. Will Twitter replace the handshake? Nope.

Like the telephone and e-mail, internetworking represents another low-grade communication tool. The door knock, the grip and grin, they're power.

First Draft Done

2010-03-29T15:46:00.000-04:00

It's far too long...now begins the editing!!

Merger

2010-03-25T11:19:00.001-04:00

Okay, so the chapters, all 20, are now in one Word document. Now time for more polishing and cutting until Monday. The overall document is far longer than I anticipated. I was actually concerned it was too short.

Polishing

2010-03-23T18:01:00.002-04:00

The first draft is done! I have a good bloc of time between now and Monday to go back to the beginning and clean things up chapter by chapter. I'm not gonna clean everything--that defeats the point of a first draft.

Shutting Down the Cook Shack

2010-03-18T11:30:00.002-04:00

On schedule to finish the first draft Sunday or Monday and spend next week revising so I have a rough first draft ready March 29.

Early visions of how to pace chapters are now being executed--don't know how I remembered many of these placeholders. As usual, the real quotes from real people make it all worth it.

2 Weeks

2010-03-13T22:40:00.002-05:00

...until the first draft is done! 10 more chapters to go, as planned.

Another Week

2010-03-08T16:05:00.002-05:00

Another 5--at least--chapters revised. Since there are 20 slots for 20 chapters, it takes 2 weeks to revise half of it. Not bad.

Beginning, End, Middle

2010-03-04T19:18:00.002-05:00

A good point to remember for future writing...I've done this several times and it works magically...figure out a potent quote for the beginning and end of a chapter and the rest will take care of itself. It's not just about establishing a natural point in time for the chapter to inhabit, it's about setting a tone, an emotional arc.

A beginning quote or scene-setting description or finisher should leave the reader with a distinct emotion that is also colored by either the end of the preceding chapter or the beginning of the next chapter.

That makes the decision of what to use for the end of the final chapter doubly important.

I think in a good biography, the foreword works on the reader as much as the beginning of the first chapter.

Movin', Shakin'

2010-03-03T15:37:00.002-05:00

Slicing and dicing chapters down to 20/30 page size. It's relatively easy. Equally important in this stage is correctly sorting block quotes and big pieces of interviews. Lots of things are out of order right now.

I'm doing a chapter each day from beginning to last. It changes things up nicely. When I get to the end, I'll have forgotten the first chapter. That's the point.

The Placeholder

2010-03-01T10:56:00.002-05:00

A couple comments early on...

I'm really enjoying listening to the soundtrack to the movie Patton and the movie First Knight as I write. Jerry Goldsmith is a genius.

It's dawned on me that the "placeholder" truly is a staple of first draft writing. I've heard it mentioned on DVD commentary for episodes of The Office and writing for the TV screen is no different from fiction or biography in this sense.

A placeholder is nothing more than a quick phrase inserted into the mix to remind the writer of the sort of writing that should appear there. It's better than nothing because it serves as a memento for the half-formed idea. In The Office, it might mark the sort of joke that should go there. In biography, it's usually a subject area and chronological marker. One hopes that one will find a good quote to fill it out and turn placeholder into poetry.

Final Writing Phase: Day One

2010-03-01T10:11:00.002-05:00

I'm viewing this last phase of writing with trepidation, mostly because I've gotten so used to transcription I worry I've forgotten how to write. I haven't written anything of creative significance in probably four months.

I suspect that I've amplified my abilities in cutting needless fat from the page. Most of the last transcriptions were tiny in terms of what made it to the document from the recording. I felt like I had heard it all.

I think it could take a week to really kick into high gear.

Grayton State Park

2010-02-28T15:24:00.000-05:00

A pleasant, uncommon reference in the Florida press to Governor Chiles' conservation record...

No More Interviews

2010-02-24T09:13:00.002-05:00

So, it took two months to transcribe about a hundred interview files, going at a rapid pace that left some lesser interview portions to a second round.

Now, I'm taking a week off from work.

Then, I'll be back on the scene to actually do the fun stuff! Writing!

Last 5

2010-02-22T20:30:00.001-05:00

Just five more interview files to transcribe. Once I start writing again, I should have some long, solid posts on the writing process.

The Final Countdown

2010-02-18T22:03:00.000-05:00

The last ten bite the dust!

Teens

2010-02-15T18:28:00.000-05:00

Down to the teens!

Century News

2010-02-13T19:47:00.001-05:00

Century, Fl is back in the news since the walkin' days...one of the few Florida towns to experience snowfall this winter!

20s

2010-02-10T15:06:00.000-05:00

Down to the 20s!

30s

2010-02-08T14:55:00.000-05:00

Down to the 30s!

Laboratories of Democracy

2010-02-08T11:25:00.002-05:00

The state fiscal labs are hard at work: Maryland, Wisconsin, Oregon, North Carolina, Connecticut, and New York, and more.

In particular, reforms establishing new, higher tax brackets.

40s

2010-02-04T22:31:00.000-05:00

Less than 50 to go!

50s

2010-02-02T11:22:00.001-05:00

Down to the 50s in interviews, homestretch!

60 left

2010-01-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

60 or so more files to go...