With football season around the corner, we are going to help you save on popular football decorated pencils! Today only, purchase 1 pack of Spangle Football Pencils in the 24-count and you will receive 2 for FREE! This deal will only apply once per shopping cart. Be sure to make your move today because this offer is only valid for the next 24 hours...
We asked Joe Finder a few questions to learn a bit more about him. Check out his 'Featured Writer' page to see his biography. He also has some great 'Writer Tips' to help out current and future authors. You can also Click here to visit his personal website.
What inspired you to start writing?
Like most writers, I started as a reader. Even now, I read a lot; any good writer should. As a kid, I fell in love with Eleanor Cameron’s Mushroom Planet series — The Wonderful Voyage to the Mushroom Planet, Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet, and so on — and I wrote Ms. Cameron a letter. To my amazement, she wrote back. I must have been about nine years old, and that was the first time I truly understood that books were the product of a single person’s imagination. We wrote back and forth for years, and I asked her all kinds of questions about where she got her ideas, how she wrote, and so on. That was where I first got the idea that this might be something I could do, too.
Describe your journey to becoming a well-known author.
Once I grew up, I realized I would need to make a living, and that writing books might not be the easiest way. So I went to graduate school and I started teaching, which I loved, and wish I still had time for, but never really settled into. The idea of writing a novel never went away. I had written a non-fiction book that was very controversial, and it occurred to me that that material might be better suited to fiction. My wife and I agreed that I’d have three years to see whether I could write a book and sell it — and The Moscow Club sold just before that deadline expired. Since then, the key to it has just been to keep writing. Every day’s work isn’t going to be good, but if you put in enough days and you keep writing and revising and looking for ways to improve, that persistence pays off. VANISHED is my ninth novel. Every new book has brought a new milestone: first movie sale, first time on the New York Times bestseller list, first award nomination, and so on. I hope it’s a trend that continues, but no matter what, I’ll keep writing.
Who is your favorite author? Why?
That’s an impossible question to answer; it’s like asking what your favorite food is. Some days I like steak, some days I like brownies. I’d have to give you a list. It would start with Eleanor Cameron, of course, and include Frederick Forsyth, Robert Ludlum, William Goldman, Nelson De Mille, John Le Carre, David Morrell, Harlan Coben, Lee Child . . . the list goes on and on, because I don’t want to leave anyone out. I have, however, gotten to the point that I can’t read within my own genre while I’m writing. If I’m plotting a thriller, I need to know that the ideas are mine, and not something I subconsciously absorbed from one of my colleagues.
What intrigues you about the Blackwing?
Ah, the Blackwing. I’ve rhapsodized about the Blackwing in print before, but it’s hard to improve on the original slogan: “Half the pressure, twice the speed.” Who wouldn’t want that? They glide on the paper; they make a great, dark, smooth line that feels assertive and strong, not like the pale gray you get from a No. 3, nor scratchy like most #2’s. And of course, for the past several years, part of what’s made the Blackwing so desirable is the fact that it hasn’t been available. It’s been out of production for 12 years, and the ones still in existence — I still have a few — have become almost mythic in their importance. Kids in junior high right now have never lived in a world with the Blackwing, can you imagine? So the news that it’s coming back has been reason for celebration, at least in my house.
'Just Because' sale today on pencils.com! Save 50% on Spangle Children's Coloring Pencils today only...that means that 1 pack is only $0.85! Be sure to check out pencils.com regularly to see if we are having a weekly 'Just Because' sale.
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Another great 'Writer Tip' from one of our Featured Writers, Joe Finder. He has a number of tutorials that can be extremely helpful for any aspiring writer. Check out other 'Writer Tips' from either Joe Finder or Louie Centanni. You can also Click here to view Joe Finder's personal website. Read this particular piece about research and gain a better understanding of how much work Joe does for any type of writing. Note: he makes corrections on all of his hard copies with pencils...
My name is Joe, and I'm a research-aholic.
This should surprise no one who reads my books. In fact, I've taken some teasing about the length of the “acknowledgments” sections of my books, because so many people have been so generous about sharing their expertise with me.
