One of the bad things about being a writer is that the more you learn, the more you pick up on problems in the novels you read. Sometimes knowing the rules or current preferences can ruin an otherwise interesting story.
BUT it can also bring an increased awareness of what an author is doing amazingly well. Here are some of the things I've read that have made me stop and take notice.
Kristen Heitzmann: I recently read her latest book, The Edge of Recall, and the transitions, or almost lack thereof, caught my attention. I mean, the heroine picks up the car keys, and suddenly she's on the main road at a stoplight. Okay, not quite, but I don't have the book in front of me to give an example. Basically, she didn't waste any words on mundane actions to get her characters from here to there. At first I wasn't sure if I liked this aspect of her style. If your eyes skipped a paragraph or two, you could be totally lost. But then again, every word is supposed to count anyway, right? No wasted words. So though I don't know that I'd be quite as frugal with my transistions, it's something I will definitely keep in mind to work toward. The reader doesn't need every move spelled out for them. They can fill in the blanks. I don't need to waste their time telling about a long walk to the car unless it matters to the story. Make everything count.
Erynn Mangum: I think one of the main things that makes the Lauren Holbrook trilogy so funny is that Erynn doesn't waste any characters. Every one of them adds something to the story. The father is a hypochondriac. In MatchPoint, the visiting cousin collects geese. Even the unnamed delivery man has a hilarious moment in the spotlight. No potential is lost. No character is there only to fill space.
Charles Martin: Images from his novels are stamped on my brain, probably forever. A little girl in a yellow dress selling lemonade. A man covered in mud with just his eyes showing. A drunk playing bagpipes while wearing only a kilt. A couple inside a deserted auditorium, the wife running around and clapping madly, cheering for her husband. Charles Martin has a gift for creating vivid word pictures. His descriptions are amazing, but not overdone, and many of the scenes stick with you long after you've set the novel down.
Here are three. I'm not done. But I'll save some for later so I have something to blog about. (So Holly doesn't yell at me...) Coming up next: Francine Rivers, Lisa Samson, and whoever else I decide on between now and my next post. :-)
8/19/08
8/3/08
Another Random List
I've been collecting pet peeves. Not sure why. Maybe it's because I didn't get a nap so I'm cranky. But here are some for your enjoyment...or enlightenment.
At church:
1. When random people people are called on for spontaneous and forced testimony.
2. When the preacher prays and talks about himself in the plural form. (i.e. "Help us as we attempt to speak your truth in this sermon.") What's up with that?
3. When the preacher makes a point that he thinks may have stepped on some toes, so he pauses and says, "It just got really quiet in here..." Most of the time it's just his imagination...or he THINKS some toes should have just been stepped on. Maybe the ameners had actually just stepped out to the bathroom or something.
Families (not necessarily my own, but if the shoe fits...):
1. When kids aren't responsible to get themselves up in the morning. Like the jr. high and high school students who used to give me their excuse for being late to school: "My mom forgot to wake me up..." Anyone ever heard of an alarm clock? Or independence?
2. When people interrupt meals or special family time by answering their phone and carrying on a loud conversation right there at the table. (I love you both. lol)
3. When it takes the whole vacation to decide what we should do and in what order and with whom.
Houses:
1. When people leave clumps of toothpaste in the sink.
2. When there are flowers exploding all over the wallpaper and bedding and lace dripping everywhere else and people are expected to be able to breathe. But I'm the one who painted my bedroom granny apple green and begged my parents not to repaint it when I moved out, so...
3. When flowers in the hanging pots die and yet the pots remain there long enough that grass begins to grow. Oh, wait. That's me...
Books:
1. When there's an abundance of scenes from the extremely warped villain's point-0f-view. I realize I'm in the minority here, but I usually skip these insane ramblings.
2. When the author makes it a point to make issue of certain beliefs/convictions, showing throughout the story how stupid the character is for having held them and how much better off they are when they discard them.
3. When the authors use many of the same names for different characters throughout their books. When you have two main characters named Drew, or a major character named Cindy in one and a minor character by the same name in another, I'm going to be trying to figure out if they're the same people throughout the first half of the book and wondering why you couldn't have picked Jane instead during the second half.
Okay, enough grumpy ramblings. I'm going to blame it on a bit of indigestion. Which reminds me of another pet peeve...
No, just kidding.
At church:
1. When random people people are called on for spontaneous and forced testimony.
2. When the preacher prays and talks about himself in the plural form. (i.e. "Help us as we attempt to speak your truth in this sermon.") What's up with that?
3. When the preacher makes a point that he thinks may have stepped on some toes, so he pauses and says, "It just got really quiet in here..." Most of the time it's just his imagination...or he THINKS some toes should have just been stepped on. Maybe the ameners had actually just stepped out to the bathroom or something.
Families (not necessarily my own, but if the shoe fits...):
1. When kids aren't responsible to get themselves up in the morning. Like the jr. high and high school students who used to give me their excuse for being late to school: "My mom forgot to wake me up..." Anyone ever heard of an alarm clock? Or independence?
2. When people interrupt meals or special family time by answering their phone and carrying on a loud conversation right there at the table. (I love you both. lol)
3. When it takes the whole vacation to decide what we should do and in what order and with whom.
Houses:
1. When people leave clumps of toothpaste in the sink.
2. When there are flowers exploding all over the wallpaper and bedding and lace dripping everywhere else and people are expected to be able to breathe. But I'm the one who painted my bedroom granny apple green and begged my parents not to repaint it when I moved out, so...
3. When flowers in the hanging pots die and yet the pots remain there long enough that grass begins to grow. Oh, wait. That's me...
Books:
1. When there's an abundance of scenes from the extremely warped villain's point-0f-view. I realize I'm in the minority here, but I usually skip these insane ramblings.
2. When the author makes it a point to make issue of certain beliefs/convictions, showing throughout the story how stupid the character is for having held them and how much better off they are when they discard them.
3. When the authors use many of the same names for different characters throughout their books. When you have two main characters named Drew, or a major character named Cindy in one and a minor character by the same name in another, I'm going to be trying to figure out if they're the same people throughout the first half of the book and wondering why you couldn't have picked Jane instead during the second half.
Okay, enough grumpy ramblings. I'm going to blame it on a bit of indigestion. Which reminds me of another pet peeve...
No, just kidding.
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