Fantasy Debut

Count me in, I'd follow you to further adventu...

2009-10-20T08:53:24.701-04:00

Count me in, I'd follow you to further adventures any time! :D

Okay, I've added new subscriptions in both Blo...

2009-10-19T23:08:46.850-04:00

Okay, I've added new subscriptions in both Blogger and Google. Thanks for the heads-up. {Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

Thanks, Kimber! The feeling is mutual! Have a cybe...

2009-10-19T21:28:06.076-04:00

Thanks, Kimber! The feeling is mutual! Have a cybercookie!

Oh, I'd follow you to the ends of the Earth, T...

2009-10-19T21:26:23.919-04:00

Oh, I'd follow you to the ends of the Earth, Tia, especially if you brought cookies.
;)

Twitter - it's definitely the new big thing!!

2009-10-14T11:15:57.626-04:00

Twitter - it's definitely the new big thing!!

Hi :) I like the re-releases. Thank you for sharin...

2009-10-14T07:16:56.077-04:00

Hi :)
I like the re-releases.
Thank you for sharing.
Did you know Maria Lima is on Twitter? She's @chickwriter
:)
All the best,
RKCharron
xoxo

This comment is well over a year late, but yes, th...

2009-10-13T10:31:19.453-04:00

This comment is well over a year late, but yes, the novel has been called humorous horror by some reviewers. Instead of Diehard with a Vengeance, think Diehard with a Vampire. Eric (the main character) is often the right guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. :)

Great interview. The whole family's involvemen...

2009-10-12T20:59:06.718-04:00

Great interview. The whole family's involvement in the adventure particularly intrigues me. I looked for the book at Borders today, forgetting that it releases tomorrow. :(

I'm not a fan of writing that stays outside th...

2009-10-12T20:54:34.222-04:00

I'm not a fan of writing that stays outside the characters' heads. If all I'm getting is a play-by-play of what the characters are doing/seeing, I might as well go read a screenplay. I read novels to find out what the POV characters are thinking and who they are inside.

Poor grammar also bugs me. So does poor punctuation. So do misused words. They shake my confidence in the writer's ability to write.

In my own writing, I use the word "just" way too much. I also tend to get stuck on particular physical reactions like nodding or something and have my characters do them too much. At least I manage to avoid eye-rolling most of the time. :D

I'm pretty sure I have a bunch of other tics that I don't notice because I'm so used to them. :(

During the rest of the week, we watched Mansfield ...

2009-10-11T21:04:39.680-04:00

During the rest of the week, we watched Mansfield Park, Persuasion (which she pronounces with over-correct precision, now that she knows how to read it) and Sense and Sensibility.

It helped!

Thanks for your comments, Katie!

2009-10-11T21:01:22.042-04:00

Thanks for your comments, Katie!

...and why isn't this linking back to my brand...

2009-10-11T14:34:33.762-04:00

...and why isn't this linking back to my brand-new Google Profile? Grr. Oh, well. At least I can now comment on Blogger again.

Middle grade fiction isn't my area of expertis...

2009-10-11T14:31:49.157-04:00

Middle grade fiction isn't my area of expertise, but here are my thoughts:

It sounds like a neat story idea. You've got a sympathetic character and a situation with plenty of potential for story conflict. The biggest problem I see here is one of mechanics. There seem to be quite a few punctuation errors and confusing sentence fragments. Cleaning those up is something I would definitely recommend. Strunk and White is a great resource for that kind of thing--plus, it's a short little book.

I wondered why you chose to use a prologue. To me, it would work better to just make that prologue into the first scene in chapter 1. I like the idea of opening with him there at the store. What I think might work even better would be to skip all that stuff of him at school, eating with his family, etc., and just have him there at the store with his dad on his birthday, and continue on with that scene. After that, you can go back and explore their family dynamic a little, and show what he goes through at school. But for now, showing that other boy "waving" at him in front of the store is enough, I think, to hint at the fact that the other kids at school are mean to him. Doing it this way would, in my opinion, get the story rolling much faster and be a more effective hook for the reader.

I also think you're getting a bit too...creative in some of your word choices, to the point that some of them don't quite make sense to me. For example, "The scruffy writing exploded in his face." The writing really exploded? That's not what you meant. You could maybe reword it to say that the cruelty implied in the writing was like an explosion in his face, but the writing did not actually explode.

I hope this is helpful to you!

Botched, I'm afraid that wasn't the right ...

2009-10-11T13:35:53.050-04:00

Botched, I'm afraid that wasn't the right article. I don't think it comes from On Writing after all, because I have a copy of the book and I have combed through it.

Memory, I totally understand! I indulge myself during the first draft, but by the final draft, my novel's folder is usually filled with deleted scenes.

It bothers me when authors repeat details or plot ...

2009-10-11T13:09:36.346-04:00

It bothers me when authors repeat details or plot points several times over the course of the book, even if they're dozens or even hundreds of pages apart. I can understand how this could be helpful for slower readers, but as a relatively fast reader with an excellent memory I find it annoying. I got it the first time; I don't need to hear about it again.

As a writer, I feel like I rely overmuch on one particular sentence structure: "Blah blah blah, and/but blab blab blab." I'm also overly fond of semicolons. I usually let myself indulge during the first draft, just for the sake of getting something down, then search for alternate ways to phrase things during revisions.

From a reader standpoint i don't have too many...

