Often after I finish a piece of writing, novel or short story, there is a period of… aimlessness where I really don’t feel like writing. While there is certainly a period where the creative muscles might need to re-charge, it is also easy to fall into the habit of not writing.

When I feel this effect, this slipping from re-charging to complacency, I often think of a quote from Joyce Carol Oates on mood and motivation following action:

“One must be pitiless about this matter of “mood.” In a sense, the writing will create the mood. … I have forced myself to begin writing when I’ve been utterly exhausted, when I’ve felt my soul as thin as a playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes … and somehow the activity of writing changes everything.”

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• With just about everything being fodder for adaptation, you can be forgiven if you missed this recent news, David Kelley and Michael Connelly are continuing their partnership (currently have The Lincoln Lawyer in development) with a lesser known Connelly short story.
  
  
• TSpeaking of potentially interesting adaptations, I did not see this one coming. Speilberg is attached to do an original story based on the iconic 70’s McQueen character Frank Bullitt.
  
  
• Gotta admit, I didn’t make it through Isaka’s BULLET TRAIN, despite two attempts and a great back cover hook. Something just wasn’t working for me. The new Brad Pitt-led trailer definitely hits the comedy harder than (at least the beginning) the book.

2 QUOTES

Quotes from mystery author Michael Connelly this week:

• “What is jealousy but a reflection of your own failures?”

• “I’ve learned over the years that sometimes if you ask the same question more than once you get different responses.”

1 QUESTION

• Have you read any of Connelly’s Bosch or Lincoln Lawyer series? Can you pick a favorite?

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Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series