I have always considered “Write what you know” one of the most useless pieces of advice a beginning author gets. Write what I know? If I'd started out writing what I knew, I'd have come up with 10 or 12 pages about a kid in upstate New York who wanted to be a cartoonist (I did, actually; read this monthly newsletter for more about this). Granted, Philip Roth and Saul Bellow, among others, did very well in turning their life experiences into literature — but I wanted to write thrillers, and my life was not thrilling.
No, for me, writing was all about having my characters do things I could only dream of, whether that was taking the Concorde to Paris, escaping assassins on the streets of Moscow, or wining and dining beautiful women in Boston's finest restaurants (which I am now able to do, thanks to my wife and daughter, but you know what I mean).
And let's face it: research is the fun part. Who wouldn't want to ride along with cops, learn to shoot guns (lots of guns!), and talk to interesting people about the cool things they do? It's much more fun than sitting alone in front of a blank computer screen, trying to figure out what happens next.
Research has also given me some of my best plot points and material. A weapons expert once showed me how to smuggle a gun through airport security and on to a plane. Believe me, I could not have thought that one up by myself.
But every hour you spend doing the fun stuff of research is time you're not writing. And I'm here to tell you that research, while fun and often necessary, is addictive and dangerous.
It's also a great crutch. All novelists feel like impostors at times; it's only natural to feel unqualified and insecure in what you're writing about. You don't really know it — what do we know, we're writers, right? Ñ so you want to find out as much as you can. But in the age of the Internet, you're always one hyperlink away from the next website or article, and it can go on ad infinitum. The easiest thing in the world is to put off writing while you find out exactly how many gallons the New York City reservoirs hold, or how long it takes to fly from Washington to Timbuktu, or whether Brazilians drive on the right or the left-hand side of the road.
So stop. Put the story first. Write your story first, and fact-check later. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate; it just has to be plausible.
John Grisham was 100 pages into his latest book, The Associate, which was set at the Princeton Law School — when he found out that Princeton doesn't have a law school. It didn't derail him; he just moved the story to Yale, which does have a law school. The key is that the setting wasn't the important part, the story was — and he'd already written 100 pages, so he was able to go back and make the necessary changes.
In Hollywood they call this “fixing it in post.” Dozens, if not hundreds, of pieces need to come together just so in order to get a scene right on film. If 99 things are right and one thing is wrong, it's not worth shooting an entire scene again; they can fix it in post-production, by overdubbing sound or correcting color or editing something out. The key is to keep going, so the production can “make its day,” and stay on schedule.
That's what John Grisham knows: the key is to keep going. “When I write fiction, it takes a lot to get me out of the seat to check anything,” he said in a recent interview. “I hate to stop writing to go check a fact, to go find a city, to go to a hotel — I'll just make stuff up.”
And you know what? Readers hate it, too. Nothing is worse than stopping a story to give your readers all the great research you did about how and when some government agency happened to be based in West Virginia instead of in Washington, DC, or why that particular vintage of Burgundy is considered the best, or who manufactures a particular kind of pistol in the United States. Research should be like an iceberg — only a fraction should be visible. (Ten percent of the iceberg, to be exact. I just Googled it.) Or to continue the show-business metaphor, it should be the lights that illuminate the stage, not a spotlight pointed at the audience's faces.
Oh, but the research demon says: you want facts. Your male readers, particularly, want facts. If you get it wrong, you'll get emails, and you'll have to apologize and ask your publishers to correct things in future editions, and you — and they — HATE that.
This is true, actually, especially when it comes to weapons. If I make even a small error about something gun-related, I'll get at least a dozen emails from aficionados who are sometimes downright outraged about my carelessness. (Which is why I take gun classes ... or at least, that's my excuse.)
It may even be one reason men read fewer novels than women, as Gore Vidal once noted in an essay: “It has been observed that American men do not read novels because they feel guilty when they read books which do not have facts in them. Made-up stories are for women and children; facts are for men. There is something in this...” As a man, this doesn't make me proud ... but Vidal probably has a point here.