2009-10-09T16:44:45.027-04:00

From a reader standpoint i don't have too many peeves that annoy me too much. I do hate it when author's use too much description, the silent badass works well in film and video games because there is a visual element, it does not work well in literary works where i can't see the person.

Well as a writer i have to stop myself from putting in a lot of description where it isn't needed.

by the way Tia, if you're still looking for the article. try this link, it might be what your looking for.

http://essay-writing.suite101.com/article.cfm/stephen_king_on_writing

Tia said: "Anne, I don't remember that pr...

2009-10-09T05:36:39.233-04:00

Tia said: "Anne, I don't remember that problem when I read your story a while back."

Thanks. Not everyone who reads my stories feels it's a problem. However, it's the common complaint I could remember today. I suspect certain teacher-types who read my stories feel they have to find some improvements to suggest, and that's the strongest they notice. {Smile}

On my good days, I take it as a compliment that they didn't find anything more major to complain about. {SMILE}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

@authorjohnbrown If you're a facebooker then ...

2009-10-08T23:13:57.235-04:00

@authorjohnbrown

If you're a facebooker then I've got a page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Brown/154103968484

John, let me know what it is and I'll include ...

2009-10-08T18:42:38.145-04:00

John, let me know what it is and I'll include it in my Debut Showcase for Servant of a Dark God.

Chris, I had to do the same thing with my ancient-...

2009-10-08T18:41:49.526-04:00

Chris, I had to do the same thing with my ancient-world fantasy and regency fantasy. It was refreshing when I started writing my time travel historical, because the main characters are from here and now. It's also fun researching colloquialisms from times past. Older novels are a great way to get those.

I'm one of those who like long epilogues. What I don't like is when the climax is too drawn out. To illustrate: there are too types of elasticity--like rubber bands and like silly putty. Ideally, the tension should stretch like a rubber band and then snap. Sometimes, the tension stretches like silly putty . . . and then just collapses. That's what it's like for me when the tension is too drawn out.

As a reader, repetition and over-stating the point...

2009-10-08T17:07:20.524-04:00

As a reader, repetition and over-stating the point (more than once) reeeeeally irks me. So does an author's need to explain (or over-explain) things to me. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with explanation. Especially when it's hard science or something overly technical that I normally wouldn't understand. My issue is when writers seem to think 'readers are stupid, we must learn 'em' and explain obvious things (sometimes more than once) so we are assured to "get it".

(I think it was Dean Koontz who really ticked me off with this. I read "Tick Tock"--don't get me started--and he explained the SIMPLEST THINGS. Like how many feet in a mile. Wow, dude. I would never have known that without you.)

I think there's a place for explaining basic things (and if you do it well or in a fun/quirky/interesting manner or have a character who happens to do this as a trait, then I can enjoy it), but as a reader, I appreciate not having my intelligence insulted, as a general rule. ;)

Also, over-used words. Now, I love the Dresden Files (and enjoy Jim's work in general). But someone needs to take the adverb "quietly" off Mr. Butcher. :P

("Blinked quietly", or something like that, was possibly my favorite wtf usage in TURN COAT.)

Random little things bug me, but those were my main ones. As a reader, I can be pretty laid back and forgive flaws and issues if the story entertains me and there's something I like about it.

Oh, but I disapprove of endings that take forever to wrap up. I read a couple of urban fantasies recently and it took 30 frickin' pages for one to conclude AFTER the climax. Way. Too. Long.

When you're done with the story, people, STOP. Seriously. For realz. Wrap it up, conclude, whatever, then STOP WRITING.

Anyway. :P

---

As a writer, I'm far, far too wordy, tend to over-explain, give TMI, take too long to get to the point... erm, I have many, many problems. Dunno what quirks there are, but I have to heavily edit and trim words when I finish a draft so it doesn't cause aneurysms or brainsleep (or worse) when people try to read. :P

I also like the word "dark". I may need therapy to stop using it so much.

I could go on, but yeah, maybe I should actually write now...

~Merc

John Brown's bird died on Twitter. But the zom...

2009-10-08T10:39:48.311-04:00

John Brown's bird died on Twitter. But the zombie will come to life here in a few days... :)

This was a good book, no doubt. I just posted my i...

2009-10-08T09:16:58.907-04:00

This was a good book, no doubt. I just posted my interview with the author at http://theintelli-gent.blogspot.com and should have a review up soon.

I really enjoyed the family aspect of this book, too. Man, the scene with the father and son...wow, tugged the heart strings near to breaking.

As a reader my prime dislike is the odd word that ...

2009-10-08T09:08:59.715-04:00

As a reader my prime dislike is the odd word that 'jars' in a text of flowing prose. It destroys the mood.

As a writer - I write fantasy, (see my recent publication, Randolph's Challenge Book One - The Pendulum Swings. www.randolphschallenge.com) I am conscious of the fact that need to watch for out of era phrases or words that have a habit of creeping into dialogue. For example my recent publication is set in medieval times and I had to edit out a huge number of 'O.K's' from the dialogue. They seem to have a mind of their own!

Chris Warren
Author and Freelance Writer
Randolph's Challenge Book One - The Pendulum Swings

Hi Tia & John :) Thank you for the engaging in...

2009-10-08T08:50:38.687-04:00

Hi Tia & John :)
Thank you for the engaging interview.
All the best,
RKCharron
xoxo
PS - Is John Brown on Twitter?