Some Things I've Noticed

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. :-)