But then I defer to that king of all research, James Michener, whose Herculean efforts filled whole bookshelves (Hawaii, Caravans, The Source, Centennial, etc., etc...). Even he admitted that research can only get you so far: “The greatest novels are written without any recourse to research other than that writer's solitary inspection of the human experience. Flaubert, Dostoevski, Jane Austen, Turgenev, and Henry James exemplify this truth ... To praise a writer for having done research is like praising a bus driver for knowing how to shift gears; if he can't perform that function, he has no right to climb into the bus.” Because the story, like the bus, has to go somewhere.
I wrestle with this constantly. I've had to set time limits on my research. If questions come up while I'm writing, I might make a call or fire off an email, but I don't stop writing while I wait for an answer; I keep writing, and fill in details later.
Take the word of a research-aholic: don't let this happen to you. Don't overdo the research, because the story is what's important. Without a story, your pile of facts is worthless.
We can always fix it in post.
Please be sure to check out our Story of Pencils section for fun and reliable pencil information. The Incense Cedar Institute created a video showing and discussing the process of pencil making. Click here to see how pencils are made every day! With an object that is used by millions every day, it can be overlooked at times. This video shows the numerous steps that pencils have to go through in order to complete the creation process. Enjoy the video!
Brian Duey has some great tutorials on his website that can truly help all artists. We also have some of his tutorials in our 'Featured Artist Lessons' section. Click here to go straight to his 'How to Draw a Car' lesson. His in depth descriptions of how to complete certain aspects of a drawing make it much easier than trying to draw without any guidance. Being a ‘Featured Artist’ on our site has been a privilege because not only is he a great artist, he is a great teacher as well.
The lesson that we are going to focus on this week is Brian’s tutorial on drawing cars. He has a way of making a black Corvette look extremely realistic and sheik. We will have more of Brian’s tutorials put on our site as time passes. Come back and visit!
“Drawn with Palomino pencil, recommended by Bob from Scotland, really the best pencil I ever had.” The best pencil that she has ever had!!! Nikira posts many of her sketches on her blog. She is also a member of Skine Art where she posts many of her drawings.Here at pencils.com we truly appreciate the beauty of the pencil. For Nikira to say that the Palomino is her favorite is quite amazing when you think about how many pencils there are out there. It is great to find a pencil user that falls in love with one of our high quality products. Nikira recently began using the Palomino and is having trouble putting it down. Her abstract artistic style brings out the strokes in the pencil with great character. We are hoping to see plenty more of her artwork with the Palomino in the future!
She said that she will continue to use the Palomino in the future because of the comfort level and amazing lead in the pencil.
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across Diane Wright’s blog. Her drawings completely blew me away. I decided that I would take the time to e-mail her and ask her a few questions. She does a majority of her drawings with mechanical pencils; but, I thought to myself, “Maybe I can ask her to try out our Palomino pencils.” A couple of weeks after our first conversation, she e-mailed me informing me that we had converted her! She loved the Palomino's! It is always great to see someone appreciate the true beauty of a pencil and see what it is capable of creating.
As we continue to talk via e-mail, we decided that we would promote one of Diane’s books on pencils.com. Beautiful Landscapes is a book that I received from Diane. Her ability to capture the essence of a landscape is breathtaking. Being a fan of various types of art, I love the fact that Diane can grab something as simple as a pencil and turn a plain white sheet of paper into something of great beauty. We here at pencils.com hope that our relationship with Diane Wright continues because she has a great passion and talent for pencil drawings. Visit pencils.com for all of your school and drawing supplies! We also have numerous great Learning Resources that can help students, teachers, writers and artists. Come check us out!
Today only, save BIG when you purchase our Palomino Wood Crafter Hobby Kit...type in Promotional Code: JBCRAFT50 at checkout to receive 50% OFF! This deal is only going on today…so make the purchase now! Keep visiting pencils.com for our weekly ‘Just Because’ sales. When will the next one be? Who knows? I do…it will be August 26th! Come visit us for more great money-saving opportunities…
I’m often asked how I write — do I use a computer, when do I write, do I have an office, and so on. These are natural questions, actually, since they concern the mysterious alchemy of the creative process. And truth is, most writers I know ask each other the same sorts of questions.
Of course I wrote on a computer (a Mac, naturally — a G5 tower with an immense flat-screen monitor, and a Macbook Air at home). But it surprises a lot of people to hear that certain scenes (the more meditative ones) I write with a pencil. And I almost always edit pages, in hard copy, with a pencil.
So the right pencil is important to me. Years ago, at a stationery store in Harvard Square called Bob Slate’s, I discovered the best pencil ever. It was called the Blackwing 602, made by Eberhard Faber. It was perfectly designed, hexagonal so it wouldn’t roll off your desk, with lead that was creamy soft but not too soft. A great oblong eraser you could pull out to extend its use. Its embossed motto: “Half the pressure, twice the speed.” (Who wouldn’t want half the pressure and twice the speed?) In a world of yellow pencils it was silvery gray. Several times a year I’d stop into Bob Slate’s to buy a box.
Turned out there was a whole underground fraternity of Blackwing-obsessives. Stephen Sondheim told the New York Times he’d use nothing else: “They wear down quickly, so I feel like I’m getting a lot done.” Writers like Thomas Wolfe and Archibald MacLeish loved them. The late John Steinbeck, ever in search of the perfect pencil, thought the Blackwing “floated over the paper just wonderfully.”
Then one day I went into Slate’s and learned, to my horror, that the Blackwing 602 was no more. It had been discontinued. Frantic, I launched into action. I enlisted my assistant to call every stationery distributor, every mom-and-pop stationery store in the country, and buy up as many boxes of Blackwings as we could find. In time, we’d amassed a closet full of them.
When the terrible news spread throughout the Blackwing Underground, my fellow obsessives began buying them up too. Writer friends of mine who learned of my stockpile — Andre Gregory (of “My Dinner With Andre”) and Roger Rosenblatt — began calling me to ask if I could spare one . . . or a box. Soon, Blackwings began popping up on eBay for $20 each. In fact, I just checked eBay and found one for $38.99 — for a single pencil.
Still, I won’t sell mine, and I only give them away to my closest friends who will make good use of them. I figure that as long as I have them around, I’ll keep writing my novels with half the pressure and twice the speed.
View Joseph Finder’s ‘Featured Writer’ page here. He also has a few ‘Writer Tips’ that can be very insightful for various writers…or you can check out his personal site here.
At pencils.com, we are pleased to say that we will be re-releasing the Blackwing in the coming months! We now own the rights to ‘The Best Pencil in the World’ and plan on making Joseph Finder a very happy writer. If you would like more information on our Blackwing plans, visit our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates. You can also e-mail me at jcentanni@pencils.com.
It’s that time of year to head to the store and get all of your Back-to-School needs! Why go to the store when you can get everything you need online here at the new and improved pencils.com shop? We offer a wide range of school products that are sold at competitive prices. Check out our ‘Shop’ tab and find the supplies you need. Pencils, rulers, erasers, glue, sharpeners, notebooks…we have the highest quality products that would be perfect for every kind of student. For those students that love the feel and smell of a pencil, try out our ‘Scented Pencils’. We also offer some cool ‘Touch-color Change’ pencils in a variety of colors! Need a place to write down all of your assignments? Our ‘Planners & Notebooks’ would be a great section for you to look through.
Also…to help you save money on school supplies this year, pencils.com is offering a great money-saving option! We have ‘Classroom Bundles’ for teachers and administrators as well as ‘Student Bundles’ for kids and parents!
I’m sure we have some art lovers out there…instead of using what is available in the classroom, why don’t you prepare yourself with the extremely popular art supplies on pencils.com. We have various types of ‘Children’s Coloring Pencils’, ‘Drawing & Sketching Pencils’, ‘Testing Pencils’, ‘Carpenter Pencils’…we got it all! Make it easy on yourself and impress your teachers with the best art products money can buy.
Secretaries, Teachers, and Principals…take a look at the ‘Teachers and Educators’ section where you can purchase some great products to motivate your students. We offer several ‘Bulk Pencils’ that when purchased in high quantities become more and more cost efficient! Keep your students wanting more by rewarding them with various ‘Sports Pencils’ and other types of ‘Motivational Pencils’. Our wide range of pencils and other school supplies will make it easy to get all of your shopping done. Enjoy your shopping experience with pencils.com and we hope you come back to visit our store whenever you need to re-stock on school supplies!
Dr. Toy’s announced that General’s® has won the award for ‘Best Green Product’. From now through Friday, August 20, 2010, you have the opportunity of improving your drawing abilities with these books at a discounted price. Buy either the ‘How to Draw Cartoon Flip Books’ or ‘How to Draw Cartoons’ Kit for 20% off! Matthew Luhn, a Story Artist/Animator from PIXAR Animation Studios, created these great books to help aspiring artists and animators improve their drawing skills. Give it a try and you will see how easy it can be to make fun cartoons for family and friends! ***Enter Promotional Code: GENERAL20 at the Checkout to get your discount!
PRESS RELEASE:
General’s® How to Draw Cartoon Flipbooks Kit Wins “Best Green Product” from Dr. Toy’s “Best Green Toy Company Awards”
In July 2010, Stevanne Auerbach, PhD/ “Dr. Toy” recognized the Best Green Toys and Children’s products for the fourth year. The award recognizes innovative products and companies that are working toward making a difference in playthings and reducing environmental the impact of production. This year, General Pencil Company’s “How to Draw Cartoon Flipbooks!” has been recognized as one of the “Best Green Toys”!
General Pencil Company and Matthew Luhn, Story Artist/Animator from PIXAR Animation Studios, partnered to create a one of a kind series of How To Draw Cartoons Kits: How to Draw Cartoons and How to Draw Cartoon Flip Books.
How to Draw Cartoon Flipbooks is a unique kit that includes all the GENERAL'S® Drawing Tools needed, and each kit contains 2 easy to follow books created by Matthew Luhn. The books are filled with techniques and lessons including shapes, shading, perspective, dimension, developing style, writing stories, and creating morphing effects in flipbooks, these books and kits are ideal for teachers, students, aspiring cartoonists, and people of all ages wanting to brush up on drawing and cartooning skills.
About Dr. Toy’s “Best Green Products”
Dr. Toy recognizes these Best GREEN Products and the astute companies making these products. They are each making a difference in their own way and making important contributions. Each step helps. Each step moves us towards a healthier home and community.
Dr. Toy has identified products that help children learn more about their world. She found products made from organic materials, or produced in ways that are healthier. Consumers are encouraged to consider these products for home or school or as gifts. Dr. Toy is glad to recognize the companies and products that are helping to create a healthier place for everyone to live.
About General Pencil Company
General’s® art and craft pencils come to you from our factory in Jersey City, New Jersey. We believe in quality, tradition, value, and the fun of creating. We take pride in handcrafting quality pencils and artist materials using traditional methods passed down for five generations. Our history dates back to 1864 when Edward Weissenborn began the first pencil factory in the USA. In 1889, Edward and his son, Oscar A., began what is now General Pencil Company. Still family owned and operated, our goal is to create consistent, quality products in a sustainable manner for artists of all levels.
General Pencil Company has been manufacturing drawing materials in the USA for over 121 years. Green initiatives have contributed to General Pencil thriving for six generations. Packaging is made with recycled materials; books are printed on FSC certified paper; pencils and erasers are pthalate free; AP and PMA approved for safety and have always been lead free. Products conform to ASTM-D4236 and are tested for safety and quality.
For fun drawing projects, tips, & techniques, visit us at: General Pencil
Our new Bulk Pencils purchasing option offers our most favorable everyday pricing on a wide variety of our most popular pencils. Buy your favorite pencils in multiples of full one gross boxes (144 pencils per item) and take advantage of our greatest volume discounts. (Note: There remains a 3 gross minimum for all Custom Imprint Pencils)
Bulk items are an ideal choice for school pencils and office pencils; or perfect for large charitable organizations, builders looking for Carpenter Pencils and more. Great for back-to-school savings; combine 6 or more items to fit your needs for Motivational Pencils, Testing Pencils, or any other quality pencils to take advantage of additional quantity discounts applicable to bulk item purchasing. In the near future, most of our bulk items will come with an added option of pre-sharpening so the pencils are ready to go out of the box. Many exciting new pencil designs are available that we do not offer under our 12 pencil pack option, so browse our Bulk pencil selection today and stock up for the months ahead.
