James W. Huston
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James W. Huston
Facts of Fiction

Facts of Fiction

“How Do You Write?” (Listen for Yourself!)

Written by: James W. Huston Published: August 30, 2010

By far the most common question I get from people who are interested in my writing is: “How do you do it?”  Mechanically, how do you get the words onto a page that ultimately form a book?

I think they like to hear quirky stories about the writing process, like what George Will told me about how he writes his op/eds—longhand with a fountain pen.  Or like the novelist who writes an entire book longhand on yellow pads, gives them to a typist, and never looks at the book again (thankfully I forget which author it is who does that).  Or the author who uses a MANUAL typewriter, because he always has.

Frankly I don’t understand why anyone would use a manual typewriter for anything except a museum exhibit.  You occasionally hear that he started writing that way and that’s just how he does it.  I guess that makes some kind of sense, but I started writing with crayons.  I don’t think I’m stuck with them forever “because that’s how I started.”  My father, who has been writing books for sixty years, certainly started with a manual typewriter.  I watched him write many books on a manual typewriter.  But I also know that he just bought a new computer last week for his book writing.

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Alaska–My First Encounter with Grizzlies

Written by: James W. Huston Published: August 29, 2010

In early August I was in Alaska, fishing and kayaking.  Every time I go there (now a grand total of two) I remark how unspoiled it is.  Alaskans probably think it’s plenty spoiled.  But to those of us in the lower forty-eight, we are so accustomed to a denser population and what goes with that that we are surprised to see what the earth looks like when there aren’t many people around.  But the real story from this trip is how I encountered a couple of grizzly bears, or as they’re called in Alaska, brown bears.

I was fishing with several other people and a guide on Chichagof Island, a large island across the Icy Strait from Gustavus Alaska, where I was staying.  To say it is beautiful doesn’t capture it.  It takes your breath away.  There are large snow-capped mountains and rivers, and marshes.  There are birds everywhere and wildlife.  Salmon in the rivers and Dolly Vardens—large, silvery fish from the trout family.

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Plane Conversations Review of FALCON SEVEN

Written by: James W. Huston Published: August 26, 2010

Plane Conversations review, by Allen Howell:

“James Huston takes aviation, international law, and the world of military special ops intrigue and weaves a story that will not let you put the book (I-Pad) down until you are finished. . . .

“If you like aviation and you like to read Grisham novels you will love this book.

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Facts of Fiction

Facts of Fiction

Wikileaks & Lawfare

Written by: James W. Huston Published: July 27, 2010

Wikileaks’ release of “over 75,000 secret military reports covering the war in Afghanistan” is being called one of the “biggest leaks in U.S. military history.”

It is also a prime example of Lawfare.

In my June 10, 2010, post, I wrote: (more…)

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In the News

In the News

Top Gun Redux

Written by: James W. Huston Published: July 23, 2010

Few things have done as much for naval aviation as putting one of the hottest actors in the business, Tom Cruise, on screen in the hottest airplane of the day, the F-14. Now there’s talk of a Top Gun sequel. I’m all for it!

Those of us who went to the real TOPGUN, before the movie, thought the school was incredibly cool and we felt fortunate to go. But we sure didn’t expect anyone we knew to even come close to understanding what we were doing.  After the movie though, all you had to do was say you went to TOPGUN, and people immediately thought more highly of you. That was a refreshing change in the 80s.

However, when Top Gun was released, those of us in VF-84 knew that the movie with the best F-14 flying scenes had already been made—and our squadron did all the flying in that movie. It is called The Final Countdown, starring Martin Sheen, Kirk Douglas, Katharine Ross, Charles Durning, and James Farentino.

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Falcon Seven

Falcon Seven

Now available in bookstores.
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Marine One

Marine One

Now available in paperback.
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