Jeri tagged me! I'm not gonna complain because I don't mind this particular meme.
Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book. 2. Open to page 123. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.
"Maybe you should think about going back to work," he said.
"I've thought about it, but I've lost interest in prosecuting felons. I haven't lost interest in the law, but I don't know in what field. My experience is all criminal, and I just don't feel like going back into any kind of criminal law."
So that's from Whispering Rock by Robyn Carr. Yeah.
Tagging? You, you, you, uhm... you, and you. Yes, you!
One character, who shall remain nameless (you know who are, bitch) is just so goddammned stubborn. I’m writing a series, ya’ll. And I have some idea where the story arc is going.
This character is such a hobag. She thinks with her vagina. I’ve never had a character so obsessed with sex. No matter what I’m writing, how I’m advancing the plot, doing cool stuff like foreshadowing, all she can think about is when she’s gonna get laid and with whom.
Last night, around 8 p.m., our conversation went something like this:
Her: "Come on, just let me sleep with him. Sex doesn’t have to take place within the confines of a relationship. I’m a modern woman and I NEED TO GET LAID. So go on, just write the scene for me, okay? You know you want to."
Me: "Look, I don’t want you having sex with every guy that comes into the book. That will turn you into just another MarySue Slutbag that nobody wants to read about. I’m going to make your story different, goddammit. And that means you’re not sleeping with anybody until we’re several books into this thing and I have a feel for your relationships. I’m also going to take reader feedback into consideration when deciding who you end up with. I am in charge here, now STFU and pick up the chihuahua."
Her: "Readers will understand that I have NEEDS, yo. Just write me one sex scene. It doesn’t have to mean anything. Your readers will be disappointed if you write a whole book with no sex. How can you do that to them? Traitor! Now how about him? Or him? No, okay, well, I’ll take some cyber with–"
Me: "Don’t even start with the traitor thing, you know that’s why I have separate pen names. This isn’t an Annie Dean story. You’re such a stubborn bitch."
Her: "Takes one to know one."
So we’re kinda stalemated on this sex issue. I don’t want to point her vagina at the nearest male character and say, "Shazam." I want to build some relationships and intriguing possibilities before I let her have the sex. Unfortunately she’s not big on self-denial. Lord help us both.
The sad thing is, I’ve since sold that series, I’m writing book two, HELL FIRE, and it’s STILL TRUE.
I just had to rein Corine in, or she would’ve had sex up against a door, outside the confines of a relationship. Good thing this is urban fantasy because clearly, she has no concept of how inappropriate she is as a romance heroine.
In which I fall in love with an analogy and thrash about with it in unseemly ways
Current mood: focused
Category: Writing and Poetry
A book is like a blind date. You have certain expectations when it begins, and things should, more or less, wrap up by the time all is said and done. There is the possibility it may go further, but that depends on how well rapport is achieved and a great number of other esoteric factors. Most likely, though, even if it’s pleasant, it isn’t going to be repeated. That’s the nature of most blind dates (and standalone books).
A series is like a relationship. In both cases, you found something you liked and you want more of it on a regular basis, yes? I’ve been mulling this (yes, just like cider), and I notice that certain criticisms readers have regarding the early books in a series is that X isn’t resolved or Y doesn’t seem to add up, or Z shouldn’t have hooked up with the freak in the leather pants when clearly she was destined for the tall, brooding fellow whose name we won’t even learn until book three. Wow, that was an impressively long sentence. Let’s all admire it for a moment.
And...done.
I think there’s a certain commitment and trust involved between author and reader when embarking on a series together. The reader has to trust the author to answer all questions in due time. The author needs to be up to that task. A single book without a continuing storyarc needs to wrap up before the last word. In a series, an author can leave things dangling, and sometimes it looks messy to the reader, who isn’t privy to what’s going on behind the scenes.
I think the danger comes when the author throws too many red herrings into the soup, and now everything is devilish fishy, and he or she simply loses her way, and forgets what the whole point of the series was in the first place, and just commences writing lovely reams of stuff that come off like a donkey in a handcart -- unusual and eye-catching at first, but not serving any useful purpose when you get right down to it. It can be hard to balance.
I’m not sure if I had a point, except perhaps that series books should be regarded differently than a standalone book, even one set in a pervasive world. Anyhow, I’m off to put some more herring in my soup. Wish me luck that it’s not too much!
The Cult of Displeasure
Current mood: pensive
Category: Quiz/Survey
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know there’s a big ruckus about authors "gaming" the system at Amazon. Now, I wouldn’t go looking for thoughtful reviews there in the first place, but that’s just me. I go there to shop. I already know what I want. What other people have to say about the book I want is irrelevant. That’s another topic altogether, I think.
Anyhow, I was just thinking about how there’s a stigma attached to giving five star reviews, apparently. No book is perfect and you’re artificially inflating the star ratings blah di blah. I was thinking about it this morning over my cereal. I don’t post reviews all that often, but when I do, they’re almost always five stars. Why? I don’t want to waste my time writing about a book I didn’t like. For me, the equation is simple. I have work I need to be doing instead.
On the converse, I always have time to rave about a book. For me, a five star review doesn’t mean the book is perfect, or that I’m incapable of engaging the critical aspect of my brain to pick it part; I just enjoyed the book so much I don’t want to. It’s harder and harder for me to read without my internal editor kicking in, changing word order, noting awkward structure, etc, and when I find a book that just sweeps me off into the story, and I can just be a reader for the span where I’m holding that book? I love it. And I hie myself to Amazon to squee a bit because I’ve been a reader since I was four.
In the last ten years, I can only think of one book that I hated so much, I felt compelled to warn others. I did give it one star on Amazon, but most books don’t hit that level of antipathy. So I go on my merry way, posting primarily five star reviews when I post them at all.
There’s another cult of reviewers out there, however. They post nothing but one star reviews. I find that interesting, as they apparently only feel it’s worthwhile to speak up when they hate something. I’ve looked at review history, and these folks never seem to compliment authors they claim to enjoy. They only bitch when they feel they’ve been failed or disappointed. Now I err on the side of offering praise--I acknowledge that--but do you think it’s a failing to offer only criticism?
2.0 MP camera with a fixed lens, full screen viewfinder with high intensity camera light, frame center and status icons. Supported audio formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, and AAC+ Enhanced 20 MB of on-board user memory and MicroSD memory slot for up to 1 GB of extra storage for music, pictures and other media USB 2.0 connectivity for file transfers and data access Video capture and playback. Messaging via MMS, SMS, EMS, Email, IM***
More importantly, it’s CUTE, and it’s mine! You should see the etched pattern on the back. I’ll be showing it off in Pittsburgh, April 15-20. Be sure to ask about my new phone.
relaxed
drained
sleepy
sassy
amused
focused
animated
