John Dufresne

Honestly, I picked this novel up at our local Goodwill for $3.99 only because it had the word "Louisiana" in the title. I'm collecting all things pertaining to Louisiana for my Louisiana guest bedroom.

It was written by a creative writing professor in Florida, with short chapters, so you can catch a quick read here and there. That's about the only good thing about this book. The subject itself was rather boring. It gets a 2 star because there's not a lot going on. This book heads back to my local Goodwill.

The setting is suppose to be Monroe, Louisiana, but you never get that feel. No accents, no southern scenaries, no nothing. The story centers around one main character, Billy Wayne Fontana, who followed his heart for love and left the priesthood before he was actually certified. He was searching for meaning and purpose in his life, but he never felt "fulfilled", which we all may experience in life from time-to-time, especially when we turn our back on God. Unfortunately, I never did develop feelings for any of the characters. This read brought no emotions out what-so-ever! No action really until the very last couple of short chapters where the last 3 Fontana men died.

But, of course, there's another Fontana in the near future because of his lusty feelings. The town people would still believe in the Fontana curse. God fearing people would believe it was all the bad decisions Billy Wayne made by following after lust instead of his heart. The scientists believe a genetic defect in their genes. Then there are those that believe the Fontanas were deposited there in Monroe, Louisiana by space aliens from Venus.

Unfortunately, the book doesn't really go into the Fontana's ancestral history. He just drops a few lines here and there in random odd spots in the story. So you don't even get a real good feeling or any ideas about Billy Wayne's earlier ancestry...just surface stuff....to even know why their is a cyrse on the Fontana name.… (mehr)

John Dufresne says the very short story “doesn’t explain; it only indicates” and “is the call that awaits the response.” He talks about the differences between novels, short stories, and flash fiction, and some methods for approaching the writing of each, with the emphasis on flash fiction.

Some of the information here can apply to all writing. “We’ve got nothing to prove, but a world to explore,” and “A story is good when you continue to see more and more in it, and when it continues to escape you.” The advice here is valuable to all writers of fiction, which is something nice about the book.

There are plenty of writing exercises and prompts included to help spark the act of writing, and that’s another nice thing. The book can be kept handy and referred to when you need a prompt. It helps foster the mindset that those who want to write can engage with the world as writers who will create and bring ideas to life on the page. As Dufresne says, “The more you write, the more you will want to write. And all the writing you do today, goes to all the writing you will ever do.”… (mehr)