Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Rides

I saw a bumper sticker on a Chevy truck today that rocked me:

Get in, sit down, shut up and hold on.

I love it. I'd put that on my business cards, if I had any. Every word encapsulates my ambitions as a writer:

Get In: I want to catch your attention, pull you in, hook you on my ride.

Sit Down: I want you to like my ride, enough to get comfortable, go with me and see what's down the road.

Shut Up: I want to shake you up, surprise you, shock you if I can, take your breath away, leave you speechless.

And Hold On: After I've done all that? I want to crank it up even more. I don't want you to let go until we cross the very last line.

This isn't a new idea for me. Back when I taught online workshops, I described a novel as a vehicle for the reader. My idea of a great book is always one that invites the reader to come along for a joy ride, in the middle of the night, to places you're really not supposed to go. Those are the kind of novels I love to read, so no surprise that I'd want to write them.

What would the bumper sticker on your current ride say?

16 comments:

  1. In my current mood mine would be of of two that I've seen.

    1. Don't follow me, I'm Lost

    2. Wheeeee!

    perhaps both.

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  2. On the car: Yes, it is as fast as it looks.
    Book: "The dialogue is witty, the pace is fast and the result is hilarious." (That's what a review said yesterday. I'll take that for a bumper sticker any day.)

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  3. Help, I'm locked in the trunk!

    (except here in the UK we'd say 'boot' rather than 'trunk', but that's just the way it is, two nations divided by a common language and all that.)

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  4. Anonymous4:22 AM

    "Harken to the siren song of steel"

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  5. Anonymous6:59 AM

    "Come to the grocery store with your ol' granny, hon. Please?"

    Yeah - it's got serious pacing problems. But it's for NaNo, so that's okay for now.

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  6. Anonymous8:13 AM

    "Don't blame me - the voices in my head are the ones in control today."

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  7. For those afraid of writing sex scenes,

    "If This Van's a -Rockin', don't Come A-Knockin'"

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  8. "This life has been a test. If this had been a real life, you would have been instructed where to go and what to do . . ."

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  9. 'Bring Out Your Dead!"

    I'm working on a siege, you see . . .

    'Duck!'

    Same siege, different day.

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  10. "I'm not on the phone. I'm talking to my characters."

    We often have long chats in the car. I used to hope that people who drove by and saw me talking would assume I was singing along to the radio. Now I figure they assume I have a headset plugged into the cell.

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  11. Off topic (sorry), but I just want to congratulate you on making the Internet Writing Journal's list of best author blogs.
    You can find the list here:
    http://www.internetwritingjournal.com/authorblogs/

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  12. Mine?
    The way I drive walking would be faster.

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  13. Anonymous12:34 AM

    I bet that truck belonged to a woman (after my own heart).

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  14. Hmm... a bumper sticker that encapsulates what I'm writing. Probably something like:

    Warning: Danger ahead. (Black sticker with a sizzling bundle of dynamite).

    Or,

    Psychological Thriller ahead, enter at own risk.

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  15. Anonymous1:21 PM

    The writing bumper sticker that sums up how I squandered 2005 and how I feel going into 2006 is:

    If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I live in my own little world, but it's okay...Everyone knows me here.

    ReplyDelete